Help me negotiate

[MrsandMrsSmith]

I'm great at negotiating at work - except when I'm trying to discuss my own pay or position. I've had a fairly successful career, but far less successful than it would have been if I'd effectively fought my corner.

I'm currently in a job where I'm on an OK salary but far less than I should be at this point and given my skills and experience. I've been paid more in the past. It's also less senior than I've been in previous companies and I'm capable of more. I've been here just over a year. At the time it suited me for various reasons, but deep down I know I'm selling myself short.

They know I'm good at my job. They need me and I would be hard to replace. I know this because recently they had such a problem recruiting into a similar role that they instead had to restructure. So I should be in a strong position to start negotiations.

But at the same time, business is slightly down at the moment, as it is for a lot of companies.

I don't love the job but will happily settle for it if I feel I'm properly remunerated. I've definitely lost my mojo and don't have the same ambition and drive as I used to have, so it's quite possible I will never love my job again wherever I go. It's convenient and there's an element of better the devil you know etc. But there are other opportunities out there that I could use as leverage.

Any tips on how to broach the subject?

Is it properly renumerated for what it is? Ie pays less than you've earned before because it's less senior and doesn't require your level of experience?

My role has changed a bit since I started and now I would say requires me to work at a more senior level than what I was originally recruited into, if they want me to do it properly. They wouldn't have moved anyone else at my level/pay rate into this role as they wouldn't have been capable. I know I should have negotiated at the time discussions around the change in role happened, but I didn't because I always shy away from these discussions and thought there would be a better time.

In the recent past, but before my time, there were people less experienced than me doing the same job but with a more senior job title that I'm guessing was awarded to prevent them leaving (but they did anyway). Had I known they'd had people in this more senior role previously at the point when I accepted the job, I would have been more reluctant to come in at the level I did.