How Much to Expect When Changing Jobs in Analytics

We just completed a search for a Director of Analytics in which our candidate got a 53% pay increase.  It was the right move for many reasons, but a 53% pay increase definitely helped close the deal.  

 It made me think back to 2009-2011 when increases like these seemed common in analytics.  

 I figured out that over the past 12-months the average candidate that we have placed received a 19% increase in real compensation (adjusted for cost of living changes for relocations).  Not bad.  But how does it compare to years past?  I did some more digging:

• 2012 - 18%
• 2011 - 27%
• 2010 - 29%
• 2009 – 17%
• 2008 – 24%
• 2007 – We changed accounting systems 

What happened in 2009?  For whatever reason, we filled a lot more senior-level positions that year.  The increases were large in terms of dollars, but smaller in percentages… especially compared to our high volume of analysts that were getting huge percentage increases on much smaller salaries.