Are you saying I should seek other offers before I've made the request for a raise? I'm worried that that would make it seem like I'm only interested in money. I requested a formal performance review from my boss recently, and I am planning on putting forward my request for a raise around my 1yr mark coming in a couple weeks.

The company is not exactly doing fantastic, but we're not in danger of going bankrupt anytime soon either. I would prefer not to seek alternative offers if I can help it as I'm worried about how that would be perceived long-term and Id like to stay here. I'd be happy if they told me they'd give me half of what I want, an extra week of vacation time, and a scheduled meeting in six months to reevaluate based on economic conditions. That's basically my floor before I'd consider looking elsewhere.

My worry is that it seems to have gotten around among the ranks not to expect any pay raises this year although I work in corporate and these rumors came from our warehouse people, and I'm not looking for some 3% annual "you've been here another year/inflation" standard increase I'm trying to get a merit based increase.