<prompt> Human: A little relevant background:Ive been with this company for about 5 years, having gone from temp to new hire, and then been promoted twice. Ive been an AVP for just over a year. I know that Ive been significantly underpaid 47,500 is my current salary - another employee who started as a temp as well a few years before me was given 62K when promoted to AVP. Mine was 45K. I was only bumped up to my current salary in November, because of the hourly overtime law.. A coworker recommended me to a Senior VP who was looking to establish a totally new role in another department. The workload would be significant and deserving of a VP title. I would be developing the position from scratch, training 50 people on various products, joining client calls, etc. Its a shit ton of work, but I think I would be awesome at it. I have more product knowledge than nearly anyone in my department. Ive had a hand in training 15-20 people over the last 3 years - and significant training, on dozens of products. Ive had literally nothing but positive feedback from both clients and internal partners. I have about 2 dozen emails, just from this past year, regarding my outstanding performance that have been sent to my manager - or her manager, or her managers manager. I hate tooting my own horn, but Im fucking good at what I do. And Im being so undervalued in my current position that it makes me nauseous if I think about it too long. I absolutely need to make a change. So I reached out to the SVP and expressed interest in the position.From what I was told, there were 3 candidates in the running. We each had two interviews, one with the SVP to whom the position would report and a second with an SVP with whom the candidate would be working closely he managed those 50 employees I would be training. Less than 24 hours after my second interview, I was told basically that the job was mine, I just had to meet with that second SVPs manager first. That meeting went well and I was informally offered the job, told to start the formal application process and asked to inform my current manager. Ive spoken with a few confidants - my manager, another manager, and the person who recommended me for the job - and the pay range they estimated went from 85K-110K. My manager, who obviously knew my current salary, was the lowest estimate at 85K. She warned me that I might have a bit of trouble negotiating them up because of how low Im starting. HR knows what my current salary is, so Im at a disadvantage.I was expecting an offer of around 70-75K, to be honest. Nope. HR called me this afternoon with the offer. The told me, almost word for word, that in order to move me to a pay range typical for a VP in my area, they would have to raise my salary over 50. So, in order to make it more palatable to HR, they have decided to change the position to an AVP title and offer me a pay increase of 20. Bringing me up to 57K. Im livid. I want this position, but I have no interest in moving laterally for less than 10K more. Ill be locked into the AVP for a year, and even when Im eligible to be promoted to a VP, Ill run into the same issue with the salary. They wont be able to put me in the VP bracket because anything over a 20 raise has to be approved by senior management which is why Im guessing thats exactly the increase they offered me and 20 on top of 57K wont get me there either. They dont want to jump through the hoops that will require, or they think they can lowball me because of my current salary, or a little of both. But I am so tired of doing excellent work and having it tainted by how used and taken advantage of I feel. I cant do it again, especially in a position where I know for certain that I deserve a higher title. There was no question as to my qualifications to be a VP prior to salary coming into the discussion. As it stands, if they refuse to budge Id rather decline the offer and look for something outside the organization than accept what theyve put on the table. Ill be speaking with person who would be my manager either tomorrow or the day after. Id like to argue my case, point out my value, be honest in that I do not want to be in a situation where I feel like Im getting shortchanged - Ive been there already and its not a fun situation to live with. I want something that feels fair and feels representative and appropriate for the work expected of me. The manager wants the position filled by April. He has an aggressive target to meet by the end of the year, so someone needs to get working in the position relatively soon. If I decline the offer, hell need to go back to one of the other candidates and go through the HR process again. Im guessing that person makes more than I do - everyone seems to - and they also applied for a VP position, so Id wager that person would end up with a VP salary. So the only thing that would be saved is possibly a bit of time, not having to jump through the hoops of getting a higher salary approved by senior management. Any advice on how to approach this would be appreciated. I went back to 2 of the confidants I spoke with and they were both repulsed by the situation. Neither expected the SVP or HR, not sure whos driving this to downgrade the position instead of bumping up my salary.  <response>: Just point out that you interviewed for and were selected for a VP position, with a commensurate pay increase, and thats what you were looking for. If HR and senior management want you, theyll make that happen. Otherwise, youve shown yourself to be capable and can easily land an equivalent job at another company dont say this, though. 