Thanks for sharing and good to hear you found a better place. Did your manager explicitly tell you to start looking or you just got some hints?. In my case, they havent (yet) told me though. In fact, I got a small hike. Cant read too much into the hike. Because that could be the HR policy to make sure my salary is not below the the range for my grade. I agree with you on job search. It gives that comfort since you are not desperate.