from Lenny Rachitsky | by Lenny Rachitsky

The 10 commandments of salary negotiation, by @mediumsizecats 👇 Read on 👇 t.co/F7RPZYCclw

1/ Negotiation starts earlier than you think Every recruiter worth their salt will ask about your salary expectations when you first start interviewing. Do not — I repeat, do not — give them a number. What to do instead: Ask for the range they’re budgeted for the role.

How to say it: “Can you tell me the salary band for this level? Happy to let you know if it’s within my range, and we can discuss specific numbers later when I’ve met the team.”

Bonus points: If you’re junior/mid, time all your interviews so you get offers around the same time. If you’re senior, get some PR/articles written about/by you before you start meeting folks.

2/ Mine for intel during interviews Go into the interview ready not just to answer questions but to ask some of your own. You will use this as ammunition to negotiate later. Here are a few examples of what you should ask:

° What’s the biggest priority for the team right now? ° Why is this role open? ° What’s the biggest challenge for someone stepping into this role? ° How does the org structure on the team work?

3/ Don’t give in to the pressure Once you’ve been offered the role, the recruiter’s job shifts from evaluating you to closing you. Most experienced recruiters will ask you again to put up a number for your salary.

Clever recruiters may even tell you that they “will go to bat for you.” What recruiters say: “If you give me your number, I will make it happen for you.” What they mean: “I’ll get you something lower, but kinda close to what you asked for.”

4/ At FAANG, your recruiter may have no say at all At FAANG-size companies (i.e. over 5K employees), compensation is heavily formulaic. In fact, there is often a separate team — the “compensation committee” — who sets your salary. They take into account your background...

...interview performance, and level. They give the recruiter a number to go with. The recruiter then gives you the number, and every time you negotiate they have to go back to that committee to ask for a re-evaluation.

What do clever recruiters do? They get your number up-front to save some legwork. If you get caught in this loop, quickly turn the tables: most companies will consider “new information,” like another offer, to reopen a negotiation. An offer from your existing company counts!

5/ Read between the lines Your initial offer speaks volumes, if you know how to interpret the data. Here are a few scenarios you should consider: Let’s say you’re applying for an L6 role at a big company.

Initial offer comes in low: The team may have felt that you have a lot of “room for growth.” In this case, my advice is to dig deeper and ask the interviewer to share feedback from folks who met you to fix any misconceptions before you ever negotiate.

Middle of the road: You got “the number” (the medium opening number that’s basically a template recruiters use). It’s the most common opening offer — companies do this to reduce risk of lawsuits. Over 80% of people get it. It likely means you don’t have a strong advocate...

...on the interview loop. Do not negotiate until you match with a team and you have a manager batting for you.

Initial offer comes in top-of-band: There was likely a discussion about giving you a higher level. Many times in this case, you can push for an “out-of-band” offer — essentially getting paid for an L7 while you’re an L6.

6/ At a startup, the playbook is different You may be dealing with the founder directly. It’s very likely there is no range for the role, as smaller companies have much less access to salary data. The goal at the initial offer conversation is to understand three things:

° The current state of the company (financing, runway, profitability) ° The plan for your role/function ° The value of the equity, considering exit scenarios t.co/sTQQxZhFf3

Ask the questions an investor would ask because, *news flash*, you are now an investor — but instead of cash, you’re staking your time and earning trajectory on the company’s success.

7/ Your job is to win hearts and minds It can be tempting to think you need to negotiate now that you have data. Nope, not yet. The next step, instead, is to upsell your worth before you come back with any kind of counteroffer. This is especially important if you’re senior.

What to do next: Ask for follow-up meetings with decision makers. If you’re a Director or higher, you can usually ask to meet with any VP and possibly C-level execs. VPs can often meet with the CEO and even board members.

Take your time; this is important if you want your salary to reflect your value. If everyone wants you, you’ll be calling the shots later. How to run these effectively: Come prepared with three things, tailored to who you’re meeting:

° Questions about how you can create meaningful impact ° Ideas based on your interviews so far ° Bonus points: discussing obstacles to your taking the role and making them sell you on it

8/ OK, now get some good data Did you know that women make only 47 cents in equity for every dollar a man makes? A HUGE reason for that is that many women don’t fully evaluate their offer before negotiating. Let’s change that. Ask yourself these questions:

° Is the offer competitive? ° How does it work? (When do I vest; what is the stock worth?) ° Is it all true? (Is the value of the equity over-inflated?) ° Does it add up? (i.e. taxes on bonuses, stock.) ° If you have goaled comp, are the goals realistic? t.co/uUSvamRNkx

9/ Comparing offers Not all offers are made equal — in fact, they are intentionally confusing. At Google, you may get a front-loaded vesting schedule on your stock; at Amazon, sizable cash bonuses the first two years. It seems obvious that you should look at the comp, but...

...that’s not everything: ° Which company has a better trajectory? ° How do promotions work? ° Is your manager influential enough to pull for you when needed? ° Is your product/team visible enough to get good resourcing? ° What’s the company brand worth to earnings trajectory?

TL;DR: Getting paid more up-front doesn’t always mean you’ll make the most overall. Plan carefully.

10/ Time to make an ask It can be awkward to ask for more money, but trust me, everyone expects you to do it. On top of that, it doesn’t help that so much of the advice out there is conflicting.

“I need a competing offer.” MYTH: You absolutely do not need multiple offers. Just being able to say you’re speaking to other companies is sufficient — you can quote the expected salaries for other roles if needed.

“I need to provide copies of my other offers.” MYTH: Nope, nope, nope (even though Google in particular loves to ask for them). You signed an NDA before every interview, so you can always use that as a reason.

“I should send the recruiter an email with my ask and justification.” MYTH: Negotiating via email = MAJOR CRINGE and definitely a worse outcome. I know there are folks selling templates out there. If you want a meaningful increase, have the conversation over the phone.

“I need to be aggressive and threaten to walk if they don’t match.” MYTH: LOL, let me know how that goes for you. You’ll get a mediocre increase worded as a “final offer.” If you want big moves ($100K+), you need to collaborate with your recruiter, not make them an enemy.

11/ As a final word of wisdom: Start with negotiating your overall compensation, not individual components. For example, ask for “500K” and then the next round ask “Can I have X more equity?” Then, when you’ve exhausted all other avenues, ask for a signing bonus.

For much much more, don't miss the full post by special guest author @mediumsizecats t.co/gKTnhFDjdn