Tech Industry
Mar 24, 2021
Uber
pewpewlzr
I've utterly sucked at confidently giving a "target salary" answer in the past few job switches. I feel like I either undersell myself or I'm inappropriately ambitious. My current answer:Base target: [expected for level I want to be at, based on anecdotes] TC: [random number at approx. double my base but really fudgey about this because every company has a different valuation/vesting schedule, esp startups]Critique this approach? In case I've undersold myself, could I recover my position?I've heard ~ crazy ~ ranges from the same level/role/company anecdotally. Like, between an L5, TC 420 to L5 TC 250. Same goddamn team too.#negotiation
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k boga
Mar 24, 2021
you need to stop giving a #, and keep saying things like “i’d have to look more into the role, what it takes, the location, etc” before you can safely say a #.then ask them what their salary range is for the role. the game is the first one to say a # loses. don’t lose the game.
Uber
pewpewlzr
OP
Mar 24, 2021
I feel like recruiters must have caught onto this, right? Either "depends on how we level you based on interview performance" or "we want to get a sense of your expectations in order to make sure we're in your range", etcetc. Deferring the first answer feels like such a predictable response. Why play when you can just give them your expectations?
k boga
Mar 24, 2021
they’re playing the game too but they definitely have #s in mind.if a company won’t tell me the salary range i don’t even bother interviewing unless you’re looking at FAANG or another top tier company.anyways, do what you want. but if you say a # too low then they’ll happily low ball you, if you say it too high they’ll just pass on you. your safest option is to get their #, and then negotiate higher since they expect that too anyways
Slack
BJrG26
Mar 24, 2021
In your mind you must have a minimum base number you would need to switch roles. I give recruiters that number plus 5%. Then I let them know that while unfortunately I can't go under that as a baseline, how much above that I'd need depends on bonus, equity, and sign on, which I'm excited to explore with them once I learn more about the expectations of the role.
Uber
pewpewlzr
OP
Mar 24, 2021
Gonna practice this one in my private zoom room
hehe xd l
Mar 24, 2021
Swap 5 for 50 and you get my strategy
American Express
BvLO17P
Mar 24, 2021
It has never easier to find data about TC or a proxy for less known companies. Level.fyi is extremely valuable and accurate. Find the closest data and firmly ask 20% more. That's it. Dont forget they want you as much as you probably want them
Uber
pewpewlzr
OP
Mar 24, 2021
what if it's missing from levels.fyi/glassdoor? the data is still spotty for some non-eng positions.
IBM
OVEo38
Mar 24, 2021
Practice makes perfect. If recruiters reach out to you, have a conversation with them and practice with them to determine their response and refine your approach. This way, you practice, explore your options, see what’s out there, and what numbers resonate. You’ll be surprised at what you find.
hdb12
Mar 24, 2021
Disagree with the whole “don’t give a number” thing. If you have researched and know what the ranges are just give the top of the range as your number. Otherwise recruiters are just going to start you out with a lowball and then when they move up from it they can say they “already got all the way up to here from the starting point”.You benefit the most when the starting point is higher than what you will actually get and this only happens if you provide the starting point.
Amazon
doseman
Mar 24, 2021
This is spot on. I learned this the hard way negotiating with DD. So, when FB, Apple, Lyft asked for my expectations, I set it high right from the first conversation. I say that it’s negotiable but not by much.For most of the big companies you can get recent offer data from levels fyi, and “offer eval” posts here on Blind. Having strong competing offers will give you that much more confidence in negotiating with others to push their offers higher.
