1. 4 YOE, non FAANG, 2. Current TC < 100k 3. I did well on interviews, but have no competing offers. 4. Matched with 2 teams in about 2 weeks on Bay Area. 5. Got an L4 offer for 260k. 6. Levels.fyi says 272k is average for 4 Yoe in CA I said I was ready to sign immediately for 265k, they said no - nothing extra without a competing offer. They are my top choice and I don't want to be unable to get more matches. I'm interviewing elsewhere (they were my first onsite - rookie mistake, I know), but no offers yet. What should I do, and why?
you literally make less than 100k and are asking about being low balled on 260
Breakdown?
🙄
If a company has literally told you "nothing extra without a competing offer" then that tells how that company treats it's employees. Just saying.
That's part of the issue - it feels a bit strange.
It’s business after all. Your market value is equal to the highest offer you can get. To get the highest offer, you need competing offers. No company will give you top of the band pay if you don’t have leverage in the negotiations. What is so strange about this? It’s capitalism.
Given your entire description, and assuming there's a 1-2 week deadline for the offer, I would personally accept it (leaving Google in a few weeks, so no bias there). I had a similar experience before accepting my Stripe offer (they wouldn't budge on a small increase in sign on), and that threw me off (why would they be so petty over such a small increase?). Ultimately, it seems to be company policy, and there's not much the individual recruiter can do, especially for us lowly L4s. But, depending on how you included the sign on bonus, the comp does seem a bit on the low side. However, money isn't everything, and if you like the team and can live with $265k, why not accept $260k now. Once you have Google on your resume, it'll be very easy to get other interviews and better offers in the future. So let bygones be bygones, accept now and see where you stand in 2 years :).
They know you're going to accept, why give you more?
260k is exactly the median for L4 SWE at Google in Mountain View (and that includes L4s who are close to promo). It's a good offer.
Take the offer and upgrade your life from 100k to 265k tc. Keep interviewing on the side and as soon as you get a higher offer elsewhere, leave. Even if it means leaving after a few days of joining google, do it. You have a short life. Don’t leave money on the table ever.
Seems like a bad long term play. No one is gonna hire someone who jumps ship so frequently
I have had no issues changing jobs whenever I felt like. My average tenure per company is about a year and I have doubled my tc in 4 years. You seem to be setting artificial boundaries for yourself by not taking advantage of the job market.
$5k a year is not worth stressing about
Tech Industry
Yesterday
2006
TESLA UP 14% AFTER HOURS 🎉🎉🎉🎉
Tech Industry
Yesterday
724
The new Tesla Model 3 P goes from 0-60 in 2.9 seconds
Ask Blinders
Yesterday
607
Tipping culture is really getting out of control! Waiter gave me ‘a look’ because I tipped her 10% for ‘BAD service!’
India
Yesterday
220
BJP term 3: UCC when?
India
Yesterday
651
How to save India from destruction?
Everyone says levels.fyi is accurate for Google, so I feel a bit undervalued that they wouldn't even add 5k per year - I'm still asking for less than average (and of course like everyone else I think I'm way better than average)
Also, I appreciate your directness!