Preparing for the possibility to get an L6 offer from Amazon. Any tips on ensuring I get the most out of it? If they ask for current salary, what are some good ways to get around that question? (Background: I’m under-leveled at Microsoft, so comp is not where it should be - this move would hopefully solve for that gap).
It would be a standard L6 offer. You can put a number value against MSFT benefits and add it to a much better TC than what you are getting. It is reasonable to expect 15-25% increase for them to make you move. So there you go.
Yeah, I told Amazon that I was underwhelmed with the offer and was considering my other options. They immediately came back with a 15% bump. I then negotiated another 10%. Just be prepared to go in swinging. I have friends that took their offer and negotiated high, but they expect to get their money worth.
So, I'm not speaking from experience with Amazon, but one of the best tips I was given was actually to give your own offer before they ever tell you numbers. When they asked what I was making I said "I'm expecting to make x". I did this with Google (add some padding so it's bit higher than you want, because they WILL bring it down at least a bit) and had great results. Went back and forth about 3 times before we came to an agreement and both sides were happy I think. Definitely take a look at levels.fyi to get an accurate number for your level at that company. I basically just took the highest numbers for my band at Google and then padded them.
Levels.fyi is a good source but only directionally as I am in marketing. Good advice to add padding, if you’re willing to throw out a number. I liked the earlier suggestion of flipping the question back too - curious which option is more effective.
I believe throwing your own number down when it comes down to compensation is better because you are anchoring them to a higher bias. For this same reason, I NEVER give an employer my current/previous compensation. Quite frankly, it's irrelevant. You are introducing a low-end bias into the mind of the recruiter by giving them your compensation. You are doing the same thing if you propose a number first, but in this case you are anchoring their bias to a much higher base than would be the case if you wait for their offer to come thru first. Fwiw, though, this is not based on any empirical evidence, just discussions with others who have been through similar situations.
I thought I read an internal email/ post that said Amazon won't ask for current salary numbers from candidates anymore
Good. I was wondering why I hadn’t gotten that question yet after 2 phone screens and going into the onsite. That explains it.
I was asked.
Tell the CA made it illegal to ask the question...and you are standing with them in solidarity. I did. My salary is not a perspective employers business. I actually told a recruiter today...you have the job to offer, you tell me what it pays! He did.
Heh, nice.