Jump to Google? (offer evaluation)
I am currently in Microsoft for about 3 years and in a comfortable position. I have got top rewards (180+) every year. I recently interviewed with Google and they offered me pretty good salary hike. My google offer details are: L4, Bay area Base: ~200k Stock: ~500k 1st year bonus: ~60k First year TC: ~450k (including 15% bonus) My current Microsoft comp is: L62, ~250k, Redmond I am currently 6ish yoe. I am mostly worried about jumping ship during recessionary period like this. I have good network here in Microsoft and if performance based layoffs do happen, I am less likely to get layoff, I guess, compared to Google? Is it a good idea to jump ship at such a time?
What profile?
This is not an easy call. When (not if) google does layoff you will be prime target. At Meta, people who started 2 days before layoff, were laid off. But the TC jump is huge! You have to decide your risk tolerance. Given the environment, assume 25% chance you will be laid off soon after you start at google. And maybe 5% chance that will happen at Microsoft. Calculate your return over next 2 years adjusted for the risk. If you are on visa, don’t take it. The cost of the risk materializing is too high. I have seen first hand last week what a toll that took on visa folks laid off at Meta :-( Btw, google is still hiring?
Yeah. They are hiring but very few teams. The first team I TMed with lost their headcount. This second team I got TMed had same outcome. I had almost forgotten about it and then my recruiter reached out to me after a lull of 1 month saying that one team is interested in my profile. We did 3-4 team match calls and proceded to the Offer stage.
It doesn’t matter how important that position is right now! No one making those calls has any inkling of upcoming layoffs ... by design. The VP+ will create a formula for layoff, LIFO. And you will be gone a day after you start. You think because they are hiring you now, they must know they won’t lay you off tomorrow. That’s a fallacy!! Meta people like me know well how layoffs are done 😂
Depends on the team; is it something integral to Google’s business or a program you could imagine them scaling back or cutting?
I don't think so. I got TMed after their great reprioritization of head count which took them 2 months or so. I am hoping leaders did their job well and if I got TMed after that, it must be an important team. I also feel it's important for Google's business.
That’s a fck ton for L4
How did you get that TC from google ? Had any competiting offers ?
Yeah I had competing offers in the same range, and good interview performance I guess but not enough to make me them up level me to L5. lol.
The TC calculation doesn't add up?
That offer looks like L5
yeah, i was pushing mildly for L5 but my interview loop wasn't L5 (no sys design round). So they couldn't proceed to level upgrade. I am not a level chaser. As long as TC is good, i am good.
Wow an actually competitive google offer. I’d probably take it (it is risky though)
Great offer !! Higher risk higher return. Just do your assessments of risk and mitigations.
Lol no brainer with that google TC