I am 6 yrs exp. Currently working mts3 in NetApp. Amazon is asking me the expected compensation before onsite interview. How do I deflect/handle this.
Recruiter want in email
Ask what's the range and median comp for your level. They probably won't tell you. This is all part of the game. Be polite, but wait till later. if by some bizarre circumstance they did actually tell you the range and the mean and the median then I'd consider telling them your comp expectations.
I had just told them that I'm not comfortable sharing this information. They were ok with it
I would not deflect it, instead I would give them a reasonable number that will work for you. Also, I will make sure to know the level for which you will be interviewing for. If your loop is for SDE2 from start, they will not consider you for SDE3 in any case.
Answer: I would like to hold on to this part until we move forward with the process.
In California it’s illegal to ask that question
It's illegal to ask about current compensation, but not about expected compensation.
“I don’t have a number in mind as I haven’t assessed the market at the moment. If I were to get an offer from you, we can iterate through it and I am sure we can work it out.”
No, its not illegal to ask expected compensation in California. It is illegal to ask current salary.
You can say market rate. But they may want a number for TC. Give them your TC expectations if they insist. Do not lowball just to get interview. It will not always work to try to increase your offer later.
Say 250k if job is in seattle
Say you want to talk to the team first as part of the on-site. You consider the offer as a total package, can’t come up with TC in a vacuum.