Microsoft offer vs Zillow offer
Currently working at Oracle as Software Engineer 2. Current TC: 155k Current Base: 120k Current stocks: 150k over 4 years Current Location: Bay Area Microsoft Azure Data & Intelligence team: Base: 117k Stocks: 130k Sign-on: 25k Relocation: 5k Location: Seattle Zillow Machine Learning Engineer Offer: Base: 145k Sign-on: 50k over two years Relocation: 10k Stocks: 75k Location: Seattle Still waiting for offer details from Microsoft OneDrive team. Is there any room for negotiation at Microsoft? I told Zillow I wanted 150k in stocks, is there any room for negotiation to ask more, like 200k? YoE: 2.5 years I am an international student (Got my Masters from a school in Ithaca) and I didn’t get H1B yet. I still have 2 more tries. I hear Microsoft can send me to Canada. What will Zillow do? Considering my situation, what do you suggest? Or do you suggest take one and interview at other places? If so, which one? Please comment your answers with reason. PS: Puns are welcome. 🍿
Most complete post I have seen!
What would you suggest?
MS hands down
Negotiate Microsoft
How much do you think I could ask Microsoft from your experience?
Tell Zillow you have an offer from Microsoft and ask them to raise their offer. Then take the raised offer from Zillow to Microsoft to match. What level is the offer for? I would guess probably 61. If so you might be able to go up to 180k or more with competing offers. You should also negotiate the relocation up. That seems low for a non new grad
MS for good engineering culture, Zillow not even a tech company
Is there any room for negotiation at Microsoft?
MSFT- Visa situation is dire and getting h1b is your priorities. Few thousands here and there will not help.
True that! I have an onsite interview with Amazon Alexa. Hoping I would get that. If so I don’t have to worry about pay at the least. The work at Zillow is genuinely good, plus it’s ML Engineer position but have to leave the offer just because of H1B. I hate this.
By the way, thanks for your advice @MDMA90
You should easily be able to negotiate Zillow upward, but stock they aren’t super flexible on. You’re better off asking for higher base and sign on. That said, I think the stock component is low, even for a P2 MLE. Zillow AI is basically the Wild West. Things move slow because every team is basically on their own with minimal infrastructure support. It’s great for your career growth, as you’ll learn more than anywhere else. Zillow will start your green card process pretty quickly, but obviously doesn’t help you if you’re from a country with a backlog. You should ask your recruiter about what will happen if you’re H1B fails. It’s a fair question.
Does Zillow have offices outside Us? I see Vancouver in careers section but there aren’t any roles there. So i am worried because with Microsoft I have at least job security even if the pay is really low. I don’t know what to do. Higher pay vs job security in terms of visa. What components of salary do you think I could still negotiate? Any insights are appreciated. Say if they bump up, would you suggest Zillow over Microsoft considering H1B. I come under Masters category and have my masters degree in computer science. So should I not consider Zillow because of Visa?
Are you sure you have job security? Are you able to get through Canadian immigration in a timely fashion? Has Microsoft promised you they’d find you another team if you don’t get h1b? Honestly, there are very few companies that will actually work through that. My understanding is microsoft is being less helpful around those that don’t get h1b in time. But that’s just going off hearsay. I wouldn’t bank on it just because they have overseas offices. You should actually ask and find out what their procedure is. You’ll probably find your employment contract is contingent to work authorization in the US. Zillow does have a Vancouver office, but no AI there. So yes there are some dev roles, but I haven’t had any coworkers that have faced that situation. Again, this is something you should ask the recruiter. Say what you’ve said here, and that you’re thinking of going elsewhere because of the lack of security. Let your recruiter figure some arrangement out. Salary and cash are far more flexible than stock. It’s a lot harder for your recruiter to move that needle. Than the former.
Zillow does have a small office in Vancouver, and they did allow relocation to Canada for my friend early this year. He was on his 3rd try and had to prepare for the worst case (luckily he got it this year). He seemed to be the only one that I know of who had this request ever, so our legal team might not be as experienced or helpful if you eventually had to do this.
Based on your experience, do you suggest taking up Zillow offer or leaving Zillow offer? Cause with Microsoft they would at least send me to Canada or some other country. Would Zillow be sending me to Vancouver in the worst case scenario? What would you suggest? I have also asked the recruiter yesterday about the same and told him I can only accept offer if he lets me know about what would Zillow do in the worst case. If he says Zillow would send me to Canada, do you think I could ask him to write that on writing on offer letter? Any insights are appreciated.
If H1B lottery is your major concern, I'd say go with Microsoft. Zillow has a tiny team in Vancouver and I'm not sure if there's even devs in Vancouver office. In case that you didn't get H1b on all attempts and they transfer you to Vancouver, it's very possible to be a shitty experience thereafter. You'll either need to work remotely with the team in Seattle all the time, or you might pick up some unimportant job in Vancouver office. Microsoft would be able to offer you a lot more in Canada, they have multiple offices and tons of positions.
Your credentials sound good and voted for you to take the Microsoft job, but reading this thread makes me want you to take the Zillow position.
Could you explain your reason? Also I am struggling to find how good the team at Microsoft is and I am not getting any information. It would be greatly appreciated if you could provide your insights.
Lots of indecision over something the OP has little control over (dealing with ambiguity). Many have suggested possible routes, but the constant response is "but it's a lottery, dude". The OP needs to talk to their recruiter, not Blind as they have the best answers, this is a common issue (basic problem solving). I realize that the decision is difficult and they are probably looking for comfort. Microsoft has lots of resources to help folks with visas, green cards and if they want, citizenship. I was born in the US so I haven't had to go through the process, but I do know a lot of people that have. It's the same issue no matter what US company the OP chooses. Finding out how good a team is at MS is a different question altogether, the OP (or you) should talk with the hiring manager. Ask them about a typical day, tech, team goals, etc...
How does it work with the 50K sign-on bonus that is "over 2 years"?
You get 25k the first year and 25k the next year again.
Get Microsoft
What’s your reason?
H1b problem