I had an onsite interview with stripe and they told me that I've done a good job and as the next step they want me to introduce them two people for the reference check. I asked them for offer's numbers as I already had an E6 offer from facebook but they don't give me any number before reference check. Is it normal as I haven't seen before such situation that a company doesn't provide the number and they ask for the reference check. Honestly I can provide multiple references but I'm not even sure stripe can match the facebook offer so I don't want to waste my references. Also assuming the pay for facebook and stripe are the same which one do you think is better to join? I don't have FAANG in my resume. my current TC: really a peanut Update: the numbers came back and I accepted facebook's offer. all of the TC's components were less than facebook.
Seems really odd, but I was in a similar situation situation before with a different pre-IPO company. In this case it sounds like you seem to have the leverage. They want you, but you're willing to walk away with the offer you have in hand. Here's the way I handled it: I asked if the references would have an impact on the offer. If they don't the there's no logical reason for them to hold out on the offer numbers. At least no reason that benefits me. Next, I immediately followed up and asked if my request came off as rude or unreasonable. I clarified that I'm just advocating for myself and making sure that I am making the best decision for myself. It would be in the interest of the long term success of both parties. I don't think that it's an unreasonable request or that I was rude when I made the request. Again this shows them that they have no logical reason to hold out. Lastly, I was straightforward and honest. I said that I have other offers to consider and that want to talk to my references too. If you haven't disclosed that you have another offer, I would do that and say that you want to compare them side by side. I didn't mention this next part, but I was willing to walk away if they weren't willing to give me the most amount of time to consider the offer. It worked out for me and I was able to get the offer details. But again if they didn't work with me and shut me down while I was trying to advocate for myself, that is a bit of a red flag for me, and I'd be ready to walk away. (Btw despite my employer tag, I voted for stripe. If the numbers make sense for you then I say go for it. The numbers didn't make sense in my case, but something about the pre-IPO life still excites me. Hope I find a good opportunity at some point.)
Thank you. Though this didn't work for me :). I had to give them the references.
Take FB, Stripe will offer something low like 200k RSU total over 1 year.
Are you saying their offer doesn’t even guarantee year 2 200k rsu? I’ve read all about the whole reprice every year and understand that fully but I would think the 4 year out grant value would still be in an offer. Otherwise the year 2-4 grant is like a refresher and variable instead of fixed even in value (already know #shares is variable).
It’s an annual grant. Your offer will be for $X in equity per year. This could end up being lower or higher in future years based on your performance. An upside is that if you get promoted you’ll start getting the new equity level rather than being stuck with your original lower grant.
Stripe offers a fixed dollar amount of rsus that covert to units at their beginning of the year. That limits most of the upside. Afaik fb doesn't do what stripe does. Given fb is undervalued, the upside with fb seems larger.
I recently interviewed at Stripe as well and they don't get anywhere close to the total comp at Facebook. Their annual vesting grant removes most of the upside potential and they are banking on people getting confused with their shady RSU scheme. Read their contract carefully. I stepped away.
+1.
My offer with Stripe was stronger than my offer at Facebook. Every year that you are employed with Stripe, you will get the AVG grant (not just for 4 years), which will vest over the year. In addition to that you will get an annual refresher which is higher than Facebook (assuming you perform well. This vests over 4 years), base and bonus. Multipliers are higher than FB, and growth/promotions could be faster.
This was not true for my case though. None of the numbers were competitive honestly.
Which level -was it L3 or L4?
Very typical to provide references. We ask for references for everyone L3+. Not providing references is a red flag. But FB E6 is equal to Stripe’s L4. If you didn’t go through staff interviews, you’re not getting a staff offer. L3 offer will be significantly lower than L4.
If it’s in Seattle the E6 FB I worked with can not meet the bar for L4
Stripe L3 is like FB E5 and E6 combined. The offers are higher than E5 but lower than E6. Joining earlier the stock upside might have carried you through if you took the risk but with the $/year grants, it might not be competitive 5b at Uber is similar. Middle ground that doesn’t fit into some companies’ comp structures. Had a similar situation at Amazon. L6 there doesn’t pay like 5b at Uber, and I didn’t have the experience for L7/PE
facebook in your resume will open doors for your next careers. Take FB.
Hi, OP can I dm you regarding your experience?
Asking for references likely means you’re being considered for L3+. That’s possibly good news. They don’t share comp yet because they haven’t classified you. I won’t share opinions on the RSUs, but i wouldn’t assume that the package won’t be competitive with your FB offer before seeing it. If your references get back quickly, you’ll get the comp info right away.
the numbers came back and I accepted facebook's offer. all of the TC's components were less than facebook.
Congrats on your new position! Would love to have your data points if you’re willing to share.
I have my Onsite coming up. DMed you!