I was verbally offered SDE1 by my Amazon recruiter, Bob earlier this week. Bob also emailed saying that he was putting me in touch with another recruiter, Joe, to discuss details of my offer package. My call with Joe is tomorrow. They didn't send an offer letter yet. has anyone experienced something similar? (verbal offer, schedule call with different recruiter to discuss comp) What can I expect from my call with Joe? Does Joe want to try to determine the lowest amount I'm willing to accept? How should I approach the conversation? Any strategies? Is it ok to ask for a written offer letter and 48 hours to review it? I don't want them to think I'm shopping around, but I also want to have all the details in front of me. according to others on blind, I can expect TC of 150k. But I'm confused because the majority of stock vests year 3 and year 4, so is the 150k figure an average of the first 4 years, or is it relatively constant (i.e. stock in y3 and y4 make up for bonus in y1 and y2)? Thanks everyone! #compensation #amazon #negotiateoffer #offer
It's Amazon. Don't get your hopes up. They like to low ball people.
The vesting schedule is 5/15/40/40 but they give you bonuses to make up for it in y1-2, so your TC should be more or less consistent. You don’t need to ask for an official offer letter but you can ask for the estimated numbers in an email. Negotiate hard if you have other offers and let them give the first number. Source: accepted an offer from Twitch (amazon owned) recently
Normal to send you over to a different recruiter. The first one is the sourcing recruiter. The second one actually has the power to negotiate.
Listen dude, negotiating is very tricky. Don’t give up the power. Of course it’s okay to ask 48 hours to think on it. Simplest way is to defer responsibility. Say you have a girlfriend or a partner that you need to consult with as it is a big decision. Joe might try to negotiate and low ball you but you make yourself clear. State that you have competing offers if you have any and if not then explain what you expect. Additionally, don’t nickel and dime. Be respectful and you should be fine. Don’t worry about what he is going to think. As long as you are being respectful you can state what you think about the offer to him.
It's the norm. Joe will ask you your expected salary, other offers etc. Then Joe will get back to you again after 24 hours with numbers. Then negotiation starts! Joe will try to force you to sign by saying offer is only valid for 48 hours and this is great offer and you will be fastracked to L5 once you join. But you don't listen to Joe. Joe can also be rude, Joe will say he can't wait longer because there are so many candidates in the wait list. Basically, take Joe with a grain of salt. You tell Joe, give me (your desired amount) else I am walking away and don't believe Joe for L5 promise. There is no such thing as high L4. L4 is L4! And you bombed system design so SDE1 after 3 years, you are not gonna like the offer.
But what do you tell Bob?
Your recruiters failed you bro Total compensation is the sum of Base, sign on payment (bonus), and stock. You are granted a year 1 and year 2 sign on payment because the majority of stock vests year 3 and 4. Stock vests at 5% year 1 anniversary, 15% year 2 anniversary, and 20% every 6 months thereafter until fully vested at year 4. So TC year 1 would be base, sign on, and a couple stocks Year 2 bonus is a lower bonus because you get more stock. No bonus year 3 and 4 because stock heavy. Keep in mind your stock is "projected" to grow YoY so this would make year 4 comp higher than year 3 even if you didnt get promoted. 150 TC is a fair and normal offer for a new grad. Usually you'll be looking at around 110-120 base and the rest is bonus and stock. You could potentially ask for more but anything above 160 might be a stretch outside of the premium markets.
At the end of the day, what do you have to offer? Competing offer from XYZ is the best leverage for negotiation. Otherwise, why should the company try to pay you more just because you asked?
Completely standard. Sourcing recruiters don’t always deal with money.
It would be a regular call with the recruiter. They would ask you for your numbers and come with their numbers later on. Don't listen to people who say they will low ball you, Amazon usually pays good. They will come up with a decent number but if you think you deserve more - feel free to ask. Don't settle for a lower amount (tip on negotiation). Tell them why you deserve more. If you have valid and sensible reason, they will increase your TC.
If recruiter passed to other recruiter that deals with numbers the initial offer is ready. Most likely giving offer and asking for opinion / asking to sign
Will help you not to put recruiter name in the post here. :)
lol I didn't use their real names
Nobody is named Bob these days