I am a university student who will graduate this year, and on this Tuesday (tomorrow) I will be having an offer conversation with the startup that I interned at this summer. I have watched the negotiation course and it certainly has provided invaluable information, but there are just some details I want to get opinions from the community so I can maximize my compensation.
First, some facts:
Based on what I've learned from the course, I think my strategy for negotiation is as follows:
And after the call, I'll have two options:
So my main question is which option is better, because I don't know how much stronger an actual competing offer is than an ongoing interview, and I cannot tell how likely I'll pass the other interviews yet.
Two other questions
Looks like you learned a lot from the negotiation course! I think your takeaways are quite good.
Should I explicitly say how much more I want? If so, what is the right amount to request? Match FAANG in cash? Exceed FAANG in cash because equity is too uncertain and according to the company itself, the hiring bar is higher?
In general, it's best to not give a number unless you are 100% fine capping your gains. I would continue to give non-committal answers, at least until you get competing offers (assuming you get them).
Personally, I would try to negotiate for more cash unless the company is really close to IPO (Series D and beyond). Startup equity is mostly Monopoly money.
Should I split my request into multiple small increments or just tell them "give me this amount"?
In this market, companies have less patience while negotiating, mainly because they have more leverage. If you are going to give a number, make that the final number. I have heard more offers getting rescinded from tossed numbers going back and forth.
Thank you Alex for your rapid response! More specifically on back and forth, may I ask what is the appropriate number of asking for an increase? Maybe 2, maximum 3?
Once the numbers start coming in, I think 2 is the max. For a lot of companies, it'll be one. Let's say they increase the number from $150k to $175k - It will likely just stop there.
If you give the number in particular, it's done after 1 round. Let's say it starts at $150k and you are the person who says "$175k would be great". If they give you that $175k and you go back asking for more for whatever reason, there is a very high chance the offer will be rescinded.