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Sep 27, 2021Liked by Lenny Rachitsky

On a related note: be careful how you answer "why are you leaving your present position? Is something wrong there?" If you respond with "they'll never pay me what I'm worth" they will stop considering you as an employee. This was one of the first things I was asked once. My response was "nothing is wrong there, I thank then for giving me a strong start in the industry, but feel ready to move on" I wasn't offered a job.

Ray

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Sep 28, 2021Liked by Lenny Rachitsky

I love my current job and have been with them for 8 years now. This is the longest I have spent at one job. My experience was definitely that I did not know my value. I had worked my way up for a few years in IT after I graduated from starting at 40K to 85K. My cousin was making easily above 150K for the "same" kind of work. So when my current job ask me for my salary requirement I just threw 105K out there and they came right back and said "ok, when can you start".... "DOH!", I think I undervalued myself again, haha, but this company has since given me generous raises every year.

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One of the most offensive posts I've read in a long time. Oh, nothing personal -- just that 99% of us don't try to up their offer by a few $100k, plus some stock options and a signing bonus. This speaks to a world where people get enormous sums of money for tremendously overvalued work, while the people who generate the actual profits are laboring down in the cellar somewhere. It makes me furious, actually.

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Sep 27, 2021Liked by Lenny Rachitsky

Thanks for sharing these insights! Just wished I'd had this a month ago, before I accepted an offer.

Do you have an advice on how to negotiate raises or increases in equity once you've started working at a role? Perhaps a follow up article??

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Dec 23, 2023Liked by Lenny Rachitsky

Lenny, fantastic job demystifying the salary negotiation process with Niya Dragova's expert insights! Your post offers practical, clear strategies for anyone seeking to navigate compensation discussions confidently. Really valuable guidance for tackling this challenging aspect of career advancement.

Keep up the great work!

Robert

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Great post! These myths are spot on, Niya! The only one that is interesting is that it would be bad to negotiate with an email. I agree that it would be a bad strategy to try to use a "plug and play" email template found online and avoid having any calls during this process but sending a counter offer via email is usually a great strategy for most individuals. Not all job seekers will be great at having these conversations over the phone, and even if they do prepare in advance a recruiter could steer them off-topic before they deliver the counter confidently. It also allows the recruiter to provide objections for why they can’t offer that and unless the individual is prepared for those in advance it could be difficult to overcome. Sending a well-thought-out counter offer email in advance of any conversations with the recruiter related to the salary negotiation is a good strategy for some individuals in my opinion.

https://www.thesalarynegotiator.com/

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I am so fed up with these type of articles assuming everyone is some sort of high power executive working for a mega company. With their corporate lingo. What about salary negotiating advice for the redt of us who don't make a million a year & maybe work in some basic job? Say healthcare. Or an adminstrative asst. Or someone who is much older trying to get back into the work force. You never see articles or job advice for these folks. Just job advice for the elite. This also applies for money/ investing articles. Only for ppl who don't need it who are rich.

So ignorant.

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I’ve recruited and led Talent Acquisition teams in high profile, well established, name brand tech companies and this advice is poor. If you enact these strategies you will be seen as difficult and will be labeled as out of range leaving you at risk for termination down the road when inevitable downsizing happens, because it will happen. Some managers have rescinded offers to candidates who over negotiate during the salary portion of the hiring process. You are joining a team, you have to be able to fit in and not burn bridges. You should of course be open about your expectations and know your worth, but I would caution you from following this advice. It will likely not turn out well for you.

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"Did you know that women make only 47 cents in equity for every dollar a man makes? "

Lenny! My man... your advice just went into the toilet. That stat was rigorously debunked years ago. If you're really that far behind the times I'm really wonder what your advice is worth. I'm just saying.......

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I guess I just don't understand compensation anymore. There are enough people out there saying they want “500K” or "I’m talking $100K+ more" that this article matters? How many people in a 1k+ employee company are making over $200k? What do they contribute? I just don't understand why we pay executives & managers so much more than the people actually moving the needle. I bust my hump for <$100k while my manager pulls $120k+ and his manager makes $200k and yet these people could disappear from the company and no one would notice.

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It really isn't all that complicated to negotiate a salary either with an existing or new employer. This article seems to make it a lot more complicated than it needs to be. You just tell the employer what you expect to be paid. You might qualify why you feel that the salary is appropriate based on the details of your experience, education, work history, and value. Besides that, it is either "yes" or "no" or maybe an offer in the middle.

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All I see are "managers". How many "excellent" managers have you had in your career? Me: 2 in 40 years. Mainframe programmer career.

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Had to look up FAANG... how depressing!

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As a seasoned Talent Acquisition leader for a global tech company, I can tell you this advice is confusing for your audience and much of it is just wrong.

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Would you be willing to do a modest rewrite for those who are just starting out? Some of this advice is great for mid-career or later but I'm curious as to what's applicable in your first couple jobs if you're not an Ivy grad.

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Great article. Another theme that comes up in coaching discussions is asking "what X am I willing to trade off in order to get priority Y".

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