Compensation and Contract Negotiations

Base salary isn't everything. 9 things that make or break your next job offer. 1. What's the Total Compensation Package? Don't just look at the base salary. Dive into bonuses, stock options, commissions (capped or uncapped), and any other financial incentives to get the full picture. 2. How Often Are Raises Given? Understand the frequency and basis for salary reviews. Is it performance-based? Is it annual? I'd always try to know this upfront to project my future earning potential. 3. What's the Policy on Bonuses? Does the company offer annual or performance-based bonuses? Find out the criteria to qualify and when those get paid out. 4. Are There Any Stock Options or Equity Incentives? For those considering roles in startups or emerging companies, stock options or equity can be a game-changer. Understand the vesting period, potential $ value, and terms. 5. What Does the Benefits Package Look Like? Beyond salary, health insurance, dental, vision, retirement contributions, and other perks can significantly impact your financial well-being. 6. Is There a Relocation or Housing Allowance? More companies are returning to the office. Find out if there's support if you need to move, which can include shipping costs, housing allowances, or even trips for house-hunting. 7. Any Educational or Professional Development Benefits? Continuous learning can boost your career. Does the company invest in your growth through courses, workshops, or tuition reimbursements? 8. How Long is the Company's Cash Runway? Important for startups, understanding the company's financial runway (how long they can operate without additional capital) can give insights into the company's stability and future. 9. Is the Company Meeting Its Revenue Targets? Are they consistently meeting or exceeding revenue goals? This can be an indicator of job security (layoffs) and the company's long-term vision. — These questions are fair game to work through your recruiter to find out. If I receive an offer, I'll also use these as follow-up questions if it's not clear in the written offer. The more you know, the better positioned you'll be to negotiate and understand the full scope of what's being offered too. Don't leave money on the table (or get caught off guard down the road) by not asking the right questions. ♻ Share to help someone’s job search And follow me for more posts like this.

Negotiating salary is hard. Leveraging data makes it so much easier. Here are 6 unique ways to research salaries for your target role: First, a quick note on how to use this date. Salary will likely come up in your first interview. Do this research before. Aim to gather as much data on the salary range for the role as possible. Then aim for the largest "reasonable" jump you can make (usually the ~70% mark of the range). 1. Find Salaries In States That Require It Most companies won't post a salary range. But several states have passed laws that requires them to. So search for your target job on LinkedIn and filter for those states. Then adjust the salary range for the cost of living in your area. Now you have more accurate salary data! 2. H1BData Info When companies sponsor an employee's visa, they're required to disclose the job title and salary. H1BData[.]info lets you search through all of that data. Since these are actual salaries from real jobs, this is some of the most accurate data you can get. 3. Levels FYI Want to work in tech? Levels[.]fyi doesn't just have salary information. They also have info on internal "levels" that MAANG and F500 companies use to determine salary. Use this info to determine if the offer you get is a good one for your level. 4. Glassdoor Glassdoor gives you salary data in different cuts. You can view general data for your city, job title, and years of experience. Or you can find user-submitted salary info for specific job titles at specific companies. 5. Blind Blind has a salary comparison tool, but don't use it. Instead, search the forums for: [Company] + [Job Title] + Salary Look through the convos of people anonymously sharing salary info. It's a great way to go beyond base to understand bonuses, equity, and more. 6. Look At The Competition Most job seekers only look at this data for their target company. Don't stop there. Find out what their competition is paying for similar roles. Then use that data to your advantage in the conversation.

You’re in sales. Your CTC is 18 LPA (15 fixed + 3 variable). Someone in another department, with the same experience and expertise, also makes 18 LPA all fixed. On paper, you think sales gives you “unlimited earning.” In reality, your employer just reduced your fixed and dangled a tiny variable. Your actual upside = zero. If your org doesn’t allow you to earn 50–100% of your fixed in incentives, you’re not in a high-earning sales role. You’re in a capped job with a lower base. If you’re in sales for money but your comp plan doesn’t support it, you’ll never make big money. Hard work? Skill? Hustle? All wasted if you’re stuck in the wrong company with the wrong comp plan. Sales aren’t automatically “unlimited earnings.” It’s only unlimited if the org has a system that actually pays for performance. Otherwise, you’re just chasing targets on a lowered base. ---- "Pressure exists in every sales job. The real game is to pick the company where that pressure actually pays you"

How to negotiate when you get a job offer 1. You've done well in the interview. Now you have the recruiter calling you and reading out some numbers for you. Here are some tips I give people. 2. Always negotiate! The system expects you to. You'll never be dinged for it as long as you do it right. Also - negotiating when you get hired is 10x easier than negotiating after you start as an employee. 3. Always negotiate in good faith. Never be deceptive. Never be rude or ghost. It's just good karma and how you negotiate is a proxy for how you handle yourself at work (goes both ways - a company that is a deceptive negotiator might be deceptive in other ways) 4. Take your time. Recruiters might say "You need to accept this in 24 hours". In my experience, if a company thinks you're a valuable hire, they'll still think that in a few days. 5. Do your homework. Know your market price. Do your research on similar titles/roles and also what other peers at the company are paid. You need a sense of what the company typically offers for these roles and what their framework is (RSUs vs cash, titles, etc). 6. Make it a package. "I want X, you're offering less X" are hard. Any offer has components - title, sign-on, base pay, RSUs. Offer them options on each. Gives each side leeway to get creative. Communicate what is important to you. Some folks want cash. Some folks want the title bump. Whatever it is, give the recruiter your framework. Give them multiple options. 7. Know your BATNA. Do you have alternate offers on hand? What does your current company pay you? Arm the recruiter with all the info so they know what your options are. 8. All through the process, reinforce how much you care about this role (and hopefully you genuinely do). It's easiest when the recruiter hears "I can't wait to kill it at this role, i just need this offer to work". Enthusiasm and passion solves many a negotiation. Your (genuine) passion also helps them sell it to other internal stake holders - comp committees, your hiring manager. People will rally for you if they feel you want to work with them. I advise people to negotiate with the recruiter and not their future manager. Sometimes these get tricky and it can taint a key relationship before it gets started. Recruiters do this 10x a day and know how the game works, managers often don't. Gently push back if the recruiter says "Titles don't matter here" or "Reporting structure doesn't work". If that were really true, they wouldn't care about making your offer work. On the other hand, in my experience, they rarely matter over long run. Finally, give yourself and the recruiter a timeline. A week is about the maximum this should go on for. Any longer and I find the process grows cold. That's it. Always negotiate, always act with high integrity, give them options and always show your passion. And you'll surprise yourself with what can happen!

Why Women Get Punished for Negotiating the Way Men Do The backlash research, and the one reframe that changes the outcome. - - - You ask your boss directly for the resources you need. Your male peer does the exact same thing in the next meeting. He's seen as decisive. You're seen as... a lot. This isn't in your head. Researchers at Harvard and Carnegie Mellon had evaluators review identical negotiation scripts - the only variable changed was the gender of the person asking. Women who initiated negotiations for more compensation were penalized at more than three times the rate men were, rated as significantly less "nice" and more demanding for behavior that, coming from a man, barely registered (Bowles, Babcock & Lai, Harvard Kennedy School). Here's the part most leadership advice skips: the penalty isn't for asking. It's for who the ask appears to be for. The same researchers found that when women advocate assertively on someone else's behalf - for their team, a direct report, a project - the backlash disappears. Same tone. Same directness. Same request. Radically different reception. So if you've felt that flicker of hesitation before asking for the resources, the credit, or the clearer mandate - while watching a male colleague do it without a second thought - that hesitation is data, not a personality flaw. The fix isn't to shrink the ask. It's to shift the frame: Not "I need more budget." "The team can't hit the Q3 number without more budget." Not "I should be getting credit for this." "The team's work on this needs to be visible at the leadership level." Not "I need a clearer mandate." "The team needs clarity on scope to move fast - and that starts with me having it." Same assertiveness. Same outcome you're after. A completely different social read. This isn't about abandoning your ambitions or authenticity. It's about knowing the terrain well enough to walk it without paying a tax your peers don't pay. - - - I write about (and coach executives on) leadership dynamics like this regularly - follow along if you want more of it in your feed.

Simple stuff recruiters can do to make things easier for applicants: 1. Include the salary range on the job posting. 2. Add some context around where someone can realistically expect to come in within that range. 3. Discuss both of these items in more detail to make sure everyone is aligned on the company's approach to compensation in the recruiter screen. 4. Make their best offer from the start instead of leaving room so the candidate can feel like the "won" the negotiation. But because so many companies don't have strong practices around these areas, things I would recommend applicants do: 1. Build some basic knowledge around how compensation works. If phrases like "compa ratio" or "compensation philosophy" or "cost of labor" are unfamiliar to you, there's probably an opportunity to build some knowledge here! 2. Research the ranges for the industry, level, company size, location, etc. so you have a strong understanding if asked what you're targeting. Glassdoor, Payscale, and Levels can be helpful resources here. 3. Practice talking about compensation so you can do so comfortably if asked your target compensation without any insight into the range. Some options: "I'm interviewing for roles that are in the $150-200k range base plus bonus and equity." "I'm targeting a total rewards package over $250k with flexibility around the mix between base and bonus." "I care a lot about internal equity so I'd like to understand your range better, but given that my experience exceeds what you're looking for, I'd expect to be above the midpoint." 4. Ask about flexibility in the offer In my opinion, the best companies aren't going to negotiate much because they should be discussing compensation along the way, and giving you the best offer from the start rather than lowballing to see if you negotiate. That said, I have no idea if you're interviewing with a good company that has fair and equitable compensation practices. So it's perfectly fine to ask about flexibility in various areas of the package. But if they say, "we feel confident that we made a strong offer that maintains internal equity and honors your experience, and it's our best and final offer", believe them.

A man was hired over a woman. Following 7 rounds of interviews. When the woman (my friend) asked why she missed out on the role, she got a vague response: → They were equally qualified → Both performed well → It was neck and neck So… what tipped the balance? Eventually, she got the answer: He asked for more money. That’s it. They said his negotiation showed “Commercial instinct.” “Confidence.” “Leadership potential.” They didn’t offer him more because he was better. They decided he was better because he asked for more. Her hesitation was seen as a lack of belief in herself. That’s why when clients ask me, “Should I negotiate?” I say: Always. Not just for the money but for what it signals. And here’s why it matters: 🔹 Only 34% of women negotiate their salary, compared to 61% of men (Source: LinkedIn Gender Insights Report) 🔹 The gender pay gap is 14.3% (and it widens dramatically for women over 40.) Ladies, it's time to close that gap: 1. Don’t pitch a number first. Pitch your value. → Frame the conversation around impact: → “Here’s what I’ve delivered…” → “Here’s the commercial value I’ve driven…” 2. Price your potential not your past. → You’re not being hired to repeat what you’ve done. → You’re being hired for what you’ll do next. 3. Do your research. Then ask for more. → Benchmark your role, level, and industry. → Use tools like Glassdoor. 4. Use the ‘Bracketing’ Technique. → Offer a range so you can negotiate. → "I’d expect something in the $150–$180K range.” 5. Own your worth. Out loud. → If you downplay your value, people will believe you. → Negotiation is not arrogance but it takes practice. It isn’t just about pay. It’s about perception. And perception shapes outcomes. Have you ever wished you asked for more money?

Actor, Cary Grant once said - "Do your job and demand your compensation, but in that order." Funny quote coming from an actor. But couldn't be truer. Doing your job means fulfilling your responsibilities and achieving your goals. But how do you "demand your compensation?" I spent 9 years as a consultant helping companies design their employee compensation programs. Over the years, I realized how most people shoot themselves in the foot when it comes to negotiating and maximizing their pay potential. This is what most people do today:   - Don’t research how they are paid compared to their peers - Don’t calculate their future financial requirements - Shop for >20% immediate hike (only to see it stagnate in the future) - Focus on fixed pay and ignore variable pay - Don’t understand the financial health of their company - Don’t invest in their learning & growth   This is how you can negotiate better and boost your long-term pay:   - Find out the competitive market rate for your role on Payscale, LinkedIn - Create a 5-year financial plan to calculate your income requirement - Seek opportunities that provide >20% annual hike in multiple years - Maximize bonus & ESOPs by understanding the performance requirements - Join companies with strong finances or future growth potential - Invest in your learning & development to drive exponential pay growth   What's helped you negotiate better to maximize your long-term earnings?

Salary isn’t the only thing you should negotiate. A higher paycheck is great, But real career freedom comes from negotiating everything that impacts your life. What’s the point of making more money if you’re: - Burnt out from long working hours - Chained to your desk with zero flexibility to work remotely - Stuck in a role with no growth opportunities? Here’s what else you should be negotiating beyond salary: ↳Flexibility: Can you work remotely? Adjust your hours? Not be in the office 5 days a week? ↳ Bonus Structure: If they can’t raise your base salary, can they increase your performance bonus? Sign-on bonus? Equity? ↳ Professional Development: Will they pay for certifications, training, or a degree that will improve your career long-term? ↳ Title & Growth Path: Does your title reflect your experience? Is there a clear plan for promotion? ↳ Benefits: More vacation days? Better health coverage? A wellness stipend? A lady in my coaching program recently secured a new role and negotiated a £25k salary increase, only 1 day in the office per week and funding for her Masters degree. She didn’t just ask for money. She asked for everything that mattered to her life. Your job should work for you, not just pay you.

You can't negotiate what you don't understand. Whether you're hiring or getting hired, these 12 compensation terms matter: 1. Total Compensation Everything an employee receives...salary, bonuses, equity, benefits, perks. This is what actually matters when comparing offers, not just the base number. 2. Base Salary Fixed pay for regular work hours. Excludes overtime, bonuses, and variable pay. The foundation everything else builds on. 3. Variable Pay Compensation that changes based on performance, sales targets, or company results. Commissions, bonuses, profit-sharing all fall here. 4. Benefits Package Non-wage compensation...health insurance, retirement plans, PTO. Often worth 20-30% of base salary but rarely calculated properly. 5. Salary Range The minimum and maximum pay for a specific role. Essential for internal equity and external competitiveness. 6. Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) Wage increases to offset inflation and maintain purchasing power. Different from merit-based raises. 7. Deferred Compensation Pay earned now but received later. Retirement contributions, stock vesting schedules, sabbatical programs. 8. Equity Compensation Ownership stake through stock or stock options. Can be worth nothing or everything depending on company performance. 9. Performance-Based Pay Direct tie between individual or company results and compensation. Bonuses, profit-sharing, commission structures. 10. Paid Time Off (PTO) Bank of hours for vacation, personal days, sick leave. Can be accrued, front-loaded, or unlimited. 11. Fringe Benefits Perks beyond standard benefits...company cars, gym memberships, childcare assistance. Nice-to-haves that can influence decisions. 12. Compensation Benchmarking Comparing your pay rates to market standards. Critical for staying competitive and maintaining internal fairness. TAKEAWAY: Compensation is more complex than most people realize. Understanding these terms helps you design better packages, negotiate more effectively, and avoid costly mistakes. Whether you're hiring, being hired, or managing a team...this vocabulary matters.