Hey readers,

Next week, we’re off to Athens, Rome, London, and SF to attend a few weddings.

September is going to be a full-on month of traveling…

BUT I’d love to meet-up with readers.

Reply if you’re in one of these cities!

In 10 minutes or less, you’ll learn:

• 🚀 How I grew my income >3x in 5 years

• 🤑 How my tech clients got $10k to $60k bumps

• 🎯 Counterintuitive strategies that give you an edge in salary negotiations

• 🤫 Insider tips from a hiring manager on what really works in offer discussions

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🤝 How to Negotiate a $10k+ Raise

With inflation soaring, everything feels more expensive.

Many professionals feel like their salaries just haven’t caught up.

Meanwhile, when I look back…

Growing my earning power has been my biggest lever for building wealth so far.

And it looks like I’m not the only one who believe this:

So what’s the best lever for growing income?

For many high-achievers, it boils down to getting a higher-paid job or negotiating your offer/raise.

(yes, the dreaded N-word you’ve been avoiding!)

In this newsletter, I break down 10 strategies for how high-performers can negotiate $10k+ more in compensation.

This is, by far, the highest ROI you’ll get for a single conversation as an employee.

Before we begin, here’s my experience on this topic…

My compensation negotiation journey

These strategies have been proven useful:

• I used them to >3x my income in 5 years

• My clients received $5k to $60k bumps

• I’ve seen them used in US, Singapore, and globally

How I grew my income >3x in my tech career

• 2013: After graduating from college, I turned down a Google offer, but used it to negotiate my marketing offer from a Series A edtech startup. I increased my cash by 15% from $50,000 to $57,500. My equity was trivial, so ignoring it.

• 2014: In under a year, I was promoted to Product Manager through my manager strongly advocating for me. In result, I received a ~40% or ~$24,000 bump to $82,000 cash.

• 2015: I got a 2nd raise to $91,000 cash. Then I landed my role at Dropbox, which I didn’t negotiate, resulting in a 4% cash bump. I ended up with ~$105,000 total comp (~$95,000 cash + ~$10,000 equity).

• 2018: After advocating for myself to get a promotion and 2 raises, I made ~$180,000 total comp (~$150,000 cash + ~$30,000 equity). I received two senior startup PM offers. After self-reflection, I turned them down to take a travel sabbatical and explore working abroad.

• 2020: I moved to Singapore and landed a senior offer at a Series A fintech startup (YC15), negotiating the total compensation to be competitive for the stage and industry.

My clients applied to get $5k-$60k salary bumps

• In my career coaching days from 2019-2023, I worked with clients in Singapore, SF, NYC, LA, and other major US cities to win offers from FAANG and growth-stage startups.

• After receiving an offer, we would practice mock negotiations and write a script.

• This was high ROI for clients, often adding an extra $5k/yr for a 30-minute conversation:

Do these strategies apply to today’s market?

Honestly, the tech job market is challenging. Last month, Intuit laid off 1,800 employees. Layoffs are still rolling in regularly.

With that said, I firmly believe the core principles remain the same:

(but of course, tailor based on the context…)

Principles

1. You are a high-performer, not a standard employee

2. There’s always room to negotiate

3. Your recruiter is your advocate — it’s in their best interest to get a candidate to sign

4. Be willing to walk away from a bad deal

5. Play the infinite game

Here’s what I mean for each principle:

You are a high-performer, not a standard employee

The harsh truth is that offer negotiation only works if the hiring manager or company really wants your value—aka your ability to help them solve a pressing problem.

As a hiring manager, I rarely entertained offer negotiation requests from mediocre candidates. I just didn’t have the incentive to advocate on behalf of the candidate to my manager—let alone CEO.

That is, unless if they were a rockstar.

This is doubly true in a competitive market. Hence, it’s crucial to showcase your value. Now is not the time to be meek.

There’s always room to negotiate

To be clear: this is about keeping an open mindset. This does NOT mean always negotiate. Some hiring managers are not willing, but many expect you to negotiate.

Your recruiter is your advocate — it’s in their best interest to get a candidate to sign

Famed investor Charlie Munger once said: “Show me the incentives, and I’ll show you the outcome.” 

Recruiters are typically incentivized by their OKRs to get you to the sign on the dotted line. Treat them as your ally, not opponent.

Be willing to walk away from a bad deal

Negotiation only works when you have leverage and can take risk. Get real alternatives (your current role counts), so you can feel comfortable walking away when the offer doesn’t meet your non-negotiables.

Play the infinite game

Negotiations are built on trust. Be mindful of not taking this too far and squeezing employer for “the last dollar.” A few thousand dollars raise isn’t worth a ruined relationship.

OK now let’s talk about WHAT you can negotiate:

Offer Components

Your offer will typically be composed of cash, bonus, equity and benefits. What do you value the most? 

For example: Cash > Bonus > Equity > Benefits

What can you negotiate?

• Base salary

• Bonus

• Equity

• Title

• Benefits

  • Relocation costs

  • Travel to other offices

  • Education budget (books, conferences, etc.)

  • Health insurance (in some markets)

• Faster review cycle

• Flexible schedule

• Remote working

• PTO / vacation

• Currency (for multi-country companies)

• Employment status (consultant vs employee)

• Responsibilities of the job

  • Exciting assignments

  • Exposure to senior executives

Now that we’ve covered the offer components, let’s dive into the strategies:

Strategy #1: Get the job offer before negotiating

First step is to get offered the job, whether it’s a verbal or written offer. Postpone salary negotiations until you do.

Pros and cons to starting negotiations with a verbal vs written offer. 

• With a verbal offer, it’s easier for the recruiter to update your compensation package before submitting the complete package to their committee or comp team for review. It’s technically easier for the company to “walk way” from the deal or fudge the numbers, but I haven’t heard of this happening much.

• With a written offer, it’s a more concrete commitment. However, after you negotiate, the recruiter typically needs to go back to their committee and justify the increased package — adding an extra layer of friction.

Sample script

“Thank you. I’m really excited about your offer and would like a few days to think about it."

Strategy #2: Let the other side make the first offer

Don’t be afraid to ask for their number first.

Ultimately, negotiations are a game of information-gathering as per Chris Voss, former FBI hostage negotiator and author of Never Split the Difference.

Since you typically have less information than your employer, it helps you collect more data by letting them go first:

• Many US states have pay transparency rules that require employers to disclose comp bands.

• Some countries publish salary ranges, eg Singapore’s MyCareersFuture.

• If you can’t get numbers, ask recruiters for the role’s level/track. Map this back to industry benchmarks.

Sample script

“I’d like to get your help with aligning on salary expectations. What is the compensation range that’s budgeted for this role?”

Strategy #3 Avoid discussing how much you make

When you disclose your current compensation, you’re giving up key information.

Some US states like California have also made it illegal for companies to ask candidate to disclose previous compensation. 

If pressed, you can ask for a full list of responsibilities. 

Sample script

“I’d prefer to first talk about the job requirements and see if we’re a good fit first before talking about compensation. ”

Strategy #4 Define your walk-away total comp number and other non-negotiables

This step is so important, but too few candidates do it before they negotiate. Define your minimum total comp number that you’re willing to accept if you were to take the job:

Total comp = base salary + bonus + equity

If you’re not comfortable with including equity, then use total cash compensation. This gives more flexibility for employers to adjust your offer.

(Example: as a hiring manager, I’ve had an easier time advocating for a candidate to get an equity or performance bonus increase rather than cash increase).

Deciding on a specific threshold helps you make a clear decision between taking the offer and walking away confidently.

Strategy #5: Create leverage with other offers (or your current role)

Most people already know the strategy to apply to multiple companies and inform your recruiter where are in the process of these companies. 

However, many people miss that your own role can be used as a compelling alternative for negotiation.

For example, when I was hiring, I had candidates who were happy with their current role.

So for a strong candidate, I was willing to advocate for a sweeter deal convince them to part ways with their current employer.

Strategy #6: Take a weekend to respond

I recommend to candidates to tell the recruiter that you’d like some time to check-in with your family first before making a decision.

This will help you create sufficient mental space to make a good decision for yourself.

Don’t get pressured by exploding offers. Ask for the weekend or extra week.

Harsh truth: If you have an exploding offer, but you’re still in the interview process with other top choices, then you have two options:

1. Accept the offer, potentially get and accept a different offer, then politely turn down the original offer. Given the reality of the job market (employers reneging on offers), I don’t see why candidates can’t do what employers are doing.

2. Turn down the offer. If your company is forcing you to make a rushed career decision, I question how their working culture will turn out.

Strategy #7: Make a strategic counter-offer (after doing your research)

If you’re in a mature market, use Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, or other salary databases to research typical salaries for your role (and level). Get a solid understanding of the range that’s likely budgeted for your role.

If you’re in a nascent market, you will need to talk to other hiring managers, candidates, and recruiters in your industry. Collect real data from real people.

In many cases, you can slightly overshoot the top-end of their budgeted range, so that you can settle on the higher-end of their compensation band.

Strategy #8: Write your negotiation verbal or email script (do the latter if possible)

There’s two parts to this strategy:

Choose email over verbal negotiation

Unless if you’re a seasoned negotiator, I’ve observed a higher risk for live conversations to go poorly for candidates due to nerves, oversharing, or unstructured approach.

That’s why I suggest sending your counter-offer over email. It’s easier for you to make a clear case for why you’re countering, your excitement for the role, and explain why you’ll make a valuable asset to the team.

Some employers will force a live negotiation on the phone, but whenever possible, I recommend the email approach.

Either way, write down your exact play-by-play script

Write down what you’ll say exactly in your final conversation with the recruiter/hiring manager.

Map out the conversation based on potential responses, so you can follow your planned sequence instead of flying by the seat of your pants.

Strategy #9: Focus on one offer component at a time

Create a list of 2-3 components that you’re interested in negotiating. I recommend limiting the list because otherwise that drags on the negotiation and starts risking coming off as greedy.

For example, you might care about the following things in the following order:

1. Remote work flexibility

2. Total cash compensation

Once you’ve maximized component #1 then, move down the list and negotiate the second-most important item. And so forth.

Once you’ve exhausted the list, you’re done.

Strategy #10: Watch out for going overboard

Go in with the best intention. I’ve personally learned this as a candidate AND hiring manager.

Asking for a ridiculously high number or negotiating 8 components can leave a bad taste…

… increasing your chances of getting your offer rescinded.

At the end of the day, you’re going to have a long career. Ambitious, capable people tend to bump into each other a lot throughout life.

A few thousand dollars today is just not worth breeding mistrust over a long-term relationship.

Other Resources

• Salary Negotiation: Make More Money, Be More Valued by Patrick McKenzie

• 9 Tips From a Pro Salary Negotiator by Josh Doody

In Summary

• Let the other side make first offer (most cases)

• Define your walk-away number & other non-negotiables (important!)

• Create leverage with your current role & offers

• Make a research-backed counteroffer

• Write your negotiation verbal or email script

• Focus on one offer component at a time

• Watch out for going overboard

What’d you think? Reply with your feedback or rate the post below.

🌐 Beyond your borders

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👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of Kids Per Year - What did you spend? (link)

🚀 Non-vested RSUs as negotiating leverage? (link)

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🕴️ 20 Years of Business Knowledge in 53 Minutes (link)

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