The Compensation Conversation

The comp conversation starts in the recruiter screen, usually with "what are your expectations?"

Deflect it politely, once or twice. "I'd like to understand the role and level first — can you tell me the band for this role?" Many jurisdictions now require them to publish or disclose a range, so asking is often just requesting what they must provide. If pushed a third time, give a researched range with the top anchored a little above your target and say it's flexible on the overall package. Refusing to engage after three attempts is friction for no gain.

Do the research before that call. Levels.fyi for larger companies, published ranges for EU roles, and your network for what small companies actually pay. A number with a basis behind it holds up; a number pulled from hope collapses under one question.

Never negotiate before an offer. Nothing is negotiable until they've decided they want you, and the offer is the moment your leverage is at its maximum — and it decays from there.

Negotiate the package, not just base. Base, equity (percentage fully diluted, strike, vesting, exercise window), signing bonus, start date, equipment budget, learning budget, extra leave, a defined title, a written scope. At a startup where cash is tight, the non-cash items are often where the actual flexibility is.

Give a reason. "I have another process at a similar stage" or "this is below the band for the scope we discussed" works. A number without a reason is a demand; a number with one is a problem you're both solving.

Ask once, well, then decide. One considered counter is normal and expected. Repeated rounds burn goodwill with people you're about to work with, and at a small company you're negotiating with your future colleagues, not an HR machine.

Get it in writing before resigning anything — especially equity terms and remote arrangements.

This is a thirty-minute conversation that sets a number you live with for years and that the next employer will calibrate against. It's also the point where engineers most reliably leave money on the table, largely from discomfort rather than from lack of leverage.

• Deflect the expectations question once or twice, then give a researched, flexible range.
• Ask for the band; in many jurisdictions they're obliged to disclose it.
• Never negotiate before an offer; leverage is highest the moment they say yes.
• Negotiate the whole package — equity terms, signing bonus, start date, budgets, title, written scope.
• Attach a reason to any number; unexplained demands read badly and get refused.
• Competing offers are the strongest lever but must be real; a bluff that gets called is unrecoverable.
• One well-prepared counter, then decide — repeated rounds cost goodwill with future colleagues.
• Get everything in writing before resigning, especially equity and remote terms.