The last post on how I got through full-time recruiting for software engineer. The focus of this post is on what happens after the interviews have completed. Don’t underestimate the time needed for what happens after the interviews! Personally, I want to be very thorough and so I took a lot of time in this last stage (which probably frustrated a lot of the recruiters that were working with me).

Rejection notice

Rejections usually come in emails but can rarely be over the phone. I found it helpful to always reply back thanking the recruiter for their time and asking them to keep in touch for future opportunities. For my personal growth as an interviewee and engineer, I also always replied asking for feedback. Most startups have a core value that equates to personal growth and so I framed asking for feedback as a way to engage with their company value and improve in the process. Sometimes recruiters provided useful tips based on your interviewer’s notes on how to tweak explanations or that they were looking for someone with a different of kind experience (these responses really helped me not take it personally). Sometimes recruiters don’t have notes in which case I asked for followup emails to my interviewers. And sometimes they just say all interview info is confidential (which I think sounds like BS especially if the company says they value individual growth) and then I just walk away, at least having asked.

Offer notice

The recruiter will set up a call with you and tell you the good news if you receive an offer from the company. There is no pressure to accept during that call so I usually said it was great to hear and that I really appreciated all of their help throughout the process. During the call, they will cover when the physical offer letter will be sent, the base salary with any relocation, and any stock benefits. I usually also asked them to send over health insurance info and asked them to set up calls with recent new-grad engineers at the company or with team members/managers. With the offer, the balance of power shifts and the candidate is now in the position of power! The company has clearly shown that they see you as a part of their future. Now after getting the letter, onto deciphering and comparing the compensation package.

Base salary

The base is definitely variable by location of company, years of experience, and specialty of your position. Some companies have a chart that maps their offer directly to your years of experiences and your position, which I’ve found to seem fair and transparent. Most companies will not have or share how they figured out what to offer you. That said, always try to negotiate if you feel like you deserve more. Tech in Silicon Valley is extremely competitive and companies should know their offer will be up for negotiation. Negotiation is easiest when there are offers from other companies, and people may prefer to negotiate over the phone, over email, or in person. Here is a quick gist of what I said or wrote:

Thank you again for giving me the offer and thank you for your help through the whole interviewing process. I am very excited about the opportunity! I have really enjoyed the team and in particular enjoyed talking to XXX about XXX.
I do have some questions about the offer. [Insert questions about health benefits, stock, vacation time, etc.]
Also, I have been doing some research on the current job market and the value of my skills. While I understand that this position is rather unique, I researched into similar positions at other institutions, asked my advisors, and used tools for industry comp calculation. Based on my research, education and experience, I’d like to ask for XXXX in base salary. [Also include specialized requests such as bigger relocation if you are moving further away, more stock because you want to be invested in the company] Please let me know if we can working something out together. Thank you!
OR
I really enjoyed getting to know the team and I could really see myself growing with XXX. Currently, XXX company is offering me XXXX. While I would prefer not to have to make my decision on salary differences, I know the standard of living in XXX is very high and I was wondering if you would be able to match the base salary to compensate via bonus or stock. Please let me know if we can working something out together. Thank you!

Stocks

So this gets a little more complicated than base salary. Your offer will come with either RSUs (Restricted Stock Units) or stock options. Companies that have gone public or will go public soon can offer RSUs while companies that have not will offer stock options. RSUs are units of stock so when you receive them, you get a small (usually very very small) percent in ownership of the company. But once you receive them, they are yours to sell and, therefore, can translate directly to money if sold. On the other hand, a stock option is the option to buy stock so once you receive a stock option, you will have to spend your own money and buy however units of stock you would like, up until the maximum that you are allowed according to the offer you signed. And once you buy the stocks (called exercising your option), you can then sell them back to the company for profit if you would like.

But you don’t receive either kinds of stock (RSUs or stock options) right as you sign (not like the signing bonus). In fact, both of these kinds of stock need to be “vested” which means, like your salary, you receive it over a period of time that you stay with the company. Some companies will also write in a cliff which means you will not receive any stock until that time period. For example, a one year cliff means you will not receive any stock until your first year anniversary of working at the company. At that time, based on the vesting schedule that you signed, you will receive some fraction of your stock or stock options. But for stock options, there is usually a time limit to exercise so that if you do not exercise your options once they are vested after some amount of time, you will lose the option to buy them.

So, when asking recruiters for information in comparing stocks, I asked them about the current value of one unit (after the lastest round of funding) and what the rate of change since last month, last year, or the last two years, depending on the company’s history. For companies that are fast growing and are just offering stock options, the timelines we can examine are smaller but useful nevertheless.

Sample offers

Below, you will find a short overview of some of the offers that I received and a description of the company. There are no company names and some companies (including Coursera which I ended up signing with) have been omitted.

Getting advice and deciding

I would like to know everything I can before making a big decision such as this so I asked everyone. I talked to my professors, my mentors at previous internships, alumni who just went through the process, recent grads at each of the companies, and managers at the companies. This was helpful for me, but it was also very stressful to try and synthesize so much information and advice. I recommend a hard deadline for yourself to make the decision so you don’t keep getting advice. During the final decision part, I also found it helpful to “try out” for a day answering the question of “where did you sign?” with each of the companies that I was deciding between and perceiving my reactions and feelings to that my day at the company would be like.

Sample answers

Rejecting the offer

I really appreciated all your help in getting me in touch with XXX and helping me through the interview process!
Thank you for your time and I really enjoyed meeting everyone throughout the interview process.
This was a very difficult decision for me, but after reflecting a lot on what I’d like my next two years to be like, I’ve decided I will not be joining XXX. After much consideration, I have decided not to accept the offer from XXX. I look forward to keeping in touch for future opportunities.
I would definitely love to stay in touch because I can see myself wanting to something else after two years. I really enjoyed getting to know you and I wish you and XXX the best of luck!

Accepting the offer

I am so excited to accept this offer! I enjoyed meeting the team and I can really see myself adding to the mission of XXX. I cannot wait to learn from the people have I have spoken to.
Thank you so much for all your help throughout the process. I could not have found this great team and big opportunity without you.

What I wish I had done

Had fewer interviews and stopped trying to optimize! I feel so privileged to have had the chance the interview with so many different companies.

That’s it! Thanks for reading and good luck on recruiting!