Career Negotiations Podcast

Meta Salary Negotiation - How to Navigate a Meta Offer Negotiation

• Brandon Bramley

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Are you about to negotiate a Meta job offer? Here's how to increase your Meta compensation. In this episode, I break down compensation at Meta, covering everything from base salary and RSUs to sign-on bonuses and performance bonuses.

I then walk you through my proven step-by-step Meta salary negotiation strategies, including how to build leverage, conduct compensation research, create a strong counteroffer, and handle Meta recruiter pushback.

Plus, I highlight some common mistakes to avoid during a Meta offer negotiation, so you don't jeopardize the opportunity or leave money on the table.

That way you have salary negotiation tips that are based on hundreds of salary negotiations and actually work.

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WHO AM I

I'm Brandon, the Founder and Lead Negotiator at TheSalaryNegotiator.com. As a former corporate negotiator, I now help employees increase their compensation. Through hundreds of salary negotiations, I've helped career professionals secure over $175 million in additional compensation. My expertise is backed by more than 150 five-star reviews from career professionals on Google and Trustpilot.

Brandon Bramley:

Hey everyone, if you're new to my channel, I'm Brandon Bramley, the founder and lead negotiator at thesalarynegotiator. com.

Brandon Bramley:

I provide professional job offer, negotiation coaching, salary negotiation courses and tools to help professionals like you navigate the negotiation process and secure competitive comp. So I'm not just a career coach or recruiter giving out generic salary negotiation advice. There's already enough bad advice floating around online. So instead I've personally led hundreds of salary negotiations across various roles, helping my clients secure hundreds of millions more in comp. My background is actually in strategic negotiations and my goal here is to debunk some of that bad advice out there to give you proven negotiation strategies that are actually going to help you earn more. In this episode, my goal is to cover the ins and outs of comp at Meta and walk you through my recommended step-by-step process for negotiating an offer from their team. While this is going to give you an overview of the strategies that I've found to work with Meta, I do still recommend that you visit thesalarynegotiator. com to either work with me directly as your salary negotiation coach or check out my salary negotiation courses and tools to help you out in that process. You'll find links to these resources in the episode notes, so please be sure to check those out before negotiating on your own. Now remember, negotiation is part of the interview process at Meta, as well as any other company. The goal isn't to just secure competitive pay, but it's also to show you how you can have these tough conversations in a professional way. That way, you don't risk jeopardizing the opportunity or damaging your relationship with the hiring team. So let's jump into it really quick so you can actually navigate this process and not jeopardize the opportunity.

Brandon Bramley:

Now, before we dive into negotiating a meta job offer, let's go ahead and talk through the compensation components, because it's really important to understand the differences between base salary and your total compensation. Too many people I work with focus on only the base salary for a role, but that's just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to your pay at Meta. When we're considering a move to a tech company like Meta, you're going to want to look at the whole picture, which is your total monetary take-home pay, also known as total compensation. This is going to include your base salary, annual bonus and the value of your investing equity each year, and then, hopefully, a sign-on bonus in the first year. Now at meta, they're going to be four core compensation components that you're going to see in your job offer, right? The first one is going to be your base salary. Okay, this is consistent. It's guaranteed pay you're going to see in every paycheck and it's really only going to change when you see a promotion or a merit increase, since it's a set rate. Most of you should be very familiar with this, since almost all jobs offer this, but at Meta, the second item you're going to have is also an annual performance bonus, which is actually going to be a percentage of your base salary, and at Meta, it usually ranges from about 10 to 30 percent depending on your role and level. It's going to be based off your personal performance each year and it's going to be paid out annually, so it can fluctuate. It's not a set rate, okay. While your bonus is tied to your base salary, it's generally not negotiable, so you're not going to get Meta to change your bonus percentage for your specific role, but instead, if you think about it, if you're able to go ahead and negotiate up your base salary, your bonus is going to increase along with that throughout the negotiation. All right.

Brandon Bramley:

And the next item that's big and probably new for most people is going to be you're going to receive equity at Meta. All right, your initial equity package comes in the form of RSUs, or what are called restricted stock units, which are going to represent actual ownership in Meta. These RSUs are going to be subject to a vesting schedule which, at Meta, is four years. That means that 25% of your equity is going to grant and vest in your first year, which is going to become yours. Then the next 25% is going to be over the second year, and so on until you receive all of the amount of that equity over those four years. A big thing to note is that the full value of your equity you're not getting up front, right? You're actually waiting for that to best. So you're going to actually share in the value fluctuations over that period. So if meta goes up in the stock price, so does your value of your equity. But the flip side is also true, right? So if their stock goes down, the equity is actually going to decrease as well and your total compensation is going to go down. So there are risks with having equity as part of your compensation. And the biggest thing to note as well is if you do end up leaving meta for some reason before your RSU's vest, you're going to go ahead and forfeit that unvested portion, all right.

Brandon Bramley:

And the last compensation component that hopefully you all get in your job offer is going to be a signup bonus. This is going to be a one-time cash payment that's usually paid about 30 days after you start at Meta and it's designed to either offset lost incentives or invested equity from your current company or to go ahead and just give you an incentive to join. And we've found that signup bonuses are not always included in the initial job offer at Meta, but they mostly require negotiation and we've had a great success getting them for our clients. So even if you aren't walking away for money or anything like that, usually you can strategically negotiate some of these if you're following our steps and strategies. Okay, one of the last items I'd be aware of we don't necessarily include this in our total compensation calculator is at meta they actually have annual equity refreshes, which are going to be additional rsu grants each year that are going to be added on to your initial grants. They're actually going to be separate from those with their own vesting schedule. The reason we don't include these in our total compensation calculator is because usually they're not always guaranteed and they can fluctuate significantly. You're also going to find that the recruiter that you're working with is going to be very shy on these details and not give you a set amount. So usually we withhold those, but it's a great perk to know that they're there. That way you're getting more equity while you're at meta.

Brandon Bramley:

But to sum it up, these four main comp components the base salary, bonus, equity and your sign-on bonus are going to be your core total compensation at meta. To help you visualize this, I actually have a total compensation calculator on my site. It lets you input your MetaBase salary, your bonus percentage, your equity grant with the vesting schedule, as well as your signup bonus. Then it's actually going to show you the estimated compensation over four years, both in total and on an annual basis. If you want, you can go ahead and check out our total compensation calculator at https://www. thesalarynegotiator. com/total-compensation-calculator Super simple, but I'm going to go ahead and link to that in the episode notes. So you have that free tool. But outside of that, the biggest takeaway that I want you to take away from this is that understanding your total compensation before negotiating at Meta is very important. That way you not only know how to value that offer, but you know all the comp components so you can negotiate everything Not only the base salary up, but also your total monetary take-home pay.

Brandon Bramley:

All right, now that we've covered how Meta's compensation structure actually works, let's go ahead and discuss the negotiation steps. These are gonna be strategies that I've used to successfully negotiate Meta Meta job offers, and I'm going to recommend that you follow them in your negotiation once you actually have an offer in hand. So it's important to note that meta typically provides their offers verbally first and will only give you a written offer after you actually accept. So make sure you actually write down all the offer details when they give it to you verbally and start negotiating based off that. Note that this is not when they share salary expectations or give you ranges. All right, this is when they actually give you the verbal offer for the role. When they do that, you should also be able to ask them to send over the benefits package for your review, because they should at least give you a written version of those, so you know what benefits actually come along with the package.

Brandon Bramley:

Now, once you have an offer in hand from Meta, the first step to negotiating is going to be to review it and make sure you fully understand the comp components and benefits that come with it. That should be pretty straightforward, since I spent a lot of time actually talking through on this video. That should be pretty straightforward, since I spent a lot of time actually talking through on this video to explain exactly how their compensation works and what you're actually going to have in the offer package. So let's go ahead and jump into the second step, which is what I'm going to call doing your due diligence and asking strategic questions. This is a step a lot of people miss and they think they're just going to throw out a counteroffer and get more pay, and that doesn't work. They're just going to throw out a counter offer and get more pay, and that doesn't work.

Brandon Bramley:

All right, instead, this is where you're going to go ahead and review the offer and come back with a list of questions for the recruiting team. This not only helps you clarify any questions you might have had about the comp, benefits or the role, but it's also going to allow you to strategically sneak in questions that are designed to actually build leverage before you send a counter. Okay, so you're going to call it kind of items that aren't as competitive as either your current company or maybe what competitors offer, and if you actually need ideas of how to draft these or what questions to ask. I have a whole list of questions (https://www. thesalarynegotiator. com/store/questions-to-ask-during-job-offer-negotiations) on my templates page (https://www. thesalarynegotiator. com/salary-negotiation-templates) and in my course (https://www. thesalarynegotiator. com/job-offer-negotiation-course), so feel free to check those out. But I really mean it, don't skip this step, even if you think you know the answers to a lot of these questions and you understand the offer. It's very important in building leverage by showing your due diligence and the offer that way. It shows you're researching it, you're very interested and you're not coming out of left field just saying, hey, I want more pay, right, that's silly, it's not going to work. You might get a quick carrot, but you're not actually going to negotiate up to the top end of the pay band by doing that, okay, so instead, do this Hopefully get some freebies and some items that could be used as trade-offs later in the negotiation and then go through the rest before you send a counteroffer. Okay.

Brandon Bramley:

So let's move on to the third step. This is where you're going to do the compensation research. Okay, you're going to not only find the base salary range, but you're also going to do the compensation research. Okay, you're going to not only find the base salary range, but you're also going to research the total compensation range for your specific role, location and level at meta. You can use various online resources to find this data, whether it's pay scale, glassdoor, any of those out there right, but you're going to want to make sure that you use multiple sources and average those results, because what we're trying to do is we're trying to understand the comp ranges so we can see where your initial offer sits and how much more room there is for improvement. That way, you can take a data-based approach, because Meta typically tries to hire employees from the lower to the mid end of the pay band, and I'm always gonna suggest that you push to the top end of those pay bands okay, but you do need to remember that you push to the top end of those pay bands okay, but you do need to remember that the data you're going to be using is might not always be accurate. Right, it's going to be publicly reported, so, given that it's meta, their stock continues to go up. Usually you're going to get reports from employees that are currently working there that might have a higher total compensation because their equity is appreciated right, right, or people are error prone and maybe they didn't actually understand the compensation and they missed including the bonus or the equity items, like that. So make sure that when you're doing your comp research, that you're averaging across multiple resources to get accurate numbers on what you think the comp band is.

Brandon Bramley:

Once you have the comp research done and the answers to your questions from the recruiter, we're now ready to send a counteroffer. This is where I want you to take a database approach and craft a counteroffer to send to the recruiting team. We're going to go ahead and present the top end of the range and what you're targeting based off your research and call out any items that aren't competitive based off your due diligence questions, any items that aren't competitive based on your due diligence questions. I highly suggest doing this by email because it gives the recruiter everything they need to advocate for you and can simply send your points to the CompDVM Meta instead of hoping that they're actually going to sit there and write down your items and concerns on the call. That's just not going to happen. Instead, what typically happens when people try to give counters verbally is the recruiter is going to come back, they're going to cut you off and they're going to steer you in a different direction on that call and that's a big deal that happens at Meta because their recruiters are trained to negotiate. Okay, so they're ready for you to give a counter and they're ready to shut that down because they've been trained in negotiation and they're also talking with new hires every single day, compared to you negotiating a new job offer every couple years. All right, so make sure you keep an email and use my scripts, as well as my templates on counter offers on my site (https://www. thesalarynegotiator. com/store/counteroffer-examples), in case you need to know exactly how to present this and what to say, in case you need to know exactly how to present this and what to say.

Brandon Bramley:

Now, the final step after sending a counter offer and I kind of alluded to this is be prepared to handle any recruiter pushback. It's almost guaranteed that when negotiating a meta job offer, you're gonna get pushback from the recruiter. Okay, this is a completely normal process. They're gonna tell you no, they're gonna try to deter you from negotiating and get you to think that you have the best offer. So you need to be prepared for that pushback and know exactly what to say to overcome those objections. That way, they take your concerns back to the comp team. Essentially, you want to say that you understand their concerns but nicely reiterate yours and ask them to take back your concerns to the comp team one last time for another look. It's probably going to take overcoming those objections a few different times to get them to take it back, but once you do get them to agree to do that nine times out of 10, they're going to come back with a better package. Okay, so that's key.

Brandon Bramley:

So if you want to know exactly what to say and how to handle an objection that's not aggressive, feel free to head to the salarynegotiatorcom and go ahead and grab my objection handlers, right? You can either get them in our course or you can get them on our templates page. But from here, if you overcome those, you're hopefully going to get a better offer from Meta and if it does meet your needs, then you can go ahead and accept, move forward and make a lot more money in your career. But if you do decide that it's still a little low they haven't met your match you can evaluate sending another offer. Just note that negotiating salary is not like how you negotiate at a car dealership, right? There's really not that much back and forth. So it's usually okay to send two counters if you need to. But if you go beyond that and continue to ask, continue to push, you do risk jeopardizing relationship. So make sure you take a sanity check and make sure you're not being too aggressive.

Brandon Bramley:

So, out of that, that's the five steps that we use and I use to negotiate most roles at meta. So I know is pretty quick, but that's essentially the negotiation process, right and it's a solid strategy. But that's essentially the negotiation process right and it's a solid strategy that I recommend you follow and it works more than 90% of the time. But, as I mentioned, if you want to work with me directly and get all of my strategies and my feedback and help you through the process, I'm happy to provide coaching. Just visit me at the salarynegotiatorcom slash coaching or feel free to take my job offer negotiation course. Right, it's going to go into a lot more detail about those steps and you're going to go ahead and have everything you need to negotiate and all of our tools, our scripts and our templates.

Brandon Bramley:

Okay, so now the last thing I want to cover is a few negotiation mistakes specific to meta that I want to call out before you decide to negotiate with them. Right, the main item I won't recommend against is always never share your salary expectations or the current pay with the recruiting team. This is going to work against you. Okay, let's go ahead and think about that. If you throw in a number that's lower than what they're going to offer, you're likely going to get less competitive compensation package at the low end of the pay range. Or, given that it's meta and it's a tech company, you run the risk of being down level, which is very common at meta. Okay, and I see it all the time.

Brandon Bramley:

So do not share your current comp, do not share salary expectations, because on the flip side of that, maybe you think, hey, it's better, I'll throw in a high number and that's going to get me a better package. Instead, if you think, hey, it's better, I'll throw in a high number and that's gonna get me a better package. Instead, if you think about it, usually this conversation first starts when you start to interview with them and if they find out, hey, look, we can't afford this candidate, they're asking for way too much, we never pay from that. They're not gonna help you get through the interview process and get the offer, just to find out that you're not going to accept. So it's also not a strategy. And when you think about it, they're going to know exactly what they can pay for the role, so you always want to turn that question back on them and ask more about what their base salary range is and what their total compensation range is for the role. Okay, so that's my biggest tip.

Brandon Bramley:

My second tip, or mistake to avoid, is I want to make sure that you're actually realistic on what you should ask for. Way too often I see people that are asking for way too much and it just doesn't make sense for the role. They either get laughed at by the recruiter or it's going to come off as aggressive and in rare cases which has never happened with anyone I've worked with is I've heard of offers getting rescinded because they're too aggressive and all it communicates is that you haven't done your research and that you want to way too much and that you're so far off that they don't even want to work with you. So make sure you stick to a data-based approach. You're actually asking for realistic compensation that is based off data and your research. Okay, I don't want you to jeopardize by being too aggressive or asking for unrealistic numbers that just don't make sense.

Brandon Bramley:

And finally, do not worry about negotiating with meta. Okay. A lot of people think salary negotiation is aggressive and they get nervous. But as long as you're taking solid strategies and you're keeping the negotiation professional, there's no reason that you should risk the offer or have it rescinded If you do it right. Instead, you should hopefully get a better package before starting, and it's going to highlight to the team that you know how to have tough conversations in a kind and professional way. And if you don't have the confidence for this, there are resources out there to help you. I'm happy to work with you if I can as well, as we have all the support through our templates and our courses at my web page. That way, you can make sure you're not jeopardizing the opportunity and hopefully getting better pay so you can actually have these conversations. All right, everyone.

Brandon Bramley:

I think that's going to go ahead and wrap up this episode on Meta salary negotiation. I hope my breakdown of their comp structure and what you're going to see in the job offer, as well as my negotiation strategies to negotiate with meta, are going to help you feel more confident in the approach. But if you're serious about getting the best possible offer with meta or with any company, I do highly suggest that you don't go into the salary negotiation alone. Head over to The Salary Negotiator (https://www. thesalarynegotiator. com) to either work with me directly on your negotiation or check out my salary negotiation courses (https://www. thesalarynegotiator. com/courses) and tools. They're there to help you out and make sure that you are successful with your negotiation, and I'm going to go ahead and link to all of them in our episode notes so you can easily find them. I also want to say, if you found this episode helpful, make sure to subscribe below, leave a review or share with someone that can actually use this advice in their career, especially if they're making a career transition. So thanks for tuning in and happy negotiating.

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