Negotiation FAQ

Negotiation coaching is a collaborative effort and partnership between you and your coach that is designed to help you optimize your offer as much as possible. Our Coaches are current or former Recruiters who have experience from the other side to help you see things from a different perspective and better understand the "why" behind your offer.

Salary talks can be uncomfortable, but they don't have to be! Our service will be a great opportunity to speak with an expert 1:1 and strategize the best negotiation process for your situation to make the conversation much more comfortable. We know there are a lot of resources out there (we have some too on our blog!), but we make it easy by tailoring our negotiation strategy to your specific background and personal situation. The general, free, information is a great foundation, but everyone's situation is different and a strategy that works for someone else may not work for you. We offer the opportunity to have an expert at your back, guiding you through all the hoops of negotiating an offer.


💬Expectations

What this service is
  • A partnership between you and your coach.
  • Individualized feedback for your negotiation.
  • An opportunity for you to learn some of the details of the recruiting and offer process.
What this service isn't
  • A magic wand. As much as we'd like to, we can't wave a magic wand to make your offer higher.
    • What we CAN do is equip you with the tools and guidance to ask for more of what you want and less of what you don't.
  • Therapy. Unfortunately, not all companies have a comp philosophy that makes sense and we share your frustration.
    • We try our best to dispel myths and provide insight into a company's process, but, at the end of the day, we can't change them.
  • We're not an interview preparation service or a role-playing service.
    • We're here to help you tactically negotiate the best offer.

📶Levels & Plans

Mid-Level vs. Senior vs. Leadership

👤 Mid-Level :

  • Individual Contributor who has 1+ years of Industry Experience (no internships)

👥 Senior :

  • Senior IC / People Manager: Third Level IC or higher (You may be a Senior, Staff, Principal or higher). People Manager roles up to Senior and Group Manager

👥👥 Leadership :

  • Leadership: Director, Senior Director, VP, Senior VP up to Executives and C-Suite
Included in the Plan

30 minute 1-on-1 Calls with your Coach

Email Support

Guidance throughout the process


🙋FAQ

What to Expect

The 30-minute intro call will be the first conversation you have with your coach. You'll learn a bit about them and their experience, but more importantly, you can expect to provide additional context on your situation. Your coach will then work with you on the call to answer any questions you might have about the negotiation/offer process, as well as collaborate with you on appropriate negotiation strategies and next steps. You may leave this call with a roadmap on how to tackle the next conversations with your recruiter.

You will have continued email support from your coach throughout the negotiation process. If you have any questions about a counter-offer, anything your company has said, how to approach a new offer, etc. as you go through negotiations, feel free to email your coach for guidance! They will be able to help you navigate any clarifying questions, buy more time, etc.

If you email them, you should receive a response from your coach within 5 business hours, Monday-Friday (8am-6pm Pacific Time). We understand that this process can be incredibly time sensitive, so we do our best to respond as soon as possible. If you need urgent support for a deadline that you don't think you'll be able to push, please email us at negotiation@levels.fyi.

Although our roadmaps from the first call are generally successful, you may run into a situation that requires you to pivot on a few details. These instances are where you can work with your recruiter to schedule a time to chat, update each other, and restrategize. Again, everyone's situation is different and negotiations will often differ from person to person. You and your coach should use your best judgment when scheduling these calls for you to get the most out of the service.

Note that our coaches are not on-call, so scheduling a time directly with them will be the best way to approach these calls. Like emails, if you have an urgent request that your coach may not be able to help on right away, please email us at: negotiation@levels.fyi and our other coaches can help support.

General Questions

Yes! We guarantee a total compensation increase of at least $2,500 if you’re considering a Mid-Level offer, $5,000 if you’re considering a Senior IC / Manager offer, and $20,000 if you're considering a Leadership level offer. View more information about our guarantee on our Terms of Service.

Please note that we do not guarantee an increase if you’re considering a new-grad / student programs offer or if you’re considering a contract-to-full-time / intern-to-full-time conversion offer.

We support negotiations for most countries, please see below for our complete list. All of our recruiters are based in the US, but have experience working internationally across various countries.

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Japan, Luxembourg, Morocco, Mexico, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam.

If you think you will need the additional support, please email us at negotiation@levels.fyi preferably 24-48 hours before you want to have your follow-up call. Avoid booking the day of. Our coaches are usually fully booked and may not be able to accommodate same-day meeting requests. We are most successful the earlier we can help out.

We don't support contract or contract-to-full time negotiations at this time. We have some free resources that may help.

Yes, we have experience negotiating across most roles.

You'll get links to book follow-up calls after purchasing. All of our packages give you up to 2 optional follow-up calls and email support. Our Leadership package offers up to 4. Follow-up calls are not required, some people prefer to chat exclusively over email for all follow-ups. You can book a follow-up call or email your coach when there's been an update in your hiring process.

Example: you receive a new offer or the recruiter has an update -> Book a call or email your coach. You'll be paired with the same Negotiator that you previously spoke with.

We don't support New Grad or Intern negotiations at this time. We have some free resources that may help.

Negotiation starts as early as your first call with the Recruiter. The ideal time to book is when your final round of interviews is scheduled or when you anticipate receiving an offer after your interviews, this would be the best time to sign up. You can book sooner if you prefer, as our most successful negotiations have been when we can support as early in the offer process as possible.

During your first call, our Coaches will gather more context to better understand your situation and collaborate with you on a negotiation strategy. Every situation is unique, you will get personalized coaching on how best to approach your situation to maximize your offer.

You will be able to work directly with your recruiter for follow-up calls, as well as email support, to help guide you through the entire process, end-to-end.

We don't support promotions/internal transfers negotiation at this time.

Our team of coaches all have 5+ years of extensive recruiting experience, ranging from Start-Ups to Fortune 100 Companies (Including FAANG), including Technical and Non-Tech roles.

Unique Situations

If you've finished your interviews and think they went well enough that you'll receive an offer, we highly suggest booking with us to get input from our coaches as early in the process as possible. We have been most successful when we've helped candidates before their recruiter has even given a verbal offer.

Our coaches get booked up fast, so we highly suggest booking as soon in the process as you can. If you run into a situation where your deadline is sooner than our availability, we suggest trying to buy more time. It's important to keep in mind that you're in control of the process. Companies often must filter through hundreds of candidates before they begin conversations with someone. As such, requesting a few days to think about things or because you're busy is often completely reasonable.

First, try to reschedule your call with the company. Let your Recruiter know that you’re tied up and would like to reschedule the call to a later time. A great way to buy yourself some time is to email / say something along the lines of "Is it possible for me to take the weekend/next 2 days before we speak again?". The team is really excited and wants to wrap this process up as soon as possible, but you’re completely in control.

Scenario: Asked about compensation expectations

Before offer stage: You can mention that you haven't thought too much about compensation details but would love to understand the range the company had in mind for the role. If you are further pressed, you can say that you can get back to them after doing some more research.

At offer stage: After your Recruiter shares the good news, they can ask for your desired salary again before sharing the initial offer. You can let them know: “I am thrilled about this opportunity. Everyone has a different compensation structure, so I would like to learn more about what [company name]’s compensation philosophy is first and we can go from there.”

After your Recruiter shares the initial number, show your appreciation, and ask for some time to think about it. It’s a big decision – your Recruiter understands that it can take you a few days.

Scenario: Offer presented in call

In this call, your Recruiter will likely share the good news that they're planning to move forward with an offer. They'll go over the company compensation philosophy, the breakdown of the numbers, as well as benefits and other details for your package with you. It’s normal for your Recruiter to do a pulse check and ask for your thoughts. You’re not obligated to answer it on the spot, just let your Recruiter know: “This is a lot of good information. Do you mind if I take some time to think about it?”.

If you ever feel cornered or there’s a question that you’re not sure how to answer, ask your Recruiter to give you time to think about it. Then, loop your coach in and they will help you navigate the rest!

Check in with us before you book. You can email us directly at negotiation@levels.fyi. Give us more context so we can better evaluate your situation. We will let you know if it's something we can help and recommend what plan is best for you.

Yes, after you book a session on the site, email us at negotiation@levels.fyi to let us know. We will do our best to accommodate you.

We have a Resume Review service. It's more cost-efficient for you. You can learn more about it here.

Troubleshooting

If you need to reschedule your session, you can use the reschedule button through the Calendly invite that you received in your email. If you are unable to find a suitable time, please email your coach directly. They can work with you to accommodate your request.

Our coaches will rarely miss calls, but in the rare situation something comes up and they aren't able to let you know ahead of time, please email us at: negotiation@levels.fyi and our team will be able to help out.

Please email us at: negotiation@levels.fyi and our team will be able to help out.

We understand this is a big investment and trust that our coaches will help you achieve your goals, but if you feel like it may not be a good fit, please email us at negotiation@levels.fyi and we'll do what we can to make it right.

Email us at negotiation@levels.fyi and our team will assist you.