Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Evaluating a Job Offer Part 9: Conclusions

Few decisions can have a larger impact on your financial life as a software developer than accepting (or not accepting) a new job. This is part nine, the final part of an essay on the financial considerations when evaluating a software developer job offer. Just tuning in now? You can jump to the beginning to learn the risks of taking a new job.

Before you’re ready to accept a new job offer, you’ve hopefully considered your job offer from many different angles. You’ve explored the possible risks of the new job, and compared the costs of living at the new job, the value of the benefits, and the value of any equity in the bargain.
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You have all the data. Now you just need to make a decision. Lucky for you, a job offer is not a yes/no decision.

There is a third option in every negotiation: “You’ll have to do better than that.” It’s a line I learned from Secrets of Power Negotiating by Roger Dawson. It really works.

One recruiter sent me a LinkedIn message out the blue. It was for a position in San Francisco with a “competitive salary.” I asked him what the salary range was. He replied that the top of the range was $165,000. I messaged back “Sorry, you’d have to do better than that” and was immediately told they could do $185,000. That’s a 12% increase and I hadn’t even discussed my experience, much less interviewed. Those magic words can pay.

If you look at the numbers and decide to ask them to do better, be prepared for their response. If their recruiter is a good negotiator, they may ask you to justify your numbers. The recruiter might also ask you what they have to offer you to get you to say yes. If you’ve already gone through the process I’ve outlined, it won’t be difficult to explain why the offer isn’t good enough.

You should also be prepared for the recruiter to decide not to do better. Many software developers undervalue themselves, or simply aren’t aware of how to properly evaluate a job offer. As a consequence, many companies have learned that they can hire a developer at the price they want by just making enough offers to different candidates. I’ve personally experienced this, and it’s not fun saying “no” to a job that looks like a lot of fun, but which offered significantly lower compensation than the job I had. It’s even more difficult when you’ve flown out for an interview, met the team, joked around with them, and had a great time. It was difficult, but I did say no.

Hopefully your decision won’t be that difficult. Hopefully you have an offer that you can give an enthusiastic “yes” to, and your new job will make you happy and open new doors for you. Just make sure to consider compensation, benefits, equity, and intangibles like happiness when making that big decision.

Now you know as much as I do about job offers for software developers. If you'd like an easy way to use what you've just read, you can use my calculation spreadsheet to examine and compare job offers. Simply fill out your email below and I'll send you the spreadsheet.
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