1/ In light of the current events this week, I'm breaking my silence about offer negotiations was a WOC in tech. My DMs are open to all POCs and black operators who would like advice on offer negotiations b/c this is an area we are woefully disadvantaged in.
2/ My Chinese immigrant parents raised me to be grateful for any offer I got. When I received my FB RPM offer I was ecstatic and grateful! Omg an offer with a signing bonus and equity! Something I had never imagined from my humble beginnings in customer service to product.
3/ A year into working at FB some inconsistencies started to arise. Through grassroots data gathering a few RPMs (rotating PMs) found out that we were paid differently. We started pooling our data together on a spreadsheet and realized a glaring trend.
4/ Our self-collected data from my RPM class showed that all the women PMs and one LatinX PM were paid 20% less collectively in total comp (salary, equity, and signing bonus)! We were all told by our recruiter that our offer was non-negotiatable when we signed.
5/ Whereas all the white/male CS degree candidates who signed their offer were allowed to negotiate their offers. We went to HR with this disparity and our HRBR old us that people who come to work at FB don't come for the industry level compensation. You come for the knowledge.
6/ After that meeting with HR we all became very disenchanted with FB and felt disillusioned about working for a place that prided itself to be a meritocracy and diverse workplace. One female VP reached out to us to tell us that there was "no nominal difference" in our comp.
7/ We were told to be quiet and told that if we worked hard we could make up for any salary difference in comp through future promotions. We needed to believe in the system. This was when I realized how bullshit tech offers are.
8/ To silence us HR called me in for a one time meeting where the HRBR read off a contract saying FB does not admit fault and for me to sign for a one time payment of $20K. The $20K was a cute gesture but what about the compounding deficit of being paid 20% less over a career?
9/ This is unfortunately not the only offer in my tech career where I was told to be grateful for what I got. When I received my LinkedIn offer 4 years ago my recruiter told me that it was an "egregious offer" that I was going to be the highest PM at that level.
10/ My recruiter told me the offer event went to Jeff the CEO for sign off. The only catch? I was paid a Senior PM comp without the "Senior PM" title. He said they would like me to work my way up to it even tho on paper I had more product experience than the other while male PMs.
11/ I countered the offer and told the recruiter that if they were going to pay me a senior PM salary they needed to give me the title. He refused so I declined and signed with Tumblr instead even tho they gave me less equity than LI.
12/ The VP of Product called me asking what went wrong with the offer. He told me I was "one of the special ones" he met in his career who could marry product philosophy with execution. He asked me what he could do to change my mind.
13/ I told him I signed with Tumblr because they valued me intrinsically and didn't try to neg me into accepting an offer by calling it "egregious" and then demoting me in title. Unfortunately, I know this experience is all too familiar with other WOCs/POC/LGBTQ founders.
14/ We're told to be grateful for what we get but then we're offered something less than everyone else so what are we suppose to do in a broken system? My only solution is to anchor high on offers and ask for the title above you b/c you're probably getting less from the get go.
15/ Until we can push for salary transparency and systemic equity for ALL talent let's help each other with negotiations because the difference in negative 20% compounds over time. The difference in one title is what differentiates an middle manager from a VP, a COO from a CEO.
16/ I want us to create generational wealth and fight for fair compensation because economic inequalities persist beyond just one job. I hope that by sharing my story I can empower others to research and negotiate their offers aggressively. It's ok to walk away from offers too.
17/ We must not operate from the scarcity mindset. What we have is precious. We hold so much power that others want to hoard. Your fair market value is what the next highest bidder is willing to pay. Don't be afraid to ask for more!!
*highest paid
