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Ask HN: Questions about a Microsoft Offer

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Re: Ask HN: Questions about a Microsoft Offer

#11

Post by zippzom »

jason_slack wrote: post #6

I'd like to offer this advice: 1. Besides salary and options..would you like to work at Microsoft? 2. Do you have a family or are planning one? Does Microsoft seem like a place you can have a work - life balance? If your significant other wants to go on a date night, can you go or is it likely work will demand your attention? 3. What does your gut tell you? Sometimes above all else you have a feeling about things. I…

1. Frankly, no, but I think it might enable me to be better at and have access to work that I would like to do in the future.

2. Work life balance seems good.

3. Tough to say.

Re: Ask HN: Questions about a Microsoft Offer

#12

Post by rmkoek »

Hey kiddo. I will share my career history with you. I'm not sure if it will apply in today's market or not. I started at a startup and had lots of good times and made some life long friends. It wasn't about the money at that time, it was the love of the game. Coding for hours on end then sleeping next to desk in sleeping bag so I could get right back to work when I woke up. Offers from other companies came and went but my loyalty to my fellow coders was top priority. After the company went public I was able to write my own ticket there. Today I am retired at forty-five years of age. My family and I live a nice comfortable life + I have lots of loyal and g great friends from the trenches that stay in touch. But like I said this is just my experience, today's market might be a total different ballgame. Good Luck to you and yours.

Re: Ask HN: Questions about a Microsoft Offer

#13

Post by skylark »

1. Yes. Microsoft is still well respected, so having it on your resume will likely open doors for you in the future.

2. No. Microsoft's compensation is generally below Facebook/Google's compensation packages. Be sure to keep cost of living differences in mind though.

3. I personally value options at $0. Unlike RSUs, which are actual stocks, options' value is derived from the difference between the value at strike and the value at liquidation. You'd have to be extremely lucky for your options to be worth more than the money you could be making at a tech giant.

4. It depends on the climate of the place you're working at. If you think it wouldn't be received negatively, go for it. You're the best judge here.

5. You can try to negotiate (it's always worth trying,) but you'll likely fail. Standard negotiating tactics don't work at tech giants due to the large volume of applications received and number of offers being extended. This is doubly true because you're early in your career, so you don't really have the experience needed to leverage a better offer out of thin air.

Re: Ask HN: Questions about a Microsoft Offer

#14

Post by jjeaff »

rmkoek wrote: post #12

Hey kiddo. I will share my career history with you. I'm not sure if it will apply in today's market or not. I started at a startup and had lots of good times and made some life long friends. It wasn't about the money at that time, it was the love of the game. Coding for hours on end then sleeping next to desk in sleeping bag so I could get right back to work when I woke up. Offers from other companies came and went b…

Today's market vs the market when you were at the startup wouldn't necessarily apply. It would be a crapshoot then or now to find a startup that succeeds and goes public. Your average startup is more likely to crash and burn or go nowhere.

Re: Ask HN: Questions about a Microsoft Offer

#16

Post by jiveturkey »

zippzom wrote: post #11
jason_slack wrote: post #6

I'd like to offer this advice: 1. Besides salary and options..would you like to work at Microsoft? 2. Do you have a family or are planning one? Does Microsoft seem like a place you can have a work - life balance? If your significant other wants to go on a date night, can you go or is it likely work will demand your attention? 3. What does your gut tell you? Sometimes above all else you have a feeling about things. I…

1. Frankly, no, but I think it might enable me to be better at and have access to work that I would like to do in the future. 2. Work life balance seems good. 3. Tough to say.

1. then the answer is quite easy and you needn't have gone through these machinations. get the offer to see what you're worth, but turn them down. personally, i'd turn them down "on the spot" when you get the offer without thinking about it. don't actually laugh, but say that their offer isn't in the ballpark. don't give a counter, just thank them for their time. you never know, they might come back with significantly more.

Re: Ask HN: Questions about a Microsoft Offer

#17

Post by jiveturkey »

zippzom wrote: post #5
jiveturkey wrote: post #2

1. Yes but more important is what you personally are working on, not what company you're at. As a new grad at a bigco, you are unlikely to have a significant position, so purely as a resume builder, the "rep" isn't going to be useful. That said, bigco experience is very valuable, even if you switch back to startups. 2. Yes and Yes 3. To 4 decimals: $0.0000. That's not being snide. 4. No 5. Yes/No/Yes. All companies k…

Thanks! I definitely feel like I'm learning stuff, but I also could probably learn at a big company as well. Most of the engineers at my current company are very inexperienced, for most of them this is the only company they've ever worked for, so all of my learning is very self directed. Current job is in the Bay, but Microsoft would be in Washington (which I prefer, and is essentially a free 5% raise on top of whate…

There is no point at which options should be valued above $0 in terms of competitive job offers. By the time a company is that far along, you will get RSUs, not options.
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