I found the bit about the negotiated salary of particular note. I have never included severance in my negotiations, mostly because i have always left my jobs willingly. Is that something more common than i know of? What is a reasonable target to aim for?
> I have never included severance in my negotiations
It really depends on how much leverage you have, and what you're concerns you have with the company.
I knew someone who was hired to head up the regional operations for a business that was based overseas. He was worried that they weren't really committed to the local market, but they assured him that they were, and that this was a long-term position.
So, he negotiated that if they closed down his location in the first 12 months of his employment then he would get a very large severance package. Since they were absolutely committed to the market, they agreed.
Less than 2 months into the role he got to hold them to that severance deal.
In a recent discussion, someone looking into a VP role said he was pushing for 6 months.
Someone else pointed out that some wage laws dictate a specific amount of severance that usually depends on the amount of time that you work there. Most companies go above this though (e.g. the law says 1 week severance per year at the company, but some large companies peg that at 1 month/year instead). If you negotiate for a hard number of 6 months, and you end up working for the company for (e.g.) 10 years, you could be leaving 4 months of severance on the table.
depends on the level. with Execs you get a double trigger if you're let go after a liquidity event (essentially all your stock vests so you don't get shafted.
Young people rarely if ever have the leverage to negotiate severance, but If you can, I'd say 2 months at a minimum plus 1 month for each year. Chances are that in a small startup the reason you get nothing is that they go out of business. And if you're a marketer, doubly so.
As I always say, engineers get aqui-hired. And marketers get acqui-fired.
I think it's more common for positions that would disappear in an acquisition -- think CFO (only one per company), maybe finance, CMO (same deal), etc.
It can happen anywhere. It's all about how much power you have. Random programmer #134 of a Fortune 500 company? Not so much. Hired to lead a new VR projects? Plausible.
For most developer jobs, you don't need it.. because with the job market, it is very easy to find a new job if one flops. But if you had to make a move cross country? It may be easier to get signoff on severance.
> For most developer jobs, you don't need it.. because with the job market, it is very easy to find a new job if one flops. But if you had to make a move cross country? It may be easier to get signoff on severance.
Wait, what?? Is the "shortage of engineers" meme back?
