Executive-ish Job Offer Negotiation?

August 24, 2017 8:56 AM

I'm considering a Senior Vice President job at a media company - by far the most senior level position I've been considered for. I'm an attorney by training and have helped friends negotiate their offers in other lines of work (usually doctors) but I'm not used to being in the position of negotiating an executive level job offer beyond some general basics (sign-on bonus, salary, equity, etc). At a certain level, should I hire my own attorney to help negotiate the offer? Have people done this themselves? Did it help to have another attorney involved?
posted by buddha9090 to Work & Money (2 answers total)

I think it's very unusual to involve a lawyer in a straightforward job offer (i.e., simply a position for hire, not a partnership), and it might even spook the employers. I'm sure that they are expecting YOU — attorney and senior VP material — to be a negotiator.
posted by ubiquity at 10:24 AM on August 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If I were you, I would get in touch with an executive compensation attorney and get some advice on what you should be asking for or considering. They will have dealt with many, many situations around executive compensation, both in entering and exiting a company, that they will have a much better grasp for what's par for course.

If you end up paying an attorney $X, and they can increase your compensation by, say, $2X annually, I can't imagine a good reason not to do so. This person won't be there negotiating for you, but they will be advising you on the side. I have not been in such a scenario, but even those being hired for non-executive positions are given some amount of time to decide on/negotiate an offer.

So, two things:
1. Talk to an executive compensation attorney
2. Make sure it's someone who comes recommended, and not based on a random internet search.
posted by Goblin Barbarian at 1:56 PM on August 24, 2017