I am interviewing with Amazon for a senior visual designer role.

Anonymous

April 26,2022 at 12:24PM UTC

Welcome to Fairygodboss!

We’re the largest online career community helping women achieve their career goals. Gain access to articles, jobs, events, and a supportive network of women and allies. Membership is free, always.

I am interviewing with Amazon for a senior visual designer role. The are asking for salary expectations (Base Salary, Bonus yrs 1-2 only, and Restricted stock available yr 3+). I know I’m under paid currently, this is a fully remote position and I’m located in Chicago. I don’t want to price myself out of the role or be underpaid. I also want them to know I’m willing to negotiate. Any advice?

Why women love us:

Daily articles on career topics
Jobs at companies dedicated to hiring more women
Advice and support from an authentic community
Events that help you level up in your career
Free membership, always

13 comments

Share your insight

Join an authentic community that helps women support each other at work. Share your professional experience or ask for advice — you can even post anonymously.

13 Comments

Join the conversation

AnonymousApril 26,2022 at 12:34PM UTC
This is an excellent resource on the topic https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/30/business/salary-negotiation-pay.html. How early in the process is this question coming up? If it's a screen to see if you're on the same planet, I like the advice to say something based on research: "I'm aware that the market rate for this role for someone of my experience is A-Z. I'm sure we can get more specific as we discuss the role and what I offer."
AnonymousApril 26,2022 at 1:34PM UTC
While scheduling the 3rd round. They are asking for specific numbers in all 3 categories.
Angela FairfaxApril 26,2022 at 12:41PM UTC
I would recommend asking them "What is the range for this role". Every large company like Amazon has salary ranges in place by location. They also have a compensation philosophy that dictates what, and how they reward folks. Different companies have different ranges. Some companies base their range midpoints on the 50th percentile of data some on the 75th some on the 95th. So asking isn't a deal breaker question. The recruiter should be able to tell you. You can caveat and indicate that you know pay would be based on experience and won't be paid the max of the range right out of the gate.
Brittany Butkiewicz GonzalezApril 27,2022 at 8:44AM UTC
i did that they won’t share the range.
Angela FairfaxApril 28,2022 at 12:17PM UTC
Did they indicate why they won't share the range?
AnonymousApril 26,2022 at 1:00PM UTC
Hi! Do you know what level it would be? I interviewed there, and I think titles with a program manager is L5 and sr. program manager is L6. Based on this, what helped me is to look on their job portal or LinkedIn for jobs with similar titles that were listed as Remote, which sometimes has a range. I also used Team Blind to get insights on total comp package....
AnonymousApril 28,2022 at 4:47PM UTC
I checked out blind already that is an interesting app.
Thanks! They wouldn't tell me level either. I gave them a range let them know I was negotiable and emailed the recruiter to see if I was somewhat aligned. While he couldn't outwardly tell me he let me know I would be very happy with the range for this job.
Alexis GladstoneApril 26,2022 at 2:32PM UTC
Great advice already. I would also try salary.com to see if you can find a range. I haven't used it many years so I'm not sure how accurate it is these days.
AnonymousApril 26,2022 at 6:41PM UTC
For updated salary data, I like Glassdoor, especially for a big co like Amazon. I think being diplomatic and showing an awareness of the market and highlighting your amount of experience as earning you, e.g., the high side of the range because you are seasoned etc., is a reasonable response. If they want to discount because it's remote - well, they shouldn't but that seems like a conversation you can have. If you're diplomatic and present your position based on a researched range, the greater risk to you is that you ask for too little, not that they turn you away for seeking something high. That's been my experience at least. For my last hire, they went way above what I would ever have asked without prompting from peers, and I never got the sense that they would tell me to pound sand.
Andrea Macek, Career Change Coach for Professional WomenApril 27,2022 at 12:52PM UTC
Congrats on the interview! You can also use the salary tool on LinkedIn to look at salaries for similar roles. I also agree with the suggestions here for salary.com and Glassdoor. You can also check out InHerSight; it's also a female-focused platform like FGB and other women can self-report salaries and insight into their experience at a company The thing to keep in mind as you noted is the total comp package; salary, 401, benefits etc. The sites shared in my comment and other comments here will most likely only talk about base compensation and not the total comp, so that's something to take into consideration when you're gathering data. Goodluck, you got this!
AnonymousApril 27,2022 at 1:11PM UTC
Use levels.fyi to compare salary at the top 20 largest companies in the US. Use the filters to narrow the criteria to your state because even though you are remote, the salary is still rooted in cost of living. The. Refine based on your role type/ job family. Finally, I recommend giving a range.
AnonymousApril 27,2022 at 1:12PM UTC
Levels.fyi is more accurate because it requires people to upload their w2.
Brittany Butkiewicz GonzalezApril 28,2022 at 4:50PM UTC
Thanks Ill check it out.