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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 wi

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?

planteen 10y ago
I've never heard of it either other than for executives with golden parachutes
- brianwawok 10y ago
  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.
  - ryandrake 10y ago
    > 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?
- tedmiston 10y ago
  It is common for leadership roles even in startups.
timv 10y ago
> 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.
pyre 10y ago
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.
- triplesec 10y ago
  One would hope that after 10 years they'd been promoted and renegotiated contracts
x0x0 10y ago
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.
walshemj 10y ago
One of the first things anyone who negacates for a living is you have to negocatie how exit will work.
jmartens 10y ago
Typically executive level hires negotiate severance from the start.
melindajb 10y ago
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.

planteen 10y ago

I've never heard of it either other than for executives with golden parachutes

brianwawok 10y ago
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.
- ryandrake 10y ago
  > 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?
tedmiston 10y ago
It is common for leadership roles even in startups.

timv 10y ago

> 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.

pyre 10y ago

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.

triplesec 10y ago
One would hope that after 10 years they'd been promoted and renegotiated contracts

x0x0 10y ago

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.

walshemj 10y ago

One of the first things anyone who negacates for a living is you have to negocatie how exit will work.

jmartens 10y ago

Typically executive level hires negotiate severance from the start.

melindajb 10y ago

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.