Understand that your compensation can take many possible forms. It's all up for negotiation. Don't hamstring yourself by assuming you must be paid in cash, or t

Understand that your compensation can take many possible forms. It's all up for negotiation. Don't hamstring yourself by assuming you must be paid in cash, or that the payment must all be upfront, etc. Consider the myriad other possible options and variables that you can tweak to get the the outcome you desire. If you can, talk to people who can help you ballpark what a reasonable level of compensation is for others at the company in roles similar to yours. If the process goes far enough (i.e. you like the offer), get a lawyer. I got a lawyer when my company was acquired, and she was great. She'd seen similar deals in the past, and she worked very hard over the course of a month to look out for my interests. There are all sorts of little clauses in this type of paperwork that are negotiable and worth negotiating. In the end, her bill turned out to be something like $2,500, which was more than worth it. I was expecting 4-5x that.