Colin Lernell

Product Exec Helping Leaders Negotiate at | ex-@Patreon, @Noom, @Udacity. Newsletter:

[Colin Lernell @xolin]

Amazon cut entire VP-led orgs. Meta plans -20%. Block -40%. Adobe CEO exits. Staff? Director+? Your risk is different. Here's your L7+ Layoff Survival Guide:

At L5-L6, layoffs are a spreadsheet exercise. Cut 10%. Statistical risk.

[Colin Lernell @xolin]

5/ Move before it's public.
If the reorg is rumored, it's already decided.
By the time it's announced, your options are limited.

The market isn't waiting.

[Colin Lernell @xolin]

4/ Calculate your exit number now.
At your comp level, severance is negotiable. I've helped people add $100K-$200K by knowing what to ask and when. Don't sign the first thing HR slides across the table.

[Aakash Gupta @aakashgupta]

Google has a new interview. Everyone's about to copy it.

But there are 3 variants already out there:

[Colin Lernell @xolin]

Why SF, NY, Seattle, and Zurich tech jobs are worth the higher cost of living in one image...This Reddit user did an analysis of after-tax net tech incomes in major cities (25th, 75th, 95th percentile) vs. the cost of housing 🏠 which is how you should look at the real differences.

Many candidates mistakenly look at the COL on a % difference basis, but the reality is that in the big tech hubs, the increase in income dwarfs your increase in housing costs - and honestly many of your other costs.

If housing goes from $390 in Bangalore to $2,800 in SF, you are increasing your monthly housing costs by +617% to $2,410, but your earning potential increases by +$13,500, with a net improvement of +$11,090/month after taxes and housing.

If you have a family and start to succumb to lifestyle inflation related to high-income style childcare and private schooling, that's a different issue, but if you are simply looking at housing and food costs vs. your potential income, it's a no-brainer to go to a big tech hub. Maybe you can move remote later in your career for similar income, too.

Original Reddit post in comments.

[Colin Lernell @xolin]

I once received $350,000 and $850,000 Director of Product offers from similarly-sized companies in the same week. 2 main factors that dictate what you make.

Here is what ex-VP Product @aakashgupta and I found from interviewing 30 executive recruiters, VCs, and product executives.

Factor 1 - Company Size & Stage

Sometimes people don't believe this when they work in smaller companies. But at bigger companies, the same title earns more. A lot more.

Here's the scale for US VPs:

• $10M revenue/ Series A: TC $675K
• $100M revenue/ Series E: TC: $750K
• $500M revenue/ Series E: TC $750K
• $1B revenue/ Small-Mid Cap: TC $950K
• $100B revenue/ FAANG-like: TC > $2.15M

Of course, not all $100M companies are created equally.

That means not all $500K/year equity grants are created equally.

Estimating company trajectory is a huge challenge (otherwise VCs wouldn't have to place so many bets).

But the message is clear. Higher revenue and higher stage/valuation = higher earning potential.

Factor 2 - Their Compensation Philosophy

The chart shows the midpoints, but the variance is what's interesting.

Here are 2 real offers from the last quarter we found for VPs in series C companies:

1. $400K base and $600K in equity = $1M TC
2. $225K base and $300K in equity = $525K TC

That’s a TC difference of about 2x, or $475K per year. So the error bars on this chart are extremely wide and extremely relevant.

Why such a variance if these companies have very similar compensation benchmarking data (Radford, Pave, Carta, etc.)?

One word: Philosophy.

Some companies will set out to offer at the 25th percentile of the market.

Others will target the 80th percentile and try not to ever lose a top candidate over compensation.

--

And within a company, there is more variance than even they are aware of.

One executive recruiter said that "compensation bands are fairly tight for sub-CPO roles", but in my experience, offers vary by $100k-500k for similar levels depending on:

• How you negotiate
• Your unique attractiveness at that time
• Where you live

---
Compensation is far from everything, but you will want to reflect on your needs and long-term goals at work and in your life before you choose where to spend the next years of your career.

Read the Product and Tech leadership job search guides below.

[Colin Lernell @xolin]

To land Director+ roles in product and tech, Executive Search firms are your secret weapon. Here is an updated lay of the land for search firms in the US tech scene...

Big 5 "SHREK" Search Firms:
Large, global firms serving Fortune 500 companies with high-profile executive searches across industries.

SHREK: @SpencerStuart @Heidrick @RRAonLeadership @EgonZehnder @Korn_Ferry

MID-MARKET FIRMS:
Specialized in tech leadership, serving high-growth, mid-sized, and venture-backed companies.

@DaversaPartners (Good candidate experience with Paige Sullivan Kuderka)
@true_search_US (Worked well with a few folks including Mark Sylvester)
@rivierapartners (Theresa Skelly helped me with a public VP offer and more)

@SPMBsearch is getting a bit too big to be a boutique these days, so maybe I'll move it here. What do you think?

BOUTIQUE FIRMS:
Small, specialized firms, often founded by former Big 5 or mid-market partners, offering tailored searches for various stages and niche markets.

Paradigm Search (Matt Johnson)
Fusion (Andrew Abramson)
Nucleus Talent (Alex Klein)
Sterling Strand (Hillary Mager, Chris Running)
People Project (Jodi Jefferson)
Artisanal Talent (@VidurDewan, @cjArtisanal )
Parker Remick (Robert Healy)
@articosearch (Mercedes Chatfield-Taylor)

Read about how to land tech and product leadership and executive-level jobs:
Tech Executive Job Search Playbook (Top Tech Newsletter).
Product Leadership Job Search (with Aakash Gupta).

[Colin Lernell @xolin]

”If you update your LinkedIn profile at all, you get put into a bucket that says ‘may be looking for a job’”

In my recent chat with True Search executive recruiting partner Bobby Gormsen, he revealed something essential from his years as a recruiter using LinkedIn. The platform's algorithm is more sophisticated than most realize - even the smallest profile updates put you into a specific search bucket for recruiters.

While the debate continues about using the 'Open to Work' badge (which can be set to recruiters-only view), there's another layer at play. The algorithm automatically detects when you're 'starting to update your profile a little bit' and categorizes you as someone who 'may be looking for a job.'

This means you could be signaling job-seeking intentions without even knowing it. The algorithm picks this up and places you in a bucket that tells recruiters you're 'open to new opportunities.'

3 things can boost your ranking for recruiter searches

✅ Update your profile
✅ Respond to recruiter messages quickly
✅ Be active in the app (engage/comment/post)

💡 Plus: Turn your "Open To" off and on every month or so.
- Keep it set to "Recruiters only" so you don't publicly display your open to work badge.
- You will actually ping recruiters who have notifications on if you're in their saved search.

Want to learn more about how LinkedIn's algorithm affects your job search visibility? Follow along for more insights from my conversations with industry experts.

[Colin Lernell @xolin]

Do I regret turning down 1 CPO offer, 3 VP offers (2 public), and 1 Big Tech Director offer? Here are the 3 things I've learned...

So, did I make the wrong choices on at least 50% of these decisions?

Yes. 😂

But the other 50% I definitely do NOT regret and dodged a bullet.

I've also learned these 3 things about making career decisions.

1. Don't underestimate brand
2. Liquid compensation is king
3. Have multiple win scenarios

Oh, and some of the smartest and most trusted experts with amazing careers gave me advice on almost all of these choices.

Guess what? Even these multi-millionaire executives are only hitting 50% at my career decisions!

Make bets. Just prepare to handle the outcomes well.

[Colin Lernell @xolin]

ByteDance and Stripe aren't IPO sure-bets like candidates think. In fact, no pre-IPO company is...

Stripe just announced a self-funded share buyback as it is bleeding money. Yes, they will EVENTUALLY IPO, but joining now is not a sure thing or a giant upside payday.

ByteDance/TikTok is still in the "hopes and prayers" mode finding ways to avoid being banned in the US and is becoming more China-centered.

OpenAI is also not the glowing example of a steady growth machine internally.

Luckily they are providing cash-out opportunities for employees, but these are usually very limited and only for longer tenured employees.

Remember that when you join a private company, you take on significant risk.

Make sure your role there is a win for your career even without equity payout or stability.

Read my Pre-IPO company guide for job seekers in the comments to help you navigate the job market.

[Colin Lernell @xolin]

Director and VP Product candidates, are you ready for these tough interview questions? Here's what I'm seeing in my coaching sessions (truncated):

1️⃣ "How big is your current team, and how do you drive impact?"
One Sr. Director candidate was an IC Director temporarily at a company with only 2 VPs of Product and 3 Directors. Their response: "At [Company], we keep our product org lean intentionally and prove out new products before hiring up. I lead a cross-functional team of about 20 across marketing, data, product, and engineering. This structure pushed me to think about leadership at a cross-functional level, working directly with heads of design, data, and marketing to drive cultural change so their ICs drive product results. This started with Design..."

2️⃣ "Tell me about a high-stakes product initiative you led."
A Sr. Director candidate shared their experience overhauling onboarding at a B2C subscription company:
"We were facing declining active client count and falling stock prices. Two previous leaders had failed at this. I inherited a demotivated product team and skeptical data science org. We had to clean up our core proposition while significantly changing onboarding. We launched a mobile app product that now contributes 70% of our total user acquisition."

3️⃣ "How have you transformed underperforming teams?"
One leader's response: "I inherited a fractured organization with misaligned goals between product and engineering. There was distrust after a failed major product launch. I had to let go of about 10 people across two layoff rounds and two performance-related departures. We then infused more focus by putting remaining talent in high-impact areas they were passionate about. This created a talent density that allowed us to outperform despite the leaner team."

4️⃣ "How do you handle difficult customer situations?"
A VP candidate shared: "When sentiment rapidly changed, we had to go after churned and frustrated customers. We implemented creative solutions, like giving stylists gift cards to shop outside our inventory for clients who couldn't find clothes they loved. This approach helped us retain customers we would have otherwise lost."

5️⃣ "How have you changed team culture?"
One Sr. Director's example: "Our marketing team was very output-driven, launching email campaigns without measuring their impact. I had to get them focused on outcomes or they wouldn't survive here. We discovered our day-zero email drove 70% of acquisition volume. By front-loading our email sequence, we saw an increase in overall acquisition. More importantly, I drove this outcomes focused approach over 3 more initiatives before I could really get them to focus on metrics vs. outputs, but with a high craft bar. "

🤔 What are these missing? Believability by adding real scenes, players, and conversations through failure.

[Colin Lernell @xolin]

Friend: "I got an amazing offer! CPO with 1% equity at the next unicorn!"
Me: "Did you check the equity acceleration clauses?"
Friend: "The what?"

Me: "What happens to your equity if there's an acquisition?"
Friend: "Um... I didn't ask about that"

Me: "Do you have protection if they replace your role?"
Friend: "I should probably review the offer letter again..."

I've had this conversation at least twelve times in the last year, and here's the playbook I usually share with those leaders.

1/ Your offer letter is more important than your base

Not all equity is created equal:
↳ Standard 4-year vesting can be lost entirely in acquisition or a layoff
↳ No protection clauses can cost you $1m+ in a restructure
↳ Acceleration triggers make the difference between life-changing wealth and starting over

(Full credit to Marc Baselga for the post. Follow Marc for leadership career content!)

2/ The hidden contract terms that matter

The classic is "industry standard terms"
Translation: "We hope you don't read the fine print"

Senior leaders should never accept standard equity terms
And most companies will adjust for candidates they want

Always check the offer letter for:
↳ "What acceleration triggers are included?"
↳ "What happens if the company is acquired?"
↳ "What protections exist if my role changes?"
↳ "What protections exist if this doesn't work out in year 1?"

You might have left a huge 7-figure public tech job to take a big bet.
Don't be left with nothing.

3/ The protection terms worth fighting for

Ask for:
↳ Single trigger acceleration (acquisition automatically vests equity)
↳ Double trigger protection (acquisition + role change vests equity)
↳ Extended exercise windows (years, not months)
↳ Severance tied to vesting schedule
↳ Change of control provisions

4/ Model the worst-case scenarios

Don't just focus on the "we IPO at $10B" dream.

Model out:
↳ Acquisition before cliff
↳ Restructuring after 1-2 years
↳ Management change
↳ Role elimination
↳ Board replacing the CEO

5/ Protect your downside before worrying about upside

If you're negotiating as a senior leader, know that:
↳ Severance matters more than most realize
↳ 6-18 months is standard for VP+ roles
↳ Healthcare continuation should be included
↳ Equity acceleration is negotiable
↳ Reputation protection clauses can be added

Pro tip: Have an employment attorney review your offer letter.
The $1,000-2,000 cost is trivial compared to what you might lose.

Especially if you're joining a pre-IPO company or potential acquisition target.

The offer letter is a negotiable contract.
It is also NEW INFORMATION.
New information means you can reopen the discussion.

But most candidates only negotiate the numbers, not the terms.

Your job isn't just to maximize the headline figures.
It's to protect yourself from the most likely negative outcomes.

What equity protection clauses do you think matter most?

DM or contact Valued when you want negotiation support.