5 Tips For Negotiating Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
Almost all tech companies offer restricted stock units (RSUs) to their employees. Whether you currently work at a tech company or plan to work at one in the future, negotiating for RSUs as part of your compensation will benefit you.
For fun, below we’ve listed 37 companies that offer RSUs to employees. These are just a few of the companies we know offer RSUs (because we’ve worked with clients from each of them):
If the company you currently work for or the company you plan to work for is listed, there’s a great chance that you can negotiate for a grant of RSUs.
The company list above is far from comprehensive. There are numerous companies that offer RSUs. If your company is publicly traded, it is likely that they offer RSUs. For example, although we haven’t worked with anyone at Walmart or Target, a basic Google search indicates that they offer employees RSUs.
Regardless of who your current employer is, these 5 tips will help you negotiate for RSUs.
Tip #1 - Understand the basics of restricted stock units (RSUs)
You’ll want to sound like you know what you’re talking about when you negotiate with HR personnel or the hiring manager. Understanding RSU language will help you feel confident enough to ask for the RSUs you deserve.
We’ve published an RSU Basics article that will teach you most of what you need to know.
If you don’t know what a grant is, what a vesting schedule is, or didn’t know what the acronym “RSU” stood for before reading this, it’d be wise to familiarize yourself with the terms and concepts in the linked article to boost your knowledge base.
Tip #2 - Ask for a grant of RSUs at every new job and every promotion
Most organizations grant RSUs upon initial hiring, upon promotion, or annually once you’ve reached a designated level in leadership. You’ll want to take whatever opportunity you’re given to ask for a grant of RSUs.
You certainly don’t want to be annoying with the frequency you ask for RSUs, but do make it clear that you’d like a stake of equity in the company you work for.
The language and approach you use in negotiating for RSUs may vary, but in general, we advocate a soft approach for beginners. The point is to ask and to express interest. The worst the company can say is “No.”
Sample RSU Negotiation Language
Below we dive into some specific language for negotiating your equity. On top learning from the examples below, we highly recommend reading “Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss and “Getting to Yes” by Roger Fisher (paid links, still amazing books). There are plenty of other classic negotiation books, but these two books have fantastic tips for improving how you negotiate.
When approaching your equity negotiation, you want to think about what they company is already offering. If your company offers an Employee Stock Purchase Plan then you’ll be able to purchase company shares for a discount. The following are examples of how you might approach negotiating with your employer:
“I’ve really enjoyed participating in the ESPP and have tried maxing it out since I started. With this new promotion, would it be possible to receive a grant of RSUs?”
or
“I’m so excited about this promotion and look forward to continuing to help [company] grow. I know it’s fairly common for employees to receive grants of RSUs at certain points during their career here. Would it be possible for me to receive a grant of RSUs as part of this promotion?”
If your employer doesn’t have an ESPP you can use this to help you in your ask for RSUs.
“I’m excited about this promotion and am looking forward to the added responsibility of this new role. I’m curious, would it be possible for me to receive a grant of RSUs as part of this new role? Since we don’t have an ESPP, it’s a little harder to purchase [company] shares and I’d love to feel even more vested in the company.”
The key here is to ask. When you first start working, many companies will give you a small batch of RSUs, but only if you ask. We’ve written another article about how to ask for RSUs, in which we provide additional examples of specific language you can use when you ask.
Tip #3 - Know what others at your level have received in RSUs or other equity compensation
You’ve probably looked up your current job role on Glassdoor to see how much you should be getting paid and may be annoyed because you should be getting paid more. We don’t blame you. Just remember that salary is only one measure of compensation. In addition to your regular pay/salary, it’s important to get a sense of how roles are compensated with equity.
If you have co-workers or friends you trust, we encourage you to ask them about their RSUs or other equity compensation. Depending on your relationship with them, you may feel uncomfortable asking direct questions like, “How much did you get in RSUs when you started at [company] and how much are you getting now?”
Instead, you can ask them more indirectly by saying, “What does a typical [job role/occupation] get in RSUs when starting at [company]?” After listening to your friend/coworker’s response, you can follow up with, “What about ongoing grants of RSUs?” or a similar question. Often, your friend/coworker will tell you what they received, and if not, you will likely still walk away from the interaction with more information than you had before asking.
Remember, the more you know about your role or future role, the more power you’ll have in negotiating and asking for RSUs.
Tip #4 - If you’re receiving equity at your current company, bring this up to the new company!
No matter how small the dollar value of equity you’re receiving at your current company, you’ll want to leverage this in your negotiations with the next company.
You can choose to divulge what you want, but you don’t have to offer up everything. Similar to your salary negotiation, you don’t want to offer up your equity compensation freely.
If you’ve only received small amounts of equity or RSUs from your current company, you’ll want to avoid specifics and talk generally. You could say something like, “I’ve received equity or RSUs (Equity is broader than RSUs, but you can say either.) at [current company] and I’ve found it to be extremely motivating. As we move forward with this offer, I hope that [new company] will be willing to offer me some form of equity as I come aboard.”
Another very important note here is that if you have a large grant (a few hundred thousand to a few million) of RSUs or Nonqualified stock options, you should be specific. If you’re leaving a company, you’ll probably be leaving equity on the table and you should be fairly compensated for that trade-off.
There are many ways to approach your negotiation and we’re happy to assist if you need the help.
Tip #5 - Don’t just trade RSUs for salary, you deserve both
This advice holds for start-ups and tech dinosaurs alike. There’s some level of salary plus equity compensation that will make sense. You shouldn’t have to 100% rely on RSUs or other equity you’re receiving to make your pay worth it.
Your RSUs and other equity should be additional to your salary. This is especially true considering that RSUs have a vesting schedule tied to them.
Bonus Tip #6 - Email us for help!
The equity you negotiate for can play a critical role in growing your net worth. Every negotiation is different and there are many ways to approach your compensation negotiation. We’ve helped our readers get anywhere from $10k more in RSUs up to $100k more in RSUs. Feel free to email us at:
We hope you’ve found these tips helpful. If you have specific questions you’d like to ask or would like to suggest topics for us to address in future articles, please let us know.