Meta Salary Negotiation: How To Negotiate A Meta Job Offer
If you're currently interviewing with Meta (formerly Facebook) or you’ve received a job offer from them, congratulations! But before you celebrate, make sure you negotiate your job offer to ensure you receive competitive compensation.
This article outlines how to negotiate a Meta job offer using our proven salary negotiation strategy. And we’re not just saying that—we’ve had nearly a 100% success rate when helping individuals negotiate Meta offers, meaning that nearly 100% of the time, Meta offered more compensation to career professionals when they used our salary negotiation method.
While the thought of negotiating your compensation with a company such as Meta may seem daunting, we promise it’s more straightforward than you would expect. Below, we dive into the components of a Meta job offer and then outline specific steps and share resources on how to negotiate better compensation.
Want to Negotiate Your Meta Offer? Get offer-specific guidance from a Meta Salary Negotiation Coach. We help career professionals negotiate competitive job offers.
Or leverage our Salary Negotiation Courses and Templates.
Understanding the Compensation Components of a Meta Job Offer
Meta is a leader in the tech industry, so you can expect their salaries to be competitive. However, it's still important to know what the company is willing to pay for the role you've been recruited for.
When you receive a job offer at Meta, it will include multiple compensation components that make up your total yearly compensation. Understanding each of these components before you start negotiating will not only ensure you’re familiar with your entire offer, it will improve your chances of increasing your whole compensation package—not just one component.
The base salary is the number most people focus on when they receive an offer, but it’s just one part of your overall compensation at Meta. At Meta you will receive the following compensation components:
Meta Base Salary
Meta Performance Bonus
Meta Equity Grant
Meta Sign-on Bonus
In addition to compensation, you will also see many benefits at Meta like leading health insurance and even free food. These additional components reflect Meta’s philosophy that employees should directly share in the success of the company.
You must consider each of these components when evaluating the compensation in your offer. For example, here is what the total compensation of a Meta Software Engineer Level 4 (Meta E4) may look like in their initial offer:
Meta Software Engineer Salary
Meta Base Salary
The first component in your Meta offer letter will be your base salary, which is the fixed guaranteed pay you receive in exchange for the work you do and is not tied to your performance. In the U.S., base salaries are typically paid out biweekly at Meta.
There will be a base salary range for each role type and level with a set minimum and maximum amount at Meta. For example, the Facebook software engineer salary for the Meta E4 salary level will have a different base salary than the same level Facebook data scientist salary or Facebook product manager salary. This holds true for all level roles, whether you’re looking at a Meta director salary or individual contributor position. Rarely will the offer come in at the top of the pay band, so your goal is to determine the pay range so you can negotiate up to the top-end of that pay band.
Meta Yearly Performance Bonus
All Meta offers include a yearly performance bonus. This target bonus is a percentage of your base salary, and it’s based on both personal and company performance. The target percentage ranges from 10% to 30% depending on your role level. It’s possible to exceed this target percentage if the Meta outperforms its goals and you achieve a strong performance rating, but it’s best to assume the average payout when evaluating this component as part of your total compensation.
This is a sum that makes a big difference in your total yearly compensation, but we have not found it to be negotiable, and there’s often a set target percentage for all employees depending on their role level. That said, this metric will increase your total compensation as you negotiate up your base salary at Meta since it’s a percentage of your base.
Meta Initial Equity Package
Along with other companies in the tech industry, equity is a key component of Meta's compensation philosophy. New employees will receive a Meta initial equity grant in their job offers. Meta’s equity comes in the form of restricted stock units (RSUs) which represent actual ownership of stock (i.e., you will receive shares of Meta stock) that will be transferred to you when the stock vest per the Meta vesting schedule. The RSUs do not have a one-year cliff and will vest quarterly over a four-year Meta RSU vesting schedule.
Meta’s RSUs can be an extremely valuable form of compensation, but they will fluctuate based on the market value of the company. If Meta’s share value goes up, you share in that increase, but if they go down, you share in that loss. The greatest consequence is that you will forgo the equity if you leave Meta before it vests per the Meta RSU vesting schedule.
The size of the grant is determined by the role type and level (i.e., is it for a Meta director salary or Meta VP salary), but just like the base salary, the equity component is negotiable. However, our recommendation is to negotiate both components together to ensure you reach the top end of Meta’s total compensation pay band.
Meta Sign-on Bonus
Meta is known for being generous with Meta sign-on bonuses, which is a one-time bonus that new employees receive as an incentive to join Meta and cover any lost bonuses or unvested equity that you may give up at your current company. In our experience, we’ve found that Meta does not usually provide a Meta signing bonus in the initial offer, so you will need to negotiate to receive this component.
It’s important to note that even if you don’t have a competing offer or you’re not walking away from money at your current company, you can still negotiate for a Meta hiring bonus. Meta’s sign-on bonus is paid out within the first 30 days in one lump sum payment, but there are payback conditions tied to it—meaning you’ll need to pay back the bonus if you depart Meta within the first year.
Meta Equity Refresher
Meta does offer an equity refresher (more stock) to most employees on an annual basis, but most recruiters withhold the expected yearly amount of the equity refresher. This is a question you should ask during the negotiation to see if the recruiter will share insight into this compensation perk and the Meta vesting schedule for these refreshers. We don’t include this compensation item in our total compensation calculation because recruiters typically shy away from the specific details, making it hard to compare across offers.
Benefits and Perks at Meta
The benefits and perks at Meta lead the industry, including health insurance, a top-tier Meta 401k match plan, relocation assistance, and free food when working in the office. For employees relocating for a Meta career, the Meta relocation package is one of the best we’ve seen in the industry. We have not found Meta benefits and perks to be negotiable (i.e., they won’t adjust the Meta 401k match for one employee) unless it is an under-the-table agreement with your hiring manager (i.e., your manager will let you take more vacation).
Meta, unlike Microsoft, does not have a discounted stock purchase plan that you would receive in a job offer from other FAANG tech companies, such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Netflix. This is the most notable missing benefit compared to its competitors and a good detail to mention during the negotiation.
Steps to Negotiate a Meta Job Offer
Before you begin negotiating your offer at Meta, it's important to understand how to navigate the process so you can increase your chances of success without jeopardizing the relationship.
Before we cover the steps, it’s important to clarify that you should only follow these Meta offer negotiation strategies once you have an official offer in hand.
This can be confusing because Meta usually gives their initial offer verbally instead of in writing - you only get the written offer after you accept. That’s why it’s important to listen and take notes when you receive the verbal offer—and not give too much feedback on the compensation. State that you need to review the offer in detail, and you’ll revert back with any questions or concerns. Once you’ve done this, then you can start the Meta salary negotiation process.
While these are the key steps to a Meta salary negotiation, we strongly recommend using our Meta Salary Negotiation Coaching to guarantee success in your negotiation.
1) Understand the components of A Meta job offer
This first step should be easy since we’ve already laid out the components of your Meta offer letter: base salary, performance bonus, initial equity grant, sign-on bonus, and any benefits and perks. Understanding your total compensation is the first step before attempting to negotiate a Meta job offer.
2) Complete due diligence on Meta Salary by asking the right questions
This is your chance to do your due diligence on the offer and ensure you understand it before you start negotiating. Asking good questions not only shows that you’re doing your due diligence, but it’s foundational for crafting an effective and successful Meta counter offer. These can include strategically crafted questions, such as why a Meta sign-on bonus was not offered, what the actual performance bonuses for this team have been over the last few years, or other targeted call outs designed to build leverage and demonstrate that the offer might not be competitive.
Don’t skip this step. It allows you to pull additional data points from the Meta recruiter that will strengthen your justification for why this offer is not competitive.
While it’s normal to ask for more time to process your Facebook offer letter, note that timing is key in a salary negotiation with Meta, and actively working through this process will show the hiring team you’re interested in the role. We suggest starting this step right after you receive the job offer and have provided our list of questions for you to ask here: Strategic Questions to Build Negotiation Leverage.
3) Research compensation ranges to identify what Facebook Salary should look like
Meta is a tech leader known for using data to make decisions. That’s why you must conduct compensation research to understand the role’s pay range, the strength of your offer, and how much you should ask for. Remember, all roles and levels have different pay (i.e., a Facebook director salary will differ from a Facebook staff software engineer salary or Meta engineering manager salary) so you will need to look at the specific role and where it’s located, whether that be in-person or remote.
There are many resources available to help you determine an appropriate salary, such as Glassdoor or Salary.com, but be sure to use multiple resources and don’t rely on just one as the authoritative resource for what the role should pay. Be aware that these pay ranges are publicly reported by current/past employees so the pay may differ from what they may offer new employees (i.e., the current employees’ total compensation is higher because the META stock price increased over the past few years and their equity is more valuable), and it might be inaccurate if the employee didn’t correctly upload all compensation components.
As a new hire, you’ll usually want to push for at least the mid to top-end of the Facebook salary total compensation range—regardless of your experience or background. You can use our Total Compensation Research Comparison Tool to help you with your Meta compensation research.
4) Send a counter offer to the Meta recruiter
This is where the negotiation officially kicks off and the fun begins! Once you’ve completed prepping for the negotiation (the first few steps), you’re ready to send over a Meta salary negotiation counter.
In this step, you’ll present your ask to the Meta recruiter in a kind and confident manner by referencing your requested pay range and how the benefits differ from other companies’ and/or your current role. This can be done over the phone, but we strongly recommend doing this via email with Meta. That way you can draft exactly what you want to say in a professional and friendly tone, don’t risk going off-topic if the recruiter interrupts, and you have everything in writing. It also provides the recruiter with something that they can forward on and use internally to support why you deserve a higher offer with the Meta compensation team.
Just remember that you should always approach this step professionally and you should treat the recruiter like a friend that is helping you transition seamlessly to Meta. To ensure proper communication, we’ve provided our Counteroffer Email Templates to help you draft a strategic Meta counteroffer.
5) Handle objections from the recruiter and accept the best offer
Sometimes it only takes one counter offer and the Meta recruiter will respond with an updated offer. Usually though, you’ll receive reasons from the recruiter for why the Meta hiring team cannot make any increases on the offer. If that happens, it’s best to see their “NO” as an objection that you need to overcome vs. an actual “NO” that you should just accept.
To handle an objection, respond calmly by stating you understand their constraints, but you do have concerns and would appreciate it if they can take your thoughts back to their team for one last look (even if they say that their team will just say no). Use this approach regardless of the recruiter’s reasoning. You may have to handle a few objections but once they agree to take it back to their team, they should come back with a better offer. Continue to remain respectful and professional as you navigate any objections, and take care not to be confrontational or demanding.
Handling pushback from a Meta recruiter can be daunting so we pulled together our Objection Handling Scripts for you to use in your Meta offer negotiation.
Once you receive an updated offer that fits your needs and matches the pay bands you researched, you should be ready to send over an Offer Acceptance Email to lock it in!
Negotiation Mistakes to Avoid During a Meta Salary Negotiation
Meta has a huge recruiting division, and their recruiters are trained to get the best deal for Meta. They issue job offers every day and will have a few tricks to get you to accept without negotiating. We’ve seen job seekers hit a few snags during their negotiations, so we’ve listed the key mistakes to avoid when negotiating with Meta.
Avoid sharing salary expectations before you get a job offer at Meta.
In our experience, sharing your salary expectations can work against you in receiving a fair offer. Meta might tell you that if they know your salary expectations then they can try to find the best deal for both you and their team. But remember that they’re working for Meta, not you.
If you share a lower compensation than what they could offer, they are more likely to offer you that low compensation. If you throw out a number higher than what they could offer, there is a chance that they could become disinterested and decide to go with a different candidate. Further, it doesn’t make sense to discuss compensation before you learn more about the specific role, Meta’s benefits and compensation, and whether those aspects feel like a good fit for you. After all, you’re also interviewing them to see if this role is something you want to pursue so be sure to overcome these Meta recruiter tactics by following our Salary Expectation Responses.
Don't be afraid to negotiate with Meta.
Many people are afraid to negotiate out of fear of offending the Meta recruiting team or losing the job offer. However, we’ve helped facilitate hundreds of successful salary negotiations and we’ve never seen Meta pull a job offer because a candidate tried to negotiate.
Regardless of the role level—whether it’s a Meta product manager salary, Meta director salary, or an Meta engineering manager salary—you should negotiate an Meta job offer. We strongly believe everyone should negotiate before accepting a job offer at Meta—don’t let salary negotiation myths or hearsay talk you out of advocating for yourself.
Be realistic by doing your research.
Meta does pay very well but one needs to be realistic about what they will receive. Understand what is included in your total compensation and research what Meta pays for your specific position. This will help you to know what to expect and ensure you only push for compensation that the Meta team can realistically provide.
Career Professionals Also Ask
Career professionals often ask us these questions about Meta offer negotiations so we’d like to share our insights with you.
Can You Negotiate Meta Salary?
Absolutely! Negotiating a Meta salary is not only possible but it’s highly recommended if you approach it with the right salary negotiation strategies. We asked our Founder and Lead Negotiator for his perspective and here’s what he shared:
"Meta’s offers are some of the most complex in the industry, but I’ve helped countless clients navigate them to maximize their compensation. If you’re negotiating with Meta, the right strategies can make a six-figure difference." – Brandon Bramley
How Long Does Meta Take To Give An Offer?
Meta is known for having a lengthy recruiting process and it can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months to receive a job offer. The Meta offer process typically includes a phone screen, multiple interviews, and a team-matching phase (for certain roles).
Behind the scenes, Meta recruiters compile interview notes, gather input from the hiring panel, selects the best candidate, and gathers the necessary approvals before issuing an offer. While the Meta offer process ensures a high-quality hiring decision, it’s best to not expect a quick interview process.
Does Meta Give A Joining Bonus?
Yes, Meta does offer joining bonuses which are usually referred to as sign-on bonuses for certain roles and levels. However, a Meta joining bonus is not typically included in the initial offer so you will often have to negotiate for a joining bonus to be added to your compensation package at Meta.
Meta Offer Negotiation Coaching & Tools
Increasing the pay in your offer at Meta requires a deep understanding of their compensation and the right salary negotiation strategy. Our expert Meta Offer Negotiation Coaching or Courses and Templates, will help you navigate the Meta offer negotiation process and secure the top end of the Meta pay band.