Episode 08: Acquiring Equity through Critical Skills and Negotiation Strategies

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Are you a young engineer who is unaware of the importance of equity in your total compensation package? In this episode of Managing Tech Millions, Ajit Deshpande, an IT leader in Silicon Valley, shares his career journey and experiences with compensation negotiation and equity. Ajit emphasizes the importance of being a generalist and constantly learning new skills, as well as the value of building trust and communication between different teams in a company. He also shares his insights on what he looks for when considering a job opportunity, including non-financial metrics like company culture and values, as well as financial metrics like employee size and revenue.

 

Ajit's experiences at companies like Align Technology, VMware, and Splunk inspired him to help other companies go through IPOs and educate others on the value of equity in compensation. He advises young engineers to ask for data and information to make informed decisions and stresses the importance of continuous learning and taking failures as lessons learned. If you're looking to advance your career in the tech industry, this episode is a must-listen.

 

In this episode, you will hear:

• The importance of equity in total compensation and how many engineers are unaware of its significance
• Integrations and how it helped him advance Ajit’s career at companies like VMware and Splunk
• Ajit’s experience working at VMware during the time when virtualization was a revolutionary technology
• The importance of slowing down and taking a step back to focus on building skills and capabilities, rather than getting caught up in titles or specific technologies
• Building trust with both business and tech teams, and how being a translator between the two can accelerate career growth
• Negotiating for total compensation, including equity, and how to analyze companies to determine their risk and potential for growth
• The importance of equity as part of total compensation, especially in Silicon Valley, and how it aligns employees' interests with the company's
• Factors to consider when evaluating companies, including the stage of the company, risk, and potential for growth
• Aligning with a company's culture and values, financial metrics to consider, and how to calculate equity income
• Ajit’s approach to learning and the importance of carving out time for it, as well as his preferred methods of recharging
• The importance of people and communication skills

 

Resources

Connect with Ajit on LinkedIn

Splunk

VMWare

Align Technology

 

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