Apple Recruiter lowballing real bad

Mid-Level Software Engineer at Taro Community10 days ago

I’ve received an offer for a QA role at Apple, but the experience with the recruiter hasn’t been ideal so far.

He asked me to share screenshots of my current compensation, which is not only uncomfortable but also potentially a violation of pay transparency laws in states like California — where this role is based.

The offer itself is quite underwhelming. The base compensation is in line with what I was making nearly four years ago, and the leveling is at ICT3, which doesn’t align with my 7+ years of experience.

Additionally, I’m currently based in Washington, which has no state income tax. Relocating or being paid according to California’s scale would mean a higher tax burden, making the offer even less competitive.

The RSU component is particularly disappointing — less than $100K over four years feels far below market expectations for someone with my background and experience.

Overall, the package doesn’t reflect fair market value or career progression, and I’m struggling to reconcile that with my interest in the role.

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33 Comments

Discussion

(3 comments)

2
Alex Chiou
•Tech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero
9 days ago
Dang, super sorry to hear that. <$100k RSUs across 4 years for a senior hire in Silicon Valley like yourself is insane. Asking for screenshots of your current compensation is also illegal because it's a super scummy move!

First, take the negotiation course: The Insider's Guide To Negotiating Your Tech Salary And Compensation

Second, I think you can mostly tell them what you have here:

The offer is far less than what you're making now (don't reveal your current numbers, just give them the overall vibe/ballpark)

You would take a compensation hit due to California's super high taxes

You believe in Apple a lot as a company and really want a large equity component

This helps you as it gives you an opportunity to praise the company

Apple is one of the most stable stocks out there, and it's effectively as good as cash (and it has a small dividend too, which is nice)
2
Rahul Pandey
•Tech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
9 days ago
For this type of recruiter and job, you should play hardball and simply refuse any ask that is unreasonable. The most powerful asset you have is your ability to walk away, so you should mention that. Sample language:

I'm not able to share screenshots of my current compensation, but I can share the numbers you need on your end. Once I've signed the offer, I'm happy to

BTW, I actually don't think it's unreasonable for them to ask for proof/screenshots. Facebook and Google both asked me this as well, but I think it's totally fair for you to receive a target comp range first. i.e. "The offer will go up by X, contingent upon you showing that you do indeed have this current compensation"

The RSU component is particularly disappointing — less than $100K over four years feels far below market expectations for someone with my background and experience.

This does seem quite low. As usual, the best leverage is another offer with better comp. If you don't have that, you should threaten to walk away:

Based on my current compensation, YoE and other pending offers, I was looking at a minimum of $300K in RSUs over 4 years. If that's not possible, I think it's best we stop the process now to avoid a mismatch.
1
Mid-Level Software Engineer [OP]
•Taro Community
8 days ago
Thank you both for your responses.

Unfortunately, Apple didn’t budge on most parts of the offer, and I didn’t have a counter offer to strengthen my position.

That said, based on Rahul’s experience, I did end up sharing some screenshots from my compensation letter — and the recruiter significantly increased the signing bonus as a result. So that did help a bit.