Receiving a job offer after a recruitment process lasting several weeks is a relief, and many developers accept it as it stands, for fear of offending the company. Yet this is when your negotiating margin is at its greatest: the team has invested time in choosing you, and it would rather adjust an offer than start over. You still need to know what can be negotiated, how to compare offers built differently and how to assess BSPCE (French founder share warrants) offered in place of part of the salary. This article details each component of a tech offer, how to prepare a range, how BSPCE work and how to reply in writing.
The components of a tech offer
A job offer in tech, at a startup as at a large group, combines several elements. Knowing them all keeps you from comparing two offers on base salary alone.
- The gross annual base salary, and the number of payments (twelve or thirteen months). It is the safest and most lasting component: future raises are often calculated in proportion to it.
- Variable pay: objective-based bonus, team bonus, annual bonus. It is less common for developers than for sales roles, but exists at some companies.
- Employee savings schemes: incentive schemes, profit-sharing, employer top-up on a company savings plan, which can represent a significant supplement at the companies that have them.
- Equity instruments: BSPCE, free shares, stock options, depending on the company’s legal form and size.
- Working time and organisation: a days-based working time arrangement, remote work, hours, on-call duty and how it is paid.
- Benefits: health insurance, disability cover, meal vouchers, transport, equipment, training and conference budget.
- Status and conditions: classification under the collective agreement, probationary period, any non-compete clause, start date.
An offer with a lower base salary can be better overall, and vice versa. Add up what is guaranteed and what is uncertain.
Preparing your range
A negotiation is prepared before the final interview, ideally from the recruiter’s first call, where the question of expectations often comes up.
Gather reference points
- Public and professional studies on developer pay, looking at the population described (experience, city, type of employer). Our article on what a junior developer earns lists the main sources.
- The ranges shown in comparable job ads, which are increasingly common. The trend should grow with the European directive on pay transparency 🔗, which notably requires candidates to be informed of the starting pay or its range; check how far it has been applied in France at the time of your search.
- Your network: former classmates, colleagues, contacts met at meetups, whom you can ask discreetly.
- Your current situation: your pay, your benefits, what you would lose by leaving.
Set three levels
Determine three figures for yourself: the minimum below which you will refuse, the target you consider fair, and an ambitious but defensible top of the range. When asked for your expectations, state a range whose bottom matches your target, not your minimum.
Prepare your arguments
A request is defended with objective elements: your experience, skills that are rare for the role, measurable achievements, a competing offer, the market level. Your resume is your first set of arguments: the quantified results you wrote there become negotiating arguments. The tech lead resume template shows the kind of achievements (architecture, reliability, supporting a team) that justify a request above the scale.
On the company side, HR departments also prepare these discussions, and their obligations are changing: what pay transparency changes for HR departments 🔗 sheds light on how ranges are now built and communicated.
BSPCE explained simply
BSPCE (bons de souscription de parts de créateur d’entreprise) are very widespread in French startups and scale-ups. They are governed by article 163 bis G of the French general tax code, whose application the tax administration details in the BOFiP 🔗; Bpifrance Création also offers an accessible overview 🔗.
The principle
A BSPCE gives the right to buy a share in the company, later, at a price set at the time of grant (the exercise price). If the company gains value, the difference between the share price at the time of sale and the exercise price is your gain. If it does not, or if it disappears, the BSPCE are worth nothing.
The mechanisms to understand
- Progressive acquisition (often called vesting): the warrants only become exercisable over time, according to a schedule set by the plan. Many plans provide for an initial minimum period before any vesting, then regular vesting over several years.
- Leaving the company: the plan specifies what happens to your warrants if you leave, sometimes distinguishing "good" and "bad" leavers, and the time you have to exercise vested warrants. This window can be short.
- Liquidity: even once exercised, the warrants give you shares in an unlisted company, which can generally only be sold when the company is acquired, goes public or organises a transaction.
- Dilution and investor rights: new funding rounds dilute your share, and some investors have preferential rights over the proceeds of a sale, which reduce what goes to other shareholders.
- Taxation: the gain benefits from a specific regime, whose conditions depend notably on your length of service at the company. This regime has been amended several times, including recently: check the version in force, and get advice if the amounts are significant.
Questions to ask
Before accepting BSPCE, ask: how many warrants, out of how many existing shares in total, at what exercise price, on what vesting schedule, with what rules on departure, and what window to exercise. Ask to read the plan rules. A serious company answers these questions without difficulty.
Valuing them
The prudent rule is simple: do not value BSPCE as salary. Treat them as a bet on the company’s future, potentially attractive but uncertain. If a company proposes to reduce the base salary in exchange for BSPCE, make sure the remaining base salary suits you, even if the warrants end up worthless.
What can be negotiated beyond salary
When the base salary is constrained by a scale or a budget, other elements often remain negotiable.
- The start date and any transition period.
- Remote work: number of days, funding for home equipment.
- The training budget, a funded certification, attending conferences.
- Equipment: workstation, screens, operating system.
- A signing bonus, more common at large tech companies.
- An early pay review, for example at the end of the probationary period or after six months, put in writing.
- The level or job title, which often determines the scale and future progression.
- The number of BSPCE, when the company offers them.
Choose two or three priority points rather than asking for everything at once. A targeted negotiation is better received than a list of demands.
Replying to an offer in writing
An offer is often received by phone, then in writing. A few rules for replying:
- Thank them and ask for a reasonable time to think, generally a few days, especially if you are waiting for other answers.
- Ask for the complete offer in writing, with all components, before negotiating.
- State your request clearly, with a precise figure and one or two arguments, in a positive tone.
- Stay consistent: do not go back on a point already accepted, and do not bluff about a competing offer that does not exist.
- Have the final agreement confirmed in writing, in the offer letter or the contract.
Example wording:
Thank you for this offer, the role and the team really motivate me. Given my experience on the billing API redesign and the level of the offers I have received for comparable roles, I would like a base salary of [amount]. I am also interested in the BSPCE: could you send me the plan rules and the total number of shares?
If the company cannot move on the base salary, ask what is possible on the other elements. Our article on choosing between an IT services company, a startup and a software vendor can help you place the offer within a broader career choice.
A successful negotiation often starts with a resume that places you at the right level from the first screening. The TechCV editor lets you highlight your achievements on a clear page that recruitment software can read, and which you can then quote in interviews. You can update your resume before your next application.
Frequently asked questions
Can negotiating cost me the offer?
It is rare when the request is reasonable, argued and politely worded. A company may refuse, but very rarely withdraws an offer because of a properly conducted negotiation. Avoid ultimatums and repeated escalation, however.
Should I disclose my current salary?
You are not obliged to. You can answer with your expectations for the new role rather than your current pay, explaining that they reflect the role, your skills and the market.
Can BSPCE replace part of the salary?
It is possible, but should be assessed with caution. Accept such a trade only if the remaining base salary is enough for you, and with a precise understanding of the plan: number of warrants, exercise price, vesting schedule, departure rules and the tax regime in force.
Can I renegotiate after the probationary period?
Yes, especially if it was provided for in writing in the offer. Otherwise, the annual review remains the usual time. Prepare it with concrete achievements accumulated since you joined.