The Offer & Negotiation

An Apple offer has four moving parts. A base salary. An RSU equity grant, quoted as a dollar value and converted to shares. An annual cash performance bonus. And a one-time sign-on bonus. Read the package as those four things, because each one bends a different amount, and the order in which they bend is what a good counter turns on.

Look closely at the RSU grant, because its shape is unusual. It vests over four years, but not annually and not on a cliff. Semi-annually, roughly 12.5% of the grant every six months, with the two vests landing around April and October. That comes to 25% a year, paid in two even installments, with no back-loaded year three. Your equity climbs at a steady pace from the first vest. On top of base and equity, Apple pays an annual cash bonus of roughly 5% to 20% of base for software roles. It scales with level, so it's a small slice in dollars at the junior end and a real one by the senior tiers. Even-vesting grant plus a genuine cash bonus: that is the shape of the package, and it decides which numbers are worth fighting for.

The Apple angle

That even, semi-annual vesting changes how you read a competing offer. Apple RSUs vest about 12.5% every six months over four years, with no front- or back-loading. Compare Amazon's roughly 5 / 15 / 40 / 40 grant, where most of the equity waits for years three and four.