Google’s Answer To Overheated Job Market: Demanding Proof of Rival Offers

Google has a message for job candidates who say rival companies are offering them higher pay: Prove it.

In a competitive market for talent in which some technology workers are soliciting employment offers from several companies, Google recruiters increasingly take the unusual step of asking candidates for written proof of what rivals are offering. Google representatives want either the offer letters or screen shots of those letters before they’ll consider upping an offer, emails from recruiters to candidates seen by The Information show.

The practice is extremely rare for tech roles that are not at the executive level, recruiters and chief people officers say. Collecting the details of what rival technology companies are offering gives Google firsthand insight into how competitors’ compensation packages are structured and the scale of their salary bands, bonuses and equity compensation awards for different roles or geographies. Those insights could help Google hone its recruiting pitch to be more competitive.