I'm CTO for a Series A startup. We have 4 engineers who are making $200k - $300k in cash (excluding options). They are all referrals with 10+ years of experience (in some cases 15+) and they also have deep technical expertise in specific areas we need: Payments, Banking, Data Engineering etc.
Your CV matters but your prior work relationships matter more.
Ask yourself: who, among all the folks i have ever worked for would refer me to their current employer and say: "We really need to hire this person - pay them as much as we can afford".
Your CV matters but your prior work relationships matter more. Ask yourself: who, among all the folks i have ever worked for would refer me to their current employer and say: "We really need to hire this person - pay them as much as we can afford".