Pay offers from different employers were once fairly easy for candidates to compare. The compensation elements and terms were clear-cut, and you could match salary with salary, bonus with bonus.

Nowadays, complicated stock-option, stock-grant and short- and long-term performance incentive plans are standard compensation elements for executives. Vesting schedules for these plans are all over the ballpark. Perks are numerous and widespread. Compensation packages are "clearly more complicated than they used to be because there are more pieces to think about," says Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson Associates Inc., a New York compensation-consulting firm.

The trickiest part of negotiations, perhaps, is evaluating a new pay offer vs. the package left behind at a current employer. Most executives don't have a clue about the real dollar value of their current pay packages, says Mr. Johnson. Without knowing the value of each element, plus the total worth of what they're earning, they can't tell how a new offer compares.

"A lot of people don't have the vaguest idea of what they're really earning," agrees Judith Cushman, president of Judith Cushman & Associates, a search firm in Seattle. "They haven't looked at their fringe benefits or know the true value of what they have in hand."

Many senior executives negotiating jobs at leading companies have lawyers and financial experts to work out the details so they "remain whole" and don't lose financial ground by changing employers. If you're a typical executive, you won't have this advantage, but you can take steps to level the playing field during pay talks. These include doing research, preparing a simple spread sheet to help you compare elements and knowing how to ask for what you want. First, though, some general advice about the current compensation environment:

No Retreat on Pay

The last few years have been a candidate's job market, and executives have taken advantage of it by negotiating for increased compensation and, particularly, equity. The economic slowdown of early 2001 and the implosion in the dot-com world haven't caused executives to retreat on their demands, especially in the high-technology sector. Executives in this industry still are bargaining for as much equity as possible when discussing new job offers, says Mark Edwards, chairman and chief executive officer of iQuantic Inc., a compensation consulting firm in San Francisco.

"The power has shifted to individuals even in the downturn," says Mr. Edwards. "I still see executive candidates and below acting as though it's a hot labor market. There has been no slackening off in the degree of demand and gimme."

Ms. Cushman, who specializes in the marketing and communications fields, says she's seen the hiring climate shift slightly in favor of employers in the past few months. For instance, a company seeking a new manager might have two or three candidates to consider now instead of only one, which was typical in 2000. However, she and other executive recruiters don't think the current slowdown will last or that pay levels will decline as a result.

"The job market hasn't changed enough to put candidates out of the driver's seat," says Gary Kaplan, president of Gary Kaplan & Associates, a search firm in Pasadena, Calif. "We're increasingly running into shortages of people with critical skills."

Stock Options Remain No. 1

Due to the dot-com fallout and stock market decline, which have drastically devalued many stock-option packages, employees are less interested in stock options and more interested in cash pay than previously, according to some published reports. However, compensation experts say that interest in stock options and equity ownership hasn't faltered among executives. What's different is that executives considering jobs at start-ups won't take a lower base salary in exchange for more stock options. They want a market-rate salary and as much stock as possible, says Mr. Edwards.

"There won't be a spike-up in the salary component," during the economic cool-down, he predicts, "and there has been no lessening of interest in options."

In fact, option grants being awarded now are potentially more lucrative than those offered when stock market valuations were higher because current option grants have lower exercise prices, says Mr. Johnson. At lower exercise prices, there's greater potential to realize significant gains as the stock market rebounds to earlier levels.

"Today's valuations are a lot better than they were a year ago," says Mr. Johnson. "If you're changing jobs, this is your chance to get a better deal than you would have last year. Your friends will tell you to go for a bigger base and bonus and that options aren't any good, but if you get options at $12 a share, instead of $35, this may be how you get rich."

Steps You Can Take to Prepare

When negotiating, executives in the high-tech sector view equity as the most important part of their pay package, followed by base salary, their employment terms and conditions, such as severance and change in control provisions, bonus and incentive plans and benefits and perquisites, says Mr. Edwards. The following tips from recruiters and compensation experts may be useful in helping you strike the best deal when you next negotiate pay with an employer:

1. Determine what your current pay package is worth. By knowing the total value of your current pay, you'll know what you're leaving behind, what your new employer needs to match and whether a new pay offer equals or exceeds your current pay amount. This is essential if you're talking with several employers and must choose between two or three offers, says Mr. Johnson.

Write down the value of your annual salary and any cash bonuses you're due to receive. Know when your next salary increase is due and what you would earn after receiving it. Evaluate how much your benefits and perquisites are worth to you. Place a value on each item, such as your medical, dental, disability and other insurance plans, tuition reimbursement, company match of a 401(k) plan, other retirement plan and accrued vacation time. If you receive a company car, country-club membership or other perk, "put a value on it," says Mr. Johnson.

"You need to sit down with a calculator and spread sheet and write down your free parking, medical benefits and whatever," he says. "This is a Sunday afternoon's work."

The value of some perks can be surprisingly high. For instance, among the 69% of companies providing cars for executives, the average annual auto expense in 2000 for a purchased car for senior managers was $21,000, for a leased car, $14,500, and for a car allowance, $11,700, according to poll by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC in Westport, Conn.

If you have stock options at your current employer, put a value on them as well. For pre-public companies, this isn't usually possible. The best you can do is determine the current value based on the strike or exercise price and your best indicators of the company's future prospects. "It's all funny numbers," says Mr. Edwards. "We talk about what the expected value will be at the initial public offering if they execute the plan, then we discount that back to present value."

2. Determine how well you're paid relative to others in your field. The Internet is a wealth of information on compensation for executives. Countless numbers of sites, including this one, provide data on pay in various functions and industries. Start by reviewing the salary tables organized by industry and job function on CareerJournal.com. For more pay data, contact your professional association or review pay surveys published by trade journals in your field.

Executive pay varies by company size, geographic location and other differentials. Some sites, including CareerJournal.com, provide a salary calculator that allows you to plug in geographic differentials so you can determine how you might be paid in, say, California vs. New York. By learning your typical salary, you can decide if you're underpaid relative to the market and try to resolve such a discrepancy at your next employer. When demand is strong, marketing candidates recruited for new jobs might receive a 20% increase in pay to change jobs, says Ms. Cushman.

3. Learn what typical option grants are for executives at your level. If you're being offered equity in your new employer, you should know the size of typical grants. The size of stock-option grants varies depending on whether a company is public or private and your position. A pre-IPO company is likely to award more options than a large established public company because there's greater risk they won't be worth much. Typically, the more critical you are to the company, the more ownership you receive.

For instance, an iQuantic survey of pre-IPO equity and compensation practices indicates that CEOs at late-stage pre-IPO companies receive an average of 3.5% to 7.2% ownership in stock and options; chief financial officers and top finance executives an average of 1.2% to 2.2% ownership; top sales and marketing executives, an average of 1% to 1.8%; and top engineering executives, an average of 1.3% or less ownership.

Mr. Edwards recently advised a pre-IPO high-tech company negotiating a pay package with a new CEO. To encourage the executive to achieve profit goals quickly, the company planned to "frontload the plan" so the CEO would earn 4% of the company during his first year, 2% more if he stayed a predetermined period and another 2% if he achieved certain performance goals.

4. Compare like pay elements. The only way to make a meaningful comparison of different pay packages is by evaluating each element against the same element at the new company, says Mr. Edwards. "Break it into discrete parts," he says. "Look at salary vs. salary, cash incentive vs. cash incentive and stock vs. stock."

That said, a new pay package might differ from your current program, with some elements worth less and others worth more. However, the total package may be designed to make the job offer attractive and compensate for what you're leaving behind. For instance, if the new company can't raise your base salary because of issues with its internal salary structure, it may offer you more stock or a hiring bonus to make up the difference. "It may be impossible to get another $10,000 in salary, but perhaps you can get more options," says Mr. Johnson.

Mr. Kaplan says a candidate for a lead development position at the Museum of Natural History in Los Angeles turned down a job offer last year because she believed the museum's retirement package wasn't adequate compared to her current retirement program at the University of California system. To compensate, the museum had offered to increase her base salary by 40% and was making other concessions but "she was convinced she would be losing a substantial amount of money," says Mr. Kaplan. "She had a long way to go before retirement, and I think she was short-sighted."

One way to evaluate long-range elements that don't pay out for four or five years is by asking yourself what the likelihood is that you'll still be with the company at that time, says Mr. Johnson. "With vesting schedules and things that don't happen for five years, you have to ask yourself, 'What are the odds I'll be there in five years?' " he says. "If there's only a 50-50 chance, you have to put a big discount on the stuff that comes later."

5. Be firm, fair and flexible -- then trust your gut. Employers will usually try to be fair with candidates they're anxious to hire. No one wants a new executive to be unhappy from the outset. By the same token, you don't want a new employer to view you as intransigent. Explain how you're paid and what you're concerned about leaving behind, and wait to see what the company offers. This process might take several discussions.

"The whole process should be a discussion, not a confrontation," says Ms. Cushman. "The goal should be somewhere in the space called fairness. Usually the candidate wants to receive more and the employer wants to offer less, and the process works best when you have a lot of information."

Mr. Johnson adds that you can ask an employer for "almost anything if you do it professionally and with a smile. Many people don't get what they should because they don't ask."

Ultimately, candidates should accept jobs they feel will be satisfying and challenging, and not necessarily because they pay the most. This means taking "the stomach test" when a final offer is on the table, says Mr. Edwards.

"You have to ask what your gut feels like," he says. "Do you like the company, its prospects, the offer, the people there and its vision for the future, and are you ready to ride the bucking bronco?"