How to negotiate a job offer
Negotiate after you have a written offer and before you accept it. Come with a researched range for the role, level and location, name a specific number near the top of that range, and justify it with the scope of the job and the evidence of what you bring. If base pay is capped, negotiate the rest of the package — sign-on bonus, equity, start date, title, remote allowance or a scheduled review — and get whatever is agreed in writing.
How to do it
Research the band before you talk numbers
Establish a range for the role, level and metro using posted pay ranges, salary guides and people in comparable roles. A range you can source is far more persuasive than a number you feel is fair.
Let the offer land first
Thank them, express real interest, and ask for the full written breakdown: base, bonus, equity, benefits and start date. Negotiating before you have all the components means negotiating blind.
Make one clear, specific ask
"Based on the scope of the role and what I'm seeing for this level in this market, I'm targeting $X base. Can you get there?" One number, one justification. Avoid a scattershot list of demands.
Widen the scope if base is fixed
Sign-on bonus, equity refresh, an earlier review date, title, remote or travel budget, extra leave and a learning budget are all frequently more flexible than the base band.
Get it in writing
Any agreed change belongs in the amended offer letter. Verbal commitments do not survive a change of manager or recruiter.
Why the ask is usually expected
Most employers set an offer inside a band with room above the first number, and budget approval for that room is already in place. A single professional counter is a normal step in the process, not an act of aggression, and offers are very rarely withdrawn because a candidate asked once and courteously.
What does damage negotiations is negotiating in bad faith: inventing competing offers, reopening settled points, or accepting and then asking again.
Read total compensation, not base salary
Two offers with identical base pay can differ by a large margin once the rest is counted. Compare the whole package before you decide which is actually higher.
- Base salary and its review cycle
- Bonus: target percentage, and whether it is discretionary or formulaic
- Equity: type, quantity, vesting schedule and current valuation
- Retirement contribution and match
- Health coverage and the premium you actually pay
- Paid leave, parental leave and holidays
- Remote, travel, equipment and learning budgets
Language that works
Be warm, specific and brief. Keep the relationship intact — the person on the other side is likely to be your colleague.
- "I'm excited about this. Could you share the full written breakdown so I can review it properly?"
- "Based on the scope here and the range I'm seeing for this level, I'm targeting $X base."
- "If base is fixed at that level, is there flexibility on a sign-on bonus or an earlier review?"
- "Can we reflect that in the written offer?"
Internal raises
Raises inside a company are decided on a budget cycle, so timing matters more than argument quality. Ask your manager a full cycle ahead what evidence would justify a move to the next band, then spend the cycle collecting exactly that evidence.
Bring outcomes and market data, not tenure or personal need. Tenure is not a contribution.