Negotiation and Offer Talking Points
Negotiation is stressful for many people, but it doesn’t have to be! By knowing your value, preparing for the conversation, and sticking to a few key guidelines, you can go into any negotiation feeling confident.
Negotiation is an expected part of the offer process; employers generally have a range they can offer candidates, and it’s within their best interest to offer new hires at the lower end of that range to allow more wiggle room for negotiation, and to try to hire someone for as little cost to the company as possible.
If a company is offering you a job, it means that you have demonstrated you're the right person for the role. Company's want and need your skills and expertise! But it’s up to you to know how much your skills are worth in the job market, and what your priorities are. You'll need to do this research, but we can share some helpful talking points to guide you.
In the phone screen or first stage
Be prepared for compensation to come up in the very first conversation (if it didn't already come up in the application). Companies do this to make sure your expectations are aligned, and to avoid wasting anyone’s time in a lengthy interview process.
Pro tip: Avoid being the first person to say a number if you can
If the recruiter says: “What are your salary expectations?”
You can say: “I’d love to learn more about the expectations, team structure, and company benefits before discussing specific salary expectations, but based on my research of the local market compensation for X role, my expectations fall within the market range for someone with my skills and experience. Could you share what the typical pay range is for someone in X role at your company?”
If the recruiter pushes back: “We don’t have a published range that we can publicly share, but I can definitely tell you whether your expectations align with ours. Could you share a specific number so we can make sure we are meeting your expectations?”
Pro tip: If you do have to say a number, always give a range, and keep it open-ended
You can say: “Sure, and again this may change once I learn more about the role, team, and benefits, but based on my initial research and understanding of the role, my expectations fall within a range of $Y to $Z. I am flexible, and this number definitely could vary depending on other compensation like benefits, equity, or other perks, so I’d love to revisit this conversation later on once I understand what the full compensation package looks like.”
The key here is to keep your options as open as possible- once you give a number, you’re unofficially tied to that amount. If you realize later that you’re worth $90k, but you only asked for $70k in the initial conversation, it’s going to be a lot harder to backtrack! So do you research, be prepared, try to avoid putting a number out there, and if you have to, keep it as open as possible!
What did you make before?
Pro tip: Know state employment laws
Depending on where you live, recruiters may not be allowed to ask you questions about your current or most recent salary. You can gently reference this in your response without sounding combative or accusatory (some recruiters work across multiple states and might not know the legality of asking this). If you live in a state where this is legal to ask, there are some good ways to avoid giving a direct reply, either by referencing your career switch, flipping the question back on the recruiter, or by sharing your total compensation package (which includes benefits- if you don’t know what these are worth, then ask!) so they don’t know what your specific salary is.
If the recruiter says: “What are/were you making in your most recent role?”
You can say: “Hmm, I don’t think state law requires me to share the exact amount, but it does fall on the higher end of the market rate for X position.”
OR: “I’m currently making a career change, so while my current employers offers well within the standard market range for my current role, my pay isn’t very relevant to the field I’m pivoting to. Based on my research of [company name], it seems like your compensation packages align well with the market rate and my expectations. Could you share the target pay range for this role?”
OR: “My full compensation package at my current role is at the higher end for the standard market range, and is valued at $X amount”
During the offer stage
Salary and benefits may not come up at all till you reach the end of the interview process. So if you've reached the offer stage, firstly, CONGRATS!
With few exceptions, you should always negotiate or at least ask if there is room for negotiation! An example of an exception might be a company who let you know upfront in the initial offer stages what their range is and that they do not negotiate offers.
When you received an offer, you may be tempted to say yes, but don't! Take time to consider the offer details. You never have to accept or decline a job on the spot; even fast-paced companies should allow you at least 24 hours to consider the offer.
Pro tip: Get the offer in writing
If the hiring manager/recruiter says: “We’re excited to extend an offer for you to join the team at a starting salary of $Xk, with Y options, and full health, dental, and other great benefits.”
If the offer more or less meets or exceeds your expectations, so you can say: “Thank you! I’m thrilled to hear this; I loved meeting the team, and especially felt drawn to X and Y aspects of your work [make this your own by incorporating things you truly were excited about in the interview process!]. Would it be alright if I take a few days to think about it, and could you send me an email with the offer details? I can get back to you by Z date.”
Take some time to think about it; even if you’re satisfied with the offer, you should still try to negotiate! Maybe the pay isn’t negotiable, but what about benefits? Paid time off? Equity? Everything is negotiable!
If the offer falls short, and you feel comfortable addressing it in the moment…
You can say: “Thank you! I’m thrilled to hear this; I loved meeting the team, and especially felt drawn to X and Y aspects of your work [make this your own by incorporating things you truly were excited about in the interview process!]. I’m curious, is there any wiggle room in the offer?
If the hiring manager/recruiter says: “We have an internal process to make sure that our offers are competitive with the market rate for comparable roles within similar industries. What were you hoping to see in the offer?”
Pro tip: Always negotiate based on the local market value and your individual skills/value-add; never say “I know someone on your team and they make $X” or “the national average is $Y.” Keep it relevant!
You can say: “That’s helpful to know. From my research, it seems like [the job title] working in [the company’s industry] make a range of $X-$Y annually. Based on how my skills in A, B, and C directly align with what you need from someone coming into this role, I see myself adding a lot of value early on after joining the team. Given the market rate, and the alignment between my skills and this role, I was expecting an offer in the range of $X to $Y. Is there any way we can close this gap?”
OR if the hiring manager/recruiter says: “We have an internal process to make sure that our offers are competitive with the market rate for comparable roles within similar industries, and because of this we unfortunately have set offers.”
You can say: “That’s helpful to know, and I appreciate that you have policies in place around this! From my research, it seems like [the job title] working in [the company’s industry] make a range of $X-$Y annually. That’s a gap of $Z per year; could you explain a little more about how you assess market rate and competitiveness?”
Pro tip: When in doubt, just ask questions about how/why the company arrived at that figure; this takes the pressure off you, and can help you understand their process.
If you try to negotiate, but they just won’t budge...
You can say: “I understand that you have firm compensation structures/policies, and appreciate you walking me through them so far. I am really excited about this opportunity, and would love to find a way that we can find some middle ground here. Is it possible to have an initial performance review conversation 3 months into the role, and assuming my performance meets or exceeds expectations, could I be eligible for a salary review then?”
OR you can say: “I understand that you have firm compensation structures/policies, and appreciate you walking me through them so far. I am really excited about this opportunity, and would love to find a way that we can find some middle ground here. Is it possible to negotiate for an additional $200/month to cover parking costs?” [or additional PTO, or retirement matching, or flexible hours, etc.]
Pro tip: At the end of the day, your salary satisfaction is up to YOU and nobody else.
Articles & Resources
Declining an offer
If you have two offers at once, or if you get an offer for a job that you know isn’t the right fit for you, you may find yourself in a position where you need to decline a job offer. The most important thing is to communicate this with the company! Never just stop responding entirely; this reflects poorly on you and could eliminate any future opportunities that you might have had with the company down the road.
There is nothing bad about declining an offer, but there are some professional ways to approach the conversation that show respect for your interviewers’ time and efforts. When appropriate, you can give a reason for why you are declining. Things like commute time, demanding (>40 hours) workweeks (especially if you have a family), growth opportunities, and team size are all appropriate reasons to share, while things like not liking someone on the team, the office space, or company/product focus are not the most tactical reasons to share, and in these situations it would be better to keep the reason vague.
Below are sample scripts for how you can approach the conversation; tweak the language to match your communication style, but always try to have the conversation over the phone.
If you have another offer:
“Thank you so much for the offer to join your team as a (role title). I really appreciate having the chance to learn more about your team’s focus on (something you learned during the process). After thorough consideration, and weighing multiple offers, I have decided that a different opportunity would be a better fit for me at this time, and I wish to respectfully decline your offer. (feel free to share a brief explanation, if appropriate). Again, thank you so much for your consideration- I wish you the best of luck finding an amazing candidate to fill this role, and I hope to stay in touch.”
If you do not have another offer:
“Thank you so much for the offer to join your team as a (role title). I really appreciate having the chance to learn more about your team’s focus on (something you learned during the process). After thorough consideration, I have decided that this is not the right opportunity for me at this time, and I wish to respectfully decline your offer. (feel free to share a brief explanation, if appropriate). Again, thank you so much for your consideration- I wish you the best of luck finding an amazing candidate to fill this role, and I hope to stay in touch.”
If you wish to withdraw from the interview process with a company: Note that depending on how far into the process you are with a company, it may be appropriate to communicate via email.
“Thank you so much for your consideration for (role title). I wanted to let you know as soon as possible that I have accepted an offer elsewhere, and would like to respectfully withdraw my application from (company name). I appreciate your time and attention so far in this process, and wish you the best of luck finding an amazing candidate to fill (role title).”
