Salary negotiation: how to ask for more (with scripts)

To negotiate salary, wait until you have an offer, thank the employer, and ask for a specific figure backed by market data and by what you bring to the role. Make the request once, covering everything you want, within a day or two of seeing the terms. Then stop talking and let the employer respond. A polite, reasoned request is a normal part of hiring, and employers often expect one.

Key takeaways

Negotiate after the offer and before you accept. That is when you have the most leverage.
Prepare three numbers (a walk-away minimum, a target and an opening ask) and the reasons that support them.
The first number anchors the conversation. Let the employer open if you can, then counter above your target with evidence.
Ask for everything in one conversation, in order of priority, and know what you would trade.
If base pay cannot move, ask for something else: a sign-on bonus, time off, a start date or an earlier review.
Get the final terms in writing before you accept.

When should you negotiate salary?

After you have an offer with numbers in it, and before you say yes. Until then the employer has not committed to you. After you accept, the terms are settled.

Do not negotiate in the moment the offer is made. The U.S. Department of Labor’s salary negotiation guide advises taking time to analyze the whole package first, and suggests asking for the terms in writing. Then come back promptly. The same guide notes that counteroffers often happen within 24 to 48 hours.

If pay comes up earlier, in a screening call or on an application, you are answering a different question. See how to answer “What are your salary expectations?”.

How do you prepare for a salary negotiation?

Research the market. Find what the role pays at your level, in your location. Government wage data and the ranges in current postings are the strongest sources. The method is in how to research salary.
Set three numbers. A minimum below which you would walk away, a target that matches the market, and an opening ask above the target that you can still justify.
Write down your evidence. Three reasons you are worth the figure, tied to this job: relevant experience, results you have delivered, skills the posting stresses.
Know your alternative. Negotiators call it your BATNA, the best alternative to a negotiated agreement: what you will do if you cannot agree. Harvard’s Program on Negotiation describes it as typically a negotiator’s greatest source of power. Its example for a job seeker: a strong alternative is one or two other appealing offers, and a weak one is no good prospects. A job you are content to stay in counts too. Be honest with yourself about which you have, and never invent one.
Rank what you want. Decide what matters most across the whole package, and what you would accept in exchange if salary cannot move. How to evaluate a job offer lists the parts.
Say it out loud. Practice your ask until you can deliver it in two sentences without apologizing.

Who should name a number first?

The first number put on the table tends to act as an anchor that shapes everything after it. The Program on Negotiation gives a job example: a candidate hoping for one figure hears a much lower opening from the interviewer, and counters far below what they would have asked for had they spoken first.

That cuts both ways, and the advice differs by situation:

Before an offer, let the employer go first if you can. The employer knows its budget and you do not. The Department of Labor’s guide recommends letting the employer make the first move, because the range tells you the limits you are working within.
If you know the market well and have a strong alternative, opening can work for you. Research summarized by the Program on Negotiation found that negotiators with strong alternatives gained an advantage by making the first offer, while those with little power may do better to wait. Its overall answer to who should go first is “it depends.”
Once there is an offer, your counter is your anchor. Make it specific, above your target, and attached to reasons.

If the offer comes in low, do not let it drag your counter down. The Program on Negotiation’s advice for handling an aggressive anchor is to pause, respond with your own figure supported by data, and justify it with objective criteria.

What do you say in a salary negotiation?

Keep the tone warm and the request plain. You want the job and you want the terms to be right. Both are true.

Script: when the offer arrives

"Thank you, I'm really glad to hear that. I'd like to look at the whole package carefully. Could you send me the details in writing? I'll get back to you by [day]."

Script: making the ask

"I've gone through the offer and I'm excited about the role. The one thing I'd like to discuss is base salary. Based on what similar roles pay in [location] and on [your strongest qualification], I was hoping for $[opening ask]. Is there room to get there?"

Then stop. The silence that follows is the employer thinking, and filling it usually means talking yourself down.

Script: if they ask what it would take

"If you can do $[a figure at or above your target], I'm ready to accept."

Script: if the base salary is fixed

"I understand the base is set. In that case, could we look at [a sign-on bonus / an extra week of vacation / a salary review at six months] to close the gap?"

Script: if they need an answer right away

"I want to give you a firm yes, and I can do that by [day]. Does that work?"

Script: when you reach agreement

"That works for me, thank you. Could you send an updated offer letter with the new terms? I'll sign it as soon as it arrives."

Only say you are ready to accept at a figure if you are. An employer that meets your number and then hears a new request has good reason to be annoyed.

Salary negotiation email template

A call lets you respond to objections as they come up. An email gives you time to choose your words and gives the employer time to check with others before answering. Either is fine. If the offer came by email, replying by email is natural.

Email: negotiating a job offer

Subject: [Job title] offer: [Your name]

Hi [Name],

Thank you for the offer to join [Company] as [job title]. I'm excited about the role, especially [a specific part of the work or the team].

Before I accept, I'd like to discuss the base salary. Based on my research into [job title] roles in [location] and on [your strongest qualification, such as "eight years running the same kind of program"], I was expecting a base closer to $[opening ask]. Would you be able to move the base salary to that figure?

The rest of the offer looks good to me. If we can agree on the base, I'm ready to accept and can start on [date].

Thank you again. I'm happy to talk by phone if that's easier.

Best regards,
[Your name]

Keep it short, positive and specific. Name one figure, not a range, and give reasons based on the market and on your value. The Department of Labor’s guide says not to use your current pay or your financial obligations as the reason.

What can you negotiate besides base salary?

What to ask for	Worth raising when	How to ask
Sign-on bonus	Base pay is capped, or you are leaving a bonus behind	“Could a sign-on bonus bridge the difference?”
Start date	You need time between jobs	“Could I start on [date]?”
Paid time off	Salary cannot move, or you would lose accrued time by switching	“Could we add [number] days of vacation?”
Earlier salary review	The employer says budget may open up later	“Could we set a salary review at six months, in writing?”
Title or level	Your scope matches the next level up	“Given the scope, would [title] be possible?”
Bonus target or equity	They are a standard part of pay for the role	“Is there flexibility on the bonus target or the equity grant?”
Remote or hybrid schedule	Others in the role already work that way	“Could we put [number] remote days a week in the offer letter?”
Relocation or training costs	You are moving, or the role needs a certification	“Is help with [relocation or the certification] available?”

Raise your priorities together, not one at a time. A list that keeps growing after each concession wears out goodwill. And put anything agreed in the written offer. A promise that a manager “will look at it” after you start is not a term of the offer.

What if you are afraid to negotiate?

“They will pull the offer.” The employer has spent time and money choosing you and wants you to accept, a point the Department of Labor’s guide makes directly. What puts an offer at risk is tone: ultimatums, round after round, or new demands after you have agreed.
“I have no other offer.” You do not need one. Market data and your own record are the basis for the request. Do not invent a competing offer. The Department of Labor’s guide warns that playing one offer against another can backfire.
“They will think I am greedy.” Berkeley’s career office tells students that employers most often expect candidates to negotiate, beginning with base salary, and that offers tend to sit in the middle or lower part of a range.
“What if they say no?” Then you are deciding on the original offer, with more information than before. Ask whether anything else is flexible, and choose.
“I already told them a number.” You can revise it if the job turned out to be bigger than you understood. Say what changed.

If this is your first job, the same principles apply with a few adjustments, covered in how to negotiate salary for an entry-level job.

What happens after you ask?

There are three outcomes.

Yes. Ask for the updated offer in writing, check every term and accept. How to accept a job offer has the wording.
Partly. Decide whether the new terms clear your minimum. You can make one more request, ideally for something other than base pay. More on that in counter offers.
No. Accept the original terms if they still work for you, or decline politely and keep the relationship.

One round is normal and two is the limit. After you accept, the negotiation is over.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is it OK to negotiate salary after a job offer?

Yes. The period between receiving an offer and accepting it is the standard time to negotiate, and employers often expect candidates to ask. Keep the request polite, specific and supported by market data, and make it once.

How much more should you ask for in a salary negotiation?

There is no reliable percentage rule. Base the figure on research: what the role pays at your level and location. Ask for a number above your target that the data still supports, so that a compromise lands where you wanted to be.

Should you negotiate salary by email or by phone?

Either works. A call lets you answer objections on the spot and hear the tone. An email lets you word the request carefully and gives the employer time to consult others. If you negotiate by phone, confirm what was agreed in writing afterwards.

Can an employer withdraw an offer because you negotiated?

It can happen, so keep the tone collaborative. A single, reasoned request is something hiring teams handle all the time. Offers get into trouble when a candidate issues ultimatums, keeps reopening terms or misrepresents a competing offer.

How do you negotiate salary without another offer?

Use market data and your own value. Show what similar roles pay in your area and explain what you bring that supports the top of that range. A competing offer adds leverage, but it is not required, and you should never invent one.

When should you bring up salary in the hiring process?

Let the employer raise it. If you are asked about expectations early, give a researched range. Save the actual negotiation for after you receive an offer, when the employer has decided it wants you.

Sources

U.S. Department of Labor: Salary Negotiation Participant Guide: taking time before responding, setting a range, what to negotiate besides salary, negotiating in writing and what not to do.
Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School: Price Anchoring 101: how the first number anchors a negotiation, the job offer example and how to respond to an anchor.
Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School: Power and Negotiation: Advice on First Offers: BATNA as a source of power and the research on when making the first offer helps.
Berkeley Career Engagement: Negotiating Offers: that employers expect candidates to negotiate and where initial offers tend to sit in a range.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics: government wage data by occupation and area for market research.

Published by Jobbie and last updated on October 6, 2026. This guide is general information for job seekers, not legal, tax or financial advice. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.