Salary Negotiation: Getting the Offer You Deserve

An offer arrives, relief kicks in, and the candidate accepts on the spot.

It's the most common way people leave money on the table. Not through poor negotiating — through never negotiating at all.

The reluctance is understandable. Asking for more feels like risking something you've just spent weeks earning. But an employer who has decided to hire you has already invested heavily: shortlisting, several rounds of interviews, internal sign-off, often a fee to a recruiter. They are not going to discard that over a professional conversation about compensation.

Understand the range before you talk

Negotiating without research is guessing out loud.

Before the conversation, establish what the role pays for your level, in the relevant market — not your market. A backend engineer in London, Dubai, and Toronto command different numbers for identical work, and remote roles are usually benchmarked to the employer's location or a defined band, not yours.

Useful sources include Glassdoor and Levels.fyi for larger companies, published salary guides from recruitment firms, and job adverts for comparable roles where the range is disclosed. Pay-transparency rules in parts of the US and the EU mean many postings now state a band outright.

Most useful of all: ask your recruiter. If you're working with one, they know what the client has budgeted, because they negotiated the fee against it. A good recruiter will tell you when your expectation is unrealistic, and when you're underselling yourself. Both save you time.

Come out of this with three numbers: the least you'd accept, a fair target, and an ambitious-but-defensible figure.

Avoid naming the first number

Where you can, let the employer go first. Whoever names a figure first anchors the discussion, and you can't revise upwards once you've undershot.

When asked directly what you're looking for, deflect once, politely:

"I'd rather understand the full scope first. What range have you budgeted for the role?"

Many will simply tell you. In several US states and increasingly elsewhere, they're required to on request.

If pressed again, give a range with your target at the bottom — employers hear the lower end. "Based on what I've seen for comparable roles, somewhere from 85 to 95" positions 85 as your floor, not your hope.

Never state your current salary. In much of the US, the UK, and elsewhere it's unlawful to require it, and it's irrelevant regardless. You're being paid for the value of the new role, not indexed to an old one.

Making the ask

Once the offer is in hand, take a day. "Thank you — I'm excited about this. Could I have twenty-four hours to review it properly?" is entirely standard and buys you room to think.

When you come back, be specific, be warm, and give a reason:

"I'm genuinely keen to join. Looking at the package, I was hoping we could get closer to 95. Based on comparable roles and the fact I'd be bringing the payments integration experience you mentioned was a gap, I think that reflects the value fairly. Is there room?"

Three things are doing work there: enthusiasm, a specific figure, and a justification anchored in their stated need rather than your personal circumstances. What you need to cover your rent is not a reason for them to pay more. What you'll deliver is.

Then stop talking. The silence is uncomfortable, and filling it usually means negotiating against yourself.

Salary isn't the only variable

Base pay is often the least flexible element, especially where bands are fixed. That doesn't mean the offer is fixed.

Signing bonuses frequently come from a different budget and can bridge a gap without disturbing the band. Equity, annual bonus percentage, and additional leave are all negotiable. So are a title adjustment, a review at six months rather than twelve, remote or hybrid arrangements, a training budget, and an earlier start date.

If base won't move, ask what will. "I understand the band is fixed. Is there flexibility on the signing bonus or the review timeline?" often opens a door that a straight salary push cannot.

Get it in writing

Anything agreed verbally goes in the written offer. Not because anyone is acting in bad faith, but because the person who promised you a six-month review may not be the person conducting it.

Check the full document before signing: notice period, probation terms, bonus conditions, and any clawback on a signing bonus if you leave within a year.

Where to stop

Negotiate once, perhaps twice. Repeated rounds over small amounts damage the relationship you're about to start, and you'll be working with these people from day one.

If they hold firm after a fair attempt, accept gracefully or decline gracefully. Do not accept resentfully — starting a job feeling underpaid rarely ends well, and it's better to walk away cleanly than to arrive already looking.

And if you do accept the original number, that's a legitimate choice too. Just make it a decision, rather than something that happened because nobody asked.

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