Most employers expect you to negotiate. Not negotiating doesn't make you easy to work with — it signals you don't know your market value. Here are the tactics that work, with specific scripts for common scenarios.
Practice Interview SkillsResearch from Carnegie Mellon shows that people who negotiate their starting salary earn $5,000-$20,000 more in the first year. Over a 10-year career, that gap compounds to over $500,000 through raises, bonuses, and future job offers that anchor to your current compensation.
Despite this, only about 39% of workers negotiate their last offer. The reason is usually emotional — gratitude for the offer, fear of losing it, or uncertainty about how to ask. None of these are good reasons to leave money on the table. Employers build negotiation room into offers. When you don't negotiate, you're accepting less than they were prepared to pay.
Strong interview performance is the foundation of negotiation leverage — the better you interview, the more options you create, and multiple offers give you leverage no tactic can replace.
"Thank you for the offer. I'm genuinely excited about this role. Based on my research on [source] and my experience with [specific skill], I was expecting something closer to $X. Is there flexibility in the base salary?"
"I'd prefer to learn more about the role's scope and responsibilities before discussing specific numbers. What's the budgeted range for this position?"
"I understand the base salary is set. Could we explore other options? I'd be interested in discussing a signing bonus, additional PTO, a remote work stipend, or an accelerated review cycle."
"I've received an offer from [Company] at [amount]. Your role is my first choice because [specific reason]. Can you match or improve on that compensation to help me make this work?"
The strongest negotiation position starts with a strong interview. Multiple offers give you leverage no tactic can replace.
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