How to Negotiate Salary
Salary negotiation is a short conversation with a long memory, because the number you accept becomes the base for every raise that follows. The candidates who do well are not the most aggressive. They are the ones who researched, waited for the right moment, and asked clearly for a figure they could justify.
Research before you say a number
You cannot ask well without knowing the range. Collect at least three sources: advertised salaries for similar roles in the same region, pay data published by professional bodies or government statistics, and people doing the job now. Ask contacts what the band is rather than what they earn personally, which is easier to answer and just as useful.
Write down three figures before the conversation: a target, a walk-away point and a floor. The target is what you ask for. The walk-away is where you would decline or keep looking. Having your own numbers set is what stops a low offer from sounding reasonable in the moment.
The first number often anchors
Whoever names a figure first tends to set the range for everything after, so if you can, let the employer go first. Ask early: 'What range is budgeted for this role?' Then aim your answer at the top of it.
If you must give a number, give a range with your target near the bottom of it and explain what sits behind it: 'For a role with this scope I am looking at 52 to 58 thousand, based on two years running a team of this size and covering the on-call rota.'
Never invent a current salary. Offers are sometimes checked, and being caught out ends the conversation.
Avoid naming a figure in a first screening call if you can. If they press, give the range and add that you are flexible for the right role, which keeps the conversation open without setting an anchor so low that you cannot climb back from it.
A script for the conversation
Prepare it, because the moment is rarely comfortable and unscripted asking tends to come out as an apology. Here is a workable sequence.
Opening: 'Thank you for the offer. I am pleased about the role and I want to accept. Before I do, can we talk about the salary?'
The ask: 'The offer is 48. Based on the range I have seen for this role and my experience running the on-call rota, I am looking for 54. Is that something you can do?'
Then stop talking. Silence is uncomfortable, and the temptation is to fill it with a discount: 'or 51, or whatever works.' Let the other person answer the question you actually asked.
If the answer is yes, ask for it in writing. If the answer is a firm no on base pay, move to the rest of the package: a signing bonus, an early review at six months, extra holiday, a training budget, a better job title, or paid travel time. These often cost the employer less than base pay and are easier to approve.
Handling common replies
Prepare a line for each of these so the pause does not cost you the ask.
- That is the top of the band. - Ask when the band is next reviewed and whether an off-cycle increase is possible. Offer to tie it to agreed targets.
- What are you currently on? - You do not have to answer. 'I would rather focus on the value of this role, which I understand is banded at 48 to 56.'
- We will look at it again after probation. - Ask for that in the offer letter with a date and a number attached. Without both, it is an intention rather than a promise.
- We need an answer today. - Deadlines are usually softer than they sound. 'I can give you a decision by Thursday' is normally accepted.
Finish the paperwork
Once you agree, get the details in writing before you resign from anything: base salary, bonus terms and whether the bonus is guaranteed, working hours, holiday, pension contribution, notice period, probation length, and the review date you negotiated. Check whether a bonus is discretionary and pro-rated for your first year.
Ask what happens to the promised review if the manager who offered it leaves. A verbal agreement from someone who then moves on is difficult to enforce. The signed offer letter is the one that counts.
If the contract arrives with a salary lower than the number you agreed, raise it before you sign, in writing, quoting the earlier email. Oversights happen, and so do quiet downgrades, but both are far easier to correct before your signature is on the page.