How to Counter Offer in a Salary Negotiation

Never throw out the first number. 

That’s the first rule for negotiating a good counter offer, according to Nick Singh, a former software engineer at Facebook and Google and co-author of Ace the Data Science Interview.

For Singh, too many job seekers jump at the first offer they get, or come back with a counter too hastily. 

And many candidates don’t realize their value, hesitating or failing to self-advocate when it comes to negotiation, according to Rebecca Andersen, director of career services and alumni relations at UC Berkeley. 

In all the years Andersen has advised students, she has never heard of an offer being revoked because a candidate asked for more money or other incentives. In fact, negotiating for a better deal may show you’re skillful at communicating, assertive and willing to advocate for yourself — qualities most employers want.

Still, there are unspoken rules of engagement that can lead to very different outcomes at the bargaining table. 

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What Is a Salary Counter Offer? 

A salary counter offer is a differing offer provided by a candidate in response to an initial salary offer provided by an employer. Counter offers are likely to come up if candidates believe the original salary offer does not match their measured value and needs as an employee, financially or personally.

Whether it’s due to contradicting market value for the role or misalignment based on your past experience, you may believe a salary increase is warranted. This is where a salary counter offer can be useful, and it can help create a negotiable middle ground and higher salary offer in return.

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How to Negotiate a Salary Counter Offer

It can only take a few extra minutes to turn an offer around in your favor. Consider following these tips on negotiating a salary counter offer.

1. Pause Before Responding

When Singh landed an offer from Facebook for a role as an entry-level data software engineer, the recruiter tried to pin him down to a salary figure and signing bonus. In response, Singh didn’t immediately accept the offer and mostly kept his mouth shut, floating only one brief comment in reply:

“I’m really excited about the opportunity at Facebook, and it’s been my dream to work on your world-class growth engineering team, but the potential equity upside from the other startup I have an offer from makes the compensation at Facebook not as attractive as I’d need to sign.”

He took a long pause, and waited for them to come back with an offer. After the ten-minute conversation, the recruiter upped Singh’s signing bonus from $25,000 to $50,000. 

“With these negotiations, thirty seconds more thinking about something before you respond can lead to $30,000. Why not?” Singh said. “This is not a normal conversation you’re having with someone. This is a high-stakes thing.”

2. Ask Follow-Up Questions About the Salary

Recruiters, VPs and CEOs are trained to sell and close deals, Singh said. They can make a first offer look wildly attractive, especially to a disenchanted job seeker in a vulnerable position, but it’s important for candidates to keep a cool head. It’s perfectly acceptable to express your excitement and gratitude and tell a recruiter you need time to review the details of the contract. 

You can also use the offer as an opening to ask more questions, such as “Can you give me a little more context around this number?” or, “Can you tell me where this [salary] fits within other roles that are similar?” 

After they respond, refrain from presenting a counter offer. Instead, stress that you’re excited about the job and that your experience qualifies you for a competitive salary. Then take time to review the contract (more on this later).

3. Ask for More Time to Consider the Offer

Often, recruiters and hiring managers ask candidates for their salary expectations “because if your expectation is outside of their range, they’re going to pass,” Andersen said. So, be ready to deflect. 

“You can say, ‘Hey, I need some time to think about it,’ Singh said. “As soon as you give a number, you’ve anchored yourself to it and then they will use that number and, guess what, that anchor likely will be lower than you want.”

You can also redirect the conversation by asking the recruiter to tell you more about the role and responsibilities.

4. Get the Role’s Salary Range

If a recruiter asks for your salary expectations, “this is where I would say, ‘If you have a range, I can let you know where I fall in that range. That would be super helpful,’” Singh said. “Then add, ‘I’m flexible, because it really depends on the position and the opportunities for growth.’”

Unless it’s a very small startup, the company likely has a range for the role and the recruiter should know it. In fact, some states have to disclose the range by law.  

Though if the recruiter says they don’t know the range, “Say, ‘No problem. I’ll send you an email follow-up. I’ll remind you of the questions, and then you can send me back that range.’ Be firm, but not aggressive. You’re getting that range,” Andersen said.

The reason the information is important is because if a company is offering you the top of its range — say $150,000 in a salary schedule from $100,000 to $150,000 — the only way to negotiate upward is to pursue a higher-level position.

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5. Conduct Comparative Salary Research   

It’s best to do your salary homework ahead of any interviews. But if an employer presents a range, you should circle back to run comparisons.

Many candidates undervalue their worth, especially at large companies in major market cities, such as San Francisco and New York. An infographic on Singh’s website shows that entry-level software engineers at Google and Facebook (who begin at level three on a payment scale system) earn roughly $180,000 in base salary, stock options and performance bonuses. By level five, which many software engineers hit within four years, that jumps to $355,000. 

Built In’s salary tool is a good place to look for salary comparisons (be sure to account for regional and experience differences).

Another way to gain an edge in negotiation is by talking to professional acquaintances at the company where you’re interviewing. College alumni associations and private social-network groups can often open channels of communication to people with firsthand information.

6. Assess Your Qualifications and Prepare an Argument 

Before making a counter offer, it’s a good idea to have the contract reviewed by an attorney, career coach or trusted colleague, according to Carlota Zee, who runs a career consultancy. You should also prepare a coherent argument that outlines your achievements and justifies why you deserve a higher salary.

For example: “I brought in XYZ clients. I closed this deal. My work has brought the company these perks, these numbers,” Zee said.

The goal is to make it clear to the company that you understand your worth. “It’s very different than just saying, ‘What are the other people making?’” Zee said.

7. Ask for a 10-to-20-Percent Increase

If you’ve done your research and you think you can do better on your offer, you’re on stable footing asking for a 10-to-20-percent increase in base pay, Andersen said. Don’t give a single figure, though, because it’s an opening for the hiring partner to simply say ‘no.’

“What you want to do is say, ‘I think my target is actually closer to’ — and then give a range, say, a $150,000 to $160,000 base, and then ask a magic, open-ended question like, ‘What do you think we can do to get closer to that?’” Andersen said.

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8. Negotiate Non-Salary Benefits

If a company is unwilling to budge on salary, look for other avenues to make the offer more enticing. Asking about stock options, a relocation bonus, a flexible work-from-home schedule or a benefits package can help extend the conversation and often leads to a better deal. Because stocks are typically distributed over a period of years, they may be an area where a company on a tight budget has more flexibility. 

“Employers think, ‘Hey, you might not even stay that long. So, whatever, if we bump that up to 40,000 over four years, it’s only 10,000 [the first year],’” Singh said.

9. Be Ready to Decline the Offer 

If you’re asking for fair market value and the hiring partner says the company can’t afford you, that may be a warning sign the company is in trouble financially or disingenuous in its payment practices, Zee told Built In. 

Keep in mind, however, that some early stage companies make up for lower salaries by offering equity, professional growth opportunities and generous benefits, which some candidates may find to be worth the tradeoff.

That said, assuming you have the financial security to continue your job search, don’t be afraid to decline and walk away gracefully if you can’t arrive at a compensation package that works for you. The application process is the honeymoon stage of the job, and if the relationship is already rocky, it’s not likely to get better.

10. Know Your Worth 

Job candidates shy away from salary negotiation for all kinds of reasons, Zee said. Some are not used to talking to recruiters who sometimes anchor them to a salary range or present a time-sensitive offer. Others are afraid the first offer they receive is the only offer they’ll receive. Structural biases can make posing a counter offer especially intimidating for women and people from underrepresented groups. And, frankly, asking for more money can be scary. 

But refrain from the impulse to view yourself as greedy or undeserving. 

“If you go in with that mindset, you’re going to feel like you’re scamming them,” Zee said. “Absolutely not. If you’re working full time for a company, your biggest relationship in your daily life is with this company. You’re on call for this company, so you’re going to give them your best.”

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Salary Counter Offer Mistakes to Avoid

1. Don’t Be Afraid to Use a Competing Offer as a Bargaining Chip

There’s no need to reveal competing offers during negotiation. (However, in some cases, a rival offer can be used as a powerful bargaining chip.) Just make sure to keep the conversation congenial and let the company in question know it’s your frontrunner.  

“Don’t do it in an ultimatum sense,” Andersen said. “Do it in a helpful way. ‘I have this other offer. You’re my top choice. If we can get closer to this number, we’re done. I don’t have to worry about [the other company] at all.’”

2. Don’t Be Rude When Asking for More Money

When asking for a higher offer, “You can say, ‘Look, I’m not happy with the money,’” Singh said. “‘But the people are awesome, the position is awesome, your vision is awesome. I love the space.’ Because that’s the only thing that keeps them at the playing table: that you actually care about them. It’s not just about a number. You’re not a mercenary.”

Plus, the person on the other side of the table could one day be your coworker. You don’t want to burn bridges you haven’t even built.

3. Don’t Undersell Yourself

You may not hear many stories of people successfully negotiating their salaries higher, but that might not reflect the realities of your industry. Stiff competition for talent and the amount of up-front expenditure needed to attract and recruit top performers makes companies more willing to budge, Singh said.

“The other interesting thing to know is assessing folks and their performance in tech is much easier than other fields,” Singh added. “Because there are coding interviews [for developers], you actually can tell how someone does. As such, by the time Amazon or Facebook is ready to give you an offer, you’ve proven you can do the work.”

4. Don’t Ignore the Recruiter’s Motivations

At larger companies, a candidate may be working with an external recruiter, an internal recruiter, an outside agency or a direct hiring manager. It’s important to suss this out, as it can help determine how much leverage the recruiter has at the bargaining table — and how badly they want to close the deal.

“Early in the interview process, ask the recruiter, ‘Are you in charge of all hiring for this team?’ Where do you sit? How do you work with the hiring manager? Do you have any tips to work with the hiring manager?’” Andersen said. “Generally speaking, the recruiters want to help you because if they get you to say ‘yes,’ that’s one requisition off their plate.”

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5. Don’t Present Your Counter Offer in Several Requests

It’s best to present several elements of the counter offer request together — base salary, stock options, and so on — with the caveat that you have flexibility in how the request is allocated.

“You don’t want to do that thing where you say, ‘Can I have $10,000 more on base comp? Now I want $20,000 more in stock.’ If you go back and forth with a million questions, that’s going to be annoying,” Andersen said.

6. Don’t Offer Needs-Based Justifications, but Understand Your Needs

The problem with justifying your salary requirements based on personal expenses — childcare costs, a mortgage, school debt or transportation fees — is that the hiring manager with whom you’re interviewing doesn’t always share these concerns.

That said, employer attitudes — particularly among progressive companies — are changing.

Overall, the best strategy is to read the room. If you feel you have a sympathetic ear, you can be more candid about your living expenses.

“At the end of the day, if the salary is not going to pay the bills, I think you’re going to have to say that to them, ‘Look, if I’m important to you, you need to meet me halfway,’” Zee said.

 

How to Write a Salary Counter Offer Email

Once you decide to counter an offer, it sometimes won’t even be within the same interview or meeting. So it may be necessary to communicate your counter offer over an email or propose an additional conversation, preferably within 24 hours.

With the same do’s and don’ts in mind from above, be confident in making your counter offer, except this time in writing. Here’s some examples to get you started.

Making a Counter Offer in Email

If your initial salary offer was delivered through email, it can be appropriate to continue the conversation in the same email thread or platform.

Subject: Regarding Job Offer 

Dear [Interviewer Name],

Thank you for extending an offer and for providing an update in regard to the [position name] position. I’m very grateful for the opportunity and appreciate your time through this process. 

With this in mind, I would like to discuss the offered compensation for this position. Through personal research, I have found the average compensation for this position to fall in the salary range of [x] to [x], in comparison to the offer given. Considering this research and my past experience in [x], I would like to request a salary within the listed market salary range. 

I’m very excited at the prospect of joining [company], and believe my skills would positively contribute toward the goals of the team.

Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you.

[Your Name]

Scheduling a Future Counter Offer Through Email 

If you instead received your salary offer over the phone or in a face-to-face meeting, it would be appropriate to propose scheduling an additional meeting to discuss a counter offer.

Subject: Regarding Job Offer 

Dear [Interviewer Name],

Thank you for extending an offer and for providing an update in regard to the [position name] position. I’m very grateful for the opportunity and appreciate your time through this process. 

With this in mind, I would like to discuss the offered compensation for this position. Through personal research, I have found the average compensation for this position to fall in the salary range of [x] to [x], in comparison to the offer given. 

Considering this research and my past experience in [x], I would like to discuss further on a salary within the listed market salary range. Please let me know if you would be open to scheduling an additional meeting time for doing so. 

Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you.

[Your Name]

Frequently Asked Questions