How to negotiate salary: a step-by-step guide with scripts

To negotiate salary, wait until you have a formal offer, find your number from market data for your job and state, then counter with one specific number slightly above your target and a short reason. Handle push-back calmly, trade for other items if base is fixed, and get the final offer in writing.

When should you negotiate?

Negotiate after you receive a formal offer — ideally in writing. Before that, you're having a salary conversation: the employer may ask about your expectations, and you can share a researched range or ask for theirs (see salary expectations). The real negotiation starts once they've said "we'd like to offer you…".

Why after? Because now they've decided they want you, and you know the full offer: base, bonus, benefits, start date. Most people still don't negotiate — 55% of US workers accepted their first offer without negotiating, while 78% of those who negotiated got a better offer (Resume Genius 2025 Salary Negotiation Survey).

Step 1: Find your number

Start with the market range for your job in your state. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes percentiles of annual base pay for about 830 occupations. Then pick a target based on your experience:

Your opening number (anchor) is the top of that range plus about 5%, rounded to a clean number. Check your job to get your range and opening number.

Also decide your walk-away point — the lowest total package you'd accept — and keep it to yourself.

Step 2: Build your case

Your case is about value, not needs. Prepare:

• Market data: "The BLS median for this job in [state] is [amount]."
• Two or three results with numbers: revenue, time saved, quality, people trained, costs cut.
• What you'll bring in the first year: a skill or experience that is hard to find.

Leave out rent, student loans and childcare costs. They're real, but they aren't the employer's reason to pay more.

Step 3: Respond to the offer without accepting

When the offer comes, be warm, be grateful — and don't say yes yet.

If they push for an answer on the spot, it's fine to say: "I'm very interested. I'd just like a day to look at the full picture."

Step 4: Make your counter

Name one number and one or two reasons. Then stop talking.

A worked example with real numbers. Say you're a registered nurse with four years of experience and you're offered $97,550, the national median (BLS OEWS May 2025). Your suggested target range is $98,000 to $112,000, so the offer is at the bottom. A counter of $118,000 is specific, above your target and backed by data. If they meet you at the middle, you're still inside your range. (An illustration, not a promised result — state and employer matter.)

Step 5: Handle push-back

The first "no" is usually not the last word. Stay calm and specific.

Many US states and cities restrict employers from asking about salary history — you don't need to cite the law, just redirect to market value.

Step 6: Negotiate beyond base

If base is truly fixed, move to other parts of the package. Ask for them together, not one by one:

• Sign-on bonus — often easier than base, because it's a one-time cost.
• Start date — time between jobs, or to finish a project.
• PTO — extra days, especially if you'd lose accrued time.
• Remote or hybrid days — in writing.
• Title or level — affects your next raise and next job.
• Earlier pay review — for example after six months, with a target number.
• Equity — ask for the vesting schedule and current value before comparing.

Step 7: Get it in writing

When you agree, ask for an updated offer letter with every item: base, bonus target, sign-on and repayment terms, equity, PTO, remote days, title, start date and review date. Don't resign from your current job until you have it.

Phone or email?

A common pattern: counter by email, then handle the call that follows. See our email templates.

Mistakes to avoid

• Accepting on the spot.
• Giving a range — they'll pick the bottom.
• Justifying with personal needs.
• Hedging: "I was hoping, maybe, if possible…"
• Inventing a competing offer.
• Negotiating the base and forgetting the rest of the package.
• Making several separate asks over several days.

What if they say no?

Thank them, ask whether any other part of the package can move, and ask what it would take to get to your number at the first review. Then decide based on the whole offer. A "no" on base with a sign-on bonus and a six-month review in writing can still be a good result.

Can negotiating backfire?

It's uncommon when you're polite and reasonable, but it can happen — for example if an employer has a strict fixed-pay policy or if the ask sounds like an ultimatum. You lower the risk by staying positive about the role, giving a data-based reason, asking rather than demanding, and never bluffing about other offers.

Practice before the real call

Most people lose money in the moment, not in the preparation: the recruiter says "that's above our budget", the silence feels long, and they lower their own number. Among people who didn't ask for more the last time they were hired, 38% said they didn't feel comfortable asking (Pew Research Center, 2023). Practicing out loud with a counterpart who pushes back makes the real call feel familiar.

Related: Negotiate a job offer · How to counter offer salary · Salary negotiation script