Make a counter-offer by email or phone and stay on good terms with the employer.
When a job offer arrives, you can reply with one polite, specific counter-offer: a single request for a better figure, with a reason for it. Many people never ask because they fear the employer will withdraw the offer. A reasoned counter rarely leads to that, and if you handle it well, the working relationship starts on a good footing whatever the answer.
Hafiz is a candidate for a senior data analyst role with a healthcare group, and he also holds an offer from a logistics firm. The healthcare group's offer letter arrives on a Friday: S$7,200 a month, plus a 13th month and a target bonus (all figures here are invented examples). Lesson 7.2, Value the whole package, not just base pay, set out this package in full. The base is below the S$7,400 to S$7,900 range he gave in Lesson 7.3, Answer the expected salary question. He wants the job, but he worries that asking for more could make them withdraw it.
Your first reply should do three things: thank them, show you are interested in the role, and ask for the offer in writing with time to review it. Asking for a few working days is a normal request. If the offer comes by phone, don't negotiate on that call. Keep it to thanks and a request for the written offer. Lesson 6.2, Counter a tactic by naming it or ignoring it, recommended taking time away from live pressure for any important decision. With the letter in front of you, you can compare it with your notes calmly. If the employer presses you for an answer on the spot, notice that as a tactic.
Hafiz's reply thanks them and says he is pleased and excited about the role. He asks for the full offer in writing and says he will review the whole package and respond by Wednesday.
Before you send a counter, decide what you will do if the employer says a firm no to everything. Compare the offer as it stands with your BATNA, used here in the sense defined in Lesson 2.1, and with your reservation point. If the offer still beats your alternative, you accept. If a firm no would leave it below your reservation point, you decline politely. If you settle this before sending, it is easier to respond calmly when the answer comes.
Hafiz's BATNA is the logistics firm's offer, worth about S$95,000 a year in expected cash. The healthcare offer, unchanged, is worth about S$102,240 a year. So he decides that if they say no to everything, he will accept at S$7,200 and be glad he asked.
After your review, make one counter-offer only. Name a specific figure rather than a range, and give a reason for it: market data, and what you bring to the role. A single reasoned counter is normal in hiring. A series of counters, each nudging the number again, looks like haggling and can sour things with your future manager.
Hafiz chooses S$7,700 a month. It sits inside his range, near the middle, and any reply between S$7,200 and S$7,700 would still leave him pleased. S$7,700 minus S$7,200 is an increase of S$500 a month, which is about 6.9% on S$7,200. With the 13th month, S$500 x 13 months comes to S$6,500 a year.
Keep the email short, warm and specific. It should not apologise and should not threaten. Hafiz thanks them again and says he is keen to join. He cites recruiter salary guides and current listings for senior data analyst roles, along with the dashboard and programming experience they discussed. He asks whether the base could be S$7,700 a month and says that if so, he is ready to accept and confirm the start date this week. That closing offer to accept is optional, and you can include it if it is true for you.
His email does not mention the logistics offer. Mention another offer only if it is both useful and true. Lesson 6.3, Where hard bargaining becomes dishonest, is the basis for that rule. Hafiz leaves it out unless he decides it meets both tests.
Sometimes base salary is fixed because of a salary band, an internal parity rule, or a budget already approved, and this is often genuine. The negotiation then moves to other items, which often cost the employer less than salary, as Lesson 7.2 showed. These are your fallbacks. Hafiz prepares five in case the base cannot move:
a one-off sign-on bonus, which is a one-time cost to them an earlier first salary review, at six months instead of twelve a title that reflects the scope of the role, which helps his next move two extra days of annual leave a training budget for the certification he wants
Don't ask for every item. Pick the ones that matter most and put them in one message. Hafiz picks the early review and the training budget. He asks for both in a single reply that acknowledges the base is fixed.
If the answer is still a firm no on everything, act on the decision you made earlier. Accept if the offer still beats your alternative, or decline politely if it falls below your reservation point.
Now write a counter-offer email of your own, for a real offer or a sample one. Include a specific number, a reason for that number, and one ask that isn't about salary.
Write a counter-offer email for a real or sample offer. Include your number, your reason and one ask that is not salary.
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