You will be able to make a counter-offer by email or call that keeps the relationship positive.
The healthcare group's offer letter arrives on a Friday: S$7,200 a month, with a 13th month and a target bonus, as lesson 7.2 laid out. It's below the S$7,400 to S$7,900 range Hafiz gave in lesson 7.3, Answer the expected salary question. He wants the job. He's also worried that asking for more might make them withdraw it.
That worry stops a lot of people from countering at all. This lesson shows how to make a counter-offer that's normal, polite and specific, so the relationship starts well whatever the answer. All figures are examples.
Your first reply should do three things: thank them, show you're interested in the role, and ask for the offer in writing with time to review it. If the offer came by phone, don't negotiate on that call.
"Thank you, I'm really pleased to receive this, and I'm excited about the role. Could you send the full offer in writing? I'd like to look through the whole package and come back to you by Wednesday."
This buys you time to compare the offer with your notes, away from the pressure of a live conversation, as lesson 6.2, Counter a tactic by naming it or ignoring it, recommended for any important decision. Asking for a few working days is a normal request. If they press for an answer on the spot, that's a tactic worth noticing.
Once you've reviewed it, make one counter-offer. Name a specific figure, not a range, and give the reason for it: market data, and what you bring to the role.
Hafiz picks S$7,700. It's inside the range he gave, close enough to the middle to sound reasonable, and high enough that a reply somewhere between S$7,200 and S$7,700 would still leave him pleased. His email:
"Thank you again for the offer. I'm keen to join the team. Based on recruiter salary guides and current listings for senior data analyst roles, and the dashboard and programming experience we discussed, I'd like to ask whether the base salary could be S$7,700 a month. If that's possible, I'd be ready to accept and confirm the start date this week."
That's an increase of S$500 a month, or about 6.9% on the offer. With a 13th month, it's worth S$6,500 a year. The email is short, warm and specific. It doesn't apologise, doesn't threaten, and doesn't mention the other offer unless Hafiz decides that's useful and true, in line with lesson 6.3, Where hard bargaining becomes dishonest.
Counter once. A single reasoned counter is normal in hiring. A series of counters, each nudging the number again, starts to look like haggling, and can sour things with your future manager.
Sometimes the answer is that the base salary is fixed: a salary band, an internal parity rule, a budget already approved. That's often genuine, and it doesn't end the negotiation. It moves it to other items, which lesson 7.2, Value the whole package, not just base pay, showed often cost the employer less.
Hafiz prepares fallbacks in case the base can't move:
A one-off sign-on bonus, which costs them once An earlier first salary review, at six months instead of twelve A title that reflects the scope, which helps his next move Two extra days of annual leave A training budget for the certification he wants
He doesn't ask for all five. He picks the two that matter most to him, the early review and the training budget, and puts them in one message: "I understand the base is fixed. Would it be possible to bring the first review forward to six months, and include support for my certification?"
A polite, reasoned counter rarely causes an offer to be withdrawn. But it's still wise to decide, before you send it, what you'll do if the answer is a firm no on everything.
For Hafiz, the answer is already clear from his preparation. His BATNA, in the sense of lesson 2.1, is the logistics firm's offer, which he valued at about S$95,000 a year in expected cash. The healthcare offer, even unchanged, is worth about S$102,240. So if they say no to everything, he'll accept at S$7,200 and be glad he asked.
Your answer might be different. If a firm no would leave the offer below your reservation point, you'd decline politely, and you'll find it easier to say that calmly if you decided it before you hit send.
The activity asks you to write a counter-offer email of your own, for a real or sample offer, with a number, a reason and one ask that isn't about salary.
Write a counter-offer email for a real or sample offer, with your number, your reason and one non-salary ask.
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