Get the offer in writing first
A verbal offer is a strong signal, not a commitment. Before you respond substantively, ask for the details in writing.
"Thank you, I am really pleased. Could you send the full details across so I can review everything properly? I will come back to you tomorrow." That is a completely standard reply and no reasonable employer treats it as a warning sign.
What you are looking for in the document: base salary, bonus structure and how it is actually calculated, equity if any and its vesting schedule, pension or retirement contribution, holiday entitlement, notice period, start date, and the remote or hybrid arrangement in specific terms rather than as a vague policy reference.
Take time, visibly but briefly
A day or two is normal. A week starts to test goodwill unless you have explicitly agreed it, for example because another process is finishing.
Use the time properly. Compare the total package rather than the headline number, especially if you are moving city or country — a higher salary in an expensive market can be a real-terms cut once housing, tax and commuting are accounted for. Check what the take-home actually looks like after local deductions, which can vary enormously between countries.
If you have another process running, it is fair to tell both. "I have an offer with a decision date of Thursday — is it possible to accelerate?" is a normal, professional request rather than a manipulation.
Make one clear request
The most effective negotiation is a single, specific, well-justified ask. Repeated small requests over several days — a bit more salary, then an extra week of leave, then a signing bonus — is the pattern that genuinely annoys employers, because each round reopens something they thought was closed.
Decide everything you want, then present it once. Lead with the salary if that is your priority, but name the whole list so they can solve it in one pass.
"I am really keen to accept. Two things I would like to discuss: I was hoping we could reach 72,000 based on the market range for this role, and I would like to confirm three remote days rather than two. If the salary is fixed, would a signing bonus be possible instead?" That gives them everything they need to come back with a single answer.
Know what is actually flexible
Base salary often sits inside a band that the hiring manager cannot exceed without approval several levels up. Other elements are frequently far easier to move, and can be worth more than the raise you were denied.
- Signing bonus — sits outside the salary band and is often the easiest yes.
- An early salary review at six months, with written criteria.
- Additional annual leave, which is genuine untaxed value.
- Remote or hybrid days, worth real money in commuting cost and time.
- Job title, which compounds into every future application.
- Training budget, certifications or conference attendance.
- Start date, which can be worth more than money if you need a break.
- Relocation support, temporary housing or visa cost coverage.
Justify with the market, not your circumstances
The arguments that move an offer are about the role and about you as a candidate. The market rate for this position at this level. The specific scarce skill you bring that they flagged as hard to hire. A competing offer, if it genuinely exists.
The arguments that do not move an offer are about your personal situation. Your rent, your loan, your commute, the fact you have not had a raise in years. All may be true; none give a hiring manager anything they can take to finance.
Research the range before you speak, using published salary data for your country and level alongside current adverts for comparable roles. A number grounded in evidence sounds like a fact. A number pulled from hope sounds like one.
Watch the tone
The person you are negotiating with will probably manage you. That should shape how the conversation sounds.
Collaborative framing works: "Can we find a way to get closer to X?" Ultimatums generally do not, and they leave a residue even when they succeed. Frequently the hiring manager wants to pay you more and is constrained by a band, a budget cycle or an HR policy. Treating them as a partner in solving that is far more productive than treating them as an obstacle.
And once you have asked, stop talking. The most common self-inflicted wound in negotiation is filling the silence by softening your own request before the other person has responded.
Closing it out
When you reach agreement, get the final terms in writing before you resign from anything. Everything you negotiated should appear in the document — not just the salary, but the review date, the remote arrangement, the signing bonus and its payment conditions.
Read the fine print on anything with a clawback: signing bonuses and relocation support commonly must be repaid if you leave within twelve or twenty-four months. Check notice periods and any non-compete or restrictive covenant, particularly if you work in a small sector.
Then accept properly and warmly, and let the negotiation go. Whatever you did or did not get, you are about to work with these people.