I negotiated salary for the first time — and it worked!

by Alison Green on August 8, 2024

A reader writes:

Recently I had the chance to put into practice so much of what I’d read on your site. I was offered a job, but was disappointed at the salary (even though it was a 25% upfront increase and title bump, I’d expected more). Were my expectations too high (I was operating on gut instinct at this point) or was the offer below market?

I’d never before negotiated my salary. When talking to various friends and family about pay, including my spouse, they all typically agree that “any raise is a good raise.” It’s taken me years to build the professional confidence I have now, and I only just recently felt confident enough to take on salary negotiations. It was an absolutely wild experience (wild in how easy it was) that turned out great.

By getting to know the market range for my position and experience level (including deep-dives into job boards, scouring the “Careers” webpages of my company’s competitors, and talking with folks in my industry who I trust), plus doing the literal math on the differences between benefits packages (it was crazy to see how wildly this affected my overall comp), I ultimately determined the initial offer was under market (and when factoring in differences in benefits, 10% less than the initial, upfront figure). Using my findings and your site’s advice, I negotiated a higher offer that put me smack dab in market range.

This whole process has absolutely blown my mind. I’d built it up in my head (and some parts of it were a little awkward on my end since it was my first time doing this), but it could not have been easier. In particular, this post of yours was so helpful; I actually used some of the same verbiage in my discussions with my new company’s HR team.

All in all, I’m so thankful for this process and how your site helped me get through it. Not only am I making market for my position (probably for the first time in my life, though I’d rather not fact check that since I don’t need to be depressed this weekend), but I feel so much more confident. It’s amazing what an effect this simple act of self-advocacy can have. It’s an amazing feeling to be paid what you’re worth.

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{ 28 comments }

{ 28 comments… read them below }

  1. You Can't Pronounce It*

    I’m so happy for you and glad it all work out! I truly hope you enjoy your new adventure and thrive in your role!

  3. Det. Amy Santiago*

    I would love to know the words you used, and if there’s a difference when you’re talking with the HR Rep vs. Hiring Manager. Awesome outcome!!

  4. WindmillArms*

    I took a new job three months ago. They’d never hired for my type of role before, and I was honest upfront that the top of their posted range was ~$10k less than I expected. I went through with the interviews anyway, since it was close enough that certain benefits could close the gap. They were impressed with me, I was impressed with them, and I made the case again about the salary range being a bit low.

    They offered me the $10k over the stated range, and thanked me for getting them in line with the market.

    Advocate for what you’re worth!

  5. Newbie*

    I’m so glad this worked out for you!

    I did the same thing last year. I cited the range for an average salary and my years of experience in my area as of the year 202x. I gave the recruiter the name of my professional organization (he probably knew it, based on the company’s composition of salary bands). He asked if I wanted the salary or something in the range. I told him the range. I got the salary! This was a large increase from my previous job.

  6. .*

    Congratulations! It’s so nice to see an example of Alison’s advice leading to such a positive outcome.

  7. call me wheels*

    Well done!

    Does anyone have any advice for salary negotiation in the UK? I’ve never been sure if it is much of a thing here. And do I have any grounding as a new grad to negotiate?

    I have a job I’m interviewing for next week that is offering £25k – £35k depending on experience, but they mention the position might be for someone with no experience or maybe 1-2 years experience. I have about 6 months full time in a similar role under my belt, then over the next 3 years various part time relevant internships. It probably adds up to at least 1 year of full time maybe. If they hypothetically offered £25k would I be in a good position to argue for a higher salary since I have more than the 0 experience they said was a possibility? My research on what the normal range for this sort of job is so far has been confusing and I think it does depend a lot on experience but yes usually within that range. Thank you for any advice!

    1. JSPA.*

      I’d imagine so? Depends what the learning curve is like, whether that’s 27K or 29K (or even 31K, if you’re broadly useful after 6 months, and the remaining experience is mostly about special exceptions). Once you’ve decided what “ask” is reasonable, add £500 to that number, and just ask “if that would be possible.” And if asked to explain (and only then!) say that you’ve had enough experience and experiences to slot into the job comfortably.

    2. SarahKay*

      I’m in the UK and have certainly done it for internal moves. In my case it helped that I knew the offer I was being given was too low, so I politely pointed out that I’d be underpaid compared to my peers. Because it was internal there were policies about maximum % increases, but I got it written into the contract that I’d get that maximum % twice – once when I started the role and then again six months in.

      Given that you can make a reasonable point that you have the equivalent of a year’s experience, I would say you should fall at least in the middle of the offered range, at £30k, if not slightly higher.

      Good luck with the interview!

    3. Fishchurch*

      I’ve negotiated salary a few times in the UK, and sometimes it worked and sonetimes not. The first job I had there out of academia, they said they started all the scientists at that salary and they wouldn’t go higher. I accepted it and found out it’s not true! Other scientists started at other, higher salaries. Not surprisingly, the company was not great in other areas of its workforce ops, either.
      In other places, I just asked whether they could go to X salary, and they usually met me partway.

    4. Grith*

      I feel like it will be difficult as a new grad – as long as they’re anticipating hiring a graduate from a particular field, I would expect the salary to be pretty set. I was speaking to a former colleague the other day who is looking to hire a graduate and he was very indifferent to the difference between a graduate with a first and a third (possibly helped by me being someone they really liked who got a third!) when compared to worrying about how they will actually apply themselves in reality. And most graduates will have had some kind of weekend/evening/summer job, so it can be really hard to tell them apart.

      But if you have that experience and it’s specifically relevant to that job, it may be worth asking for at least middle of the range. But you really need to be very clear to them why that experience adds value – because they might find themselves choosing between you and someone “cheaper” and if it’s not clear what they’re getting for their extra spend, you might lose out.

      But for anything other than first jobs, definitely worth negotiating. I asked for a bit extra for both of my job moves in my career so far and both resulted in me getting more than the initial offer at least.

  8. Sloanicota*

    Great job! I make it my personal goal to ask at least once for an increase every single time I’m offered a job. It doesn’t have to be a huge deal. I may or may not get it, that’s not within my control. What’s within my control is committing to making the ask, and making it, every single time. I have never regretted this policy and I’m sure it has made me much richer over the years.

  9. J*

    I’d be curious how negotiating salary changes when you’re looking at an internal job change. The hiring manager has proof of what you’re making in your current role, so it seems like it would be easier for them to lowball you on any offer because they know they’re technically offering more than what you’re currently making.

    1. Sloanicota*

      I’ve done this twice, so it is possible – one time I was modestly successful, the other time I was not. Yes they know you, but you also have better access to benchmark info from your colleagues. I asked other people with my new title roughly what they made. You can say, “Oh, I was hoping for more like $X” and be confident X is a reasonable number. You can also say, “my understanding is that the range for (title) is more like $X, would you consider bumping me up to that amount?”

  10. English Rose*

    This is fantastic news, so great to hear, thank you for sharing it and giving encouragement to so many people.

  11. Not So Evil HR Lady*

    This is fantastic! Congratulations! I work in state government so the pay grades/steps are set every 2 years, but if I ever return to the non-profit or private sector I will be using Alison’s advice!

  14. Goldenrod*

    OMG, that is amazing! I’m curious if you used the “stop talking” portion of the advice?

    CONGRATS!

  15. STEM Admin*

    We have ranges and sometimes a bit of leeway with budgets, but the final offer is a combination of HR and the pre-approved budget for the role. I always advocate for my preferred hire up front, and then extend an offer that’s as high as I can possibly go. I don’t understand the mentality behind offering the best candidates less than you can. I’m always transparent about my efforts, though. I don’t really want my hires to negotiate because we’re not going to get any further and I don’t want them to feel let down before they even start.

    1. Analyst*

      I believe the same, but my HR won’t budge sometimes unless the candidate requests more. It sucks but I can’t change it

    2. TeaCoziesRUs*

      How would you communicate in the job offer that you’ve already gone to bat for them and this is the best your company can do? Is it something like (“Just as an aside, the initial offer from HR was X. I thought you were worth more, so I brought your offer up to Y with an extra week of vacation. I hope this salary and benefits package is acceptable to you because it’s the best we can do.”?)

  16. Emmy*

    I recently was hired for a job at my old work place (so they knew my value). When I asked for my number I didn’t speak again till my boss talked himself up to the place I actually wanted. It was the LOOOONGEST 20 seconds of my life, but my silence just left him negotiating himself up and up.

  18. wendelenn*

    This good news post made me wonder: Didn’t we used to have Good News Fridays on here?

    1. Wams352*

      Yes I have been wondering about it for months. I thought I missed a post about it being discontinued.

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