How to negotiate salary: scripts for the offer, the raise and the counter-offer

For most skilled and professional jobs, yes. Employers usually leave some room in a first offer, and a polite, evidence-based request rarely costs you the offer — hiring managers negotiate for a living and have already decided they want you. What damages an offer is aggression, ultimatums or a demand that is far outside the range.

Some pay is genuinely fixed: public-sector grades, jobs covered by collective agreements, and many graduate schemes with a single starting salary. Even then, ask where you will be placed on the scale, when you move up, and whether the start date, relocation support, training or holiday can move.

Build your number from several sources, then pick a point within the range that your experience can defend.

• Official statistics: the US Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wages by occupation and area (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, latest reference period May 2025); the UK’s Office for National Statistics publishes the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings; most European national statistics offices publish earnings by occupation.
• Published ranges in job adverts for the same role, level and city — increasingly common where pay transparency laws apply (see below).
• Union and professional-body salary surveys, which are often more detailed for your field than national data.
• People who do the job: ask peers and recruiters what the range is, not what they personally earn.

Adjust for level, location and company size, and compare like with like: annual or monthly, before tax, with or without bonus and pension. Write down three numbers before any conversation: your target, a figure you would be happy with, and your walk-away point.

In a growing number of places, the law now does part of your research for you. In the US, several states require employers to put a pay range in job postings, including California (employers with 15 or more employees), Washington (15 or more employees, since 2023), New York State (four or more employees, since September 2023), Colorado (since 2021) and Illinois (15 or more employees, since January 2025). California and Washington also ban employers from asking about your salary history.

In the EU, the Pay Transparency Directive gives applicants the right to know the initial pay or its range — in the advert or before the interview — and bars employers from asking about your pay history. Member states had to write it into national law by 7 June 2026, but according to employment law firm Littler, only Slovakia, Malta and Italy had adopted comprehensive legislation by that date, so check your country’s current rules; in Denmark, for example, the law is expected from 2027. Where a range is published, aim for the part of it that matches your experience rather than the bottom.

You will be asked early, often in the first call. You have two good options. If a range is published or you can ask for it, turn the question round: “What range have you budgeted for this role?” If they insist, or you have researched well, give your number. Research on negotiation by Adam Galinsky and Thomas Mussweiler found that whichever side made the first offer tended to get the better outcome, and that first offers strongly predicted the final price — so a well-researched first number works in your favour.

Say it with its basis and keep it short: “Based on what similar roles pay in Manchester, I’m looking for around £52,000 base, depending on the overall package.” Avoid giving your current salary if you are asked and are not legally required to; say what you are looking for instead. Do not give a wide range — the employer will hear the bottom of it.

When the offer arrives, do not accept or reject it on the spot. Thank them, say you are excited, and ask for the full offer in writing and a day or two to review it. Then reply — ideally on a call, followed by email — with one clear counter: “Thank you again, I’d love to join. Based on the scope we discussed and market data for this role, I was expecting a base salary of £56,000. If you can get to that, I’m ready to accept.”

Then stop talking. The next move is theirs. Most negotiations take one or two rounds; if they meet you partway, you can accept, or ask for one non-salary item to close the gap. Once you have agreed, get the final figures, start date and any promises in the written offer before you resign from your current job.

Look at total compensation, not only the salary line. If base pay is capped by a band, other items often have more room:

• A sign-on bonus to cover a bonus or equity you lose by leaving.
• Performance bonus targets, and equity or share options (ask about vesting and what happens if you leave).
• Employer pension or retirement contributions, which can differ by several percent of salary between offers.
• Holiday, remote or hybrid working, and working hours.
• Job title and level, which set your next raise and your next job.
• Start date, relocation support, training budget and an early salary review — for example after six months.

Moving country changes the maths. Compare offers on the same basis: take-home pay after local tax and social contributions, the cost of housing, whether health insurance is included, and whether pay is quoted monthly or annually. Ask for relocation costs, temporary housing, visa fees and help with the paperwork in writing.

If your work permit depends on a minimum salary, make sure the offer clears it with a margin, because thresholds are often raised each year, and check which pay components count towards it. Every country sets its own rules; the working abroad guide covers work permits, and Denmark’s pay system — including why the pension question changes the number — is in the Denmark salary negotiation guide.

Time it for when budgets are set — usually before the annual review, not after — or straight after a clear win. Book a dedicated meeting rather than raising it in passing, and send a short summary of your results beforehand so your manager can prepare.

Base the case on value and market, never on personal need: what you have delivered since your last change in pay, how your role has grown, and what the market pays for it now. Name a figure. If the answer is no, ask what you would need to achieve and by when, agree a date to revisit it, and put it in writing. If you are aiming for a bigger step, the promotion guide covers the longer route.

A counter-offer is your employer’s attempt to keep you once you have resigned. Decide on the reason you started looking, not on the new number: if pay was the only issue and the counter-offer fixes it, staying can be sensible; if it was the work, the manager or your growth, money rarely solves it. Never collect an outside offer only to bargain with it unless you would genuinely take it — the new employer will not forget. Searching while employed covers resigning well.