This should teach you two things: 1. Never give your number first. 2. If you have to, high anchor yourself. But do this as late as you can, so that they're interested in you.
These are all great advice I will take as well! However, I have also heard someone do the same as you but went back and said after doing more market research and talking to other peers, I think the salary I asked was a bit below market. And go from there to negotiate again?
I wouldn't look at it as "That was too easy, I should've asked for more". I'd rather think of it like "I now have exacty what I wanted, now I can ask for more on my next job hop".
As a hiring manager I can second @google2 for the fact that if I really like a candidate, I will move mountains to get them what they are asking for plus a little extra to take the issue of money off the table and to start the relationship on solid footing.
I wouldn’t second guess how quickly they agreed to your request, it may be a sign that they will be the type of company or the type of manager who will appreciate and value you. This should pay out well especially if there are any annual bonuses or RSU’s at stake after some review period.
It would put an immediate sour taste in my mouth if after giving a candidate everything they asked for in good faith they rejected the agreement we settled on. Listen to your gut on this one, if it wasn’t such a questionable move you likely wouldn’t feel the need to ask the question to begin with 😉. Congrats BTW on the new role, you must have been fantastic in the interview!
I have 10 years experience in IT (Virtualization) but this will be my first Sales Engineer Job. OTE is $140K (80/20) split for a small firm (50 employees) in Texas. I told them $130-$140k and he said “ok we’ll put something together for $140K. But now I’m debating how I can negotiate.
No I think it’s too late. You asked and they agreed. If you want to negotiate on non monetary items maybe, but even then it gets dicey as they probably said yes to your number because they wanted to close you quickly and help make the transition
I agree with @Protivi 1 's advice. I'm in a slightly different place myself right now. I've reached the final stage with a company I'm excited to go to (just a shadow day) and l don't want to stay with my current employer (even if they countered very high) so I'm wondering if I even want to give them the chance to counter. The base salary range for the new one starts about 7k/yr more than my current but ends almost 40k higher (10k lower then my goal)
It feels wrong to allow my current employer to counter (as I'm confident they'll do handsomely) but I know that's common leverage to use so I'm not sure if I'm being stupid by not.
My. Role is in high demand in general and I'm getting recruiters every week reaching out to me. Most are starting at the high range I'd the one I want to work with. Some are as high as 80k/year base. (But my research has shown they aren't the best companies to work for so I don't know if I can leverage that either as I haven't proceeded with them to get to the offer phase.
For this one in likely going to, I will have a chance for a small piece of equity in 6 to 12 months if that is worked in up front with my offer but it sounds like it would typically lower the base salary I just don't know by how much. I feel like I need a freaking consultant to navigate this well enough to not come off greedy but still advocate for myself.
I would advise against asking for more. From your perspective, it may seems that the company has agreed to the number. But you never know what the hiring team actually did to get to that agreement. Maybe the team had been working on a few approvals already in the back end and came back to you on the agreement.
You can definitely bring this topic up again maybe after 3-6 months into your role and doing more market research on the numbers.
I’d say you got another offer from another place and see if they are willing to match that. Lately candidates have been getting multiple offers and I’ve lost a few great candidates even after they accepted the verbal offer. You need to treat this like how a business would look at a contract if it wasn’t in their favor. They’ll always negotiate until the terms are as close to what they want. So negotiate to what you’re worth.
Based on my experience as a Hiring Manager, while the organization does want to give you a fair pay (which is in line with your expectations), it also doesn't want to bring in a new employee who is only coming in for the pay, which this re-negotiation will imply even if you may not mean it to.
I’ve renegotiated several times after telling them my initial number. It’s pretty common throughout the interview process to learn more about the responsibilities expected of you. These can easily require more comp if you express why it differs from your original expectations.
This same exact thing happened to me when I threw out one single number and they met me exactly there, but afterward I wished I didn’t pigeonhole myself there. I had been desperate to end my job search and didn’t do much research on numbers. But after reading this thread, seems like the way to go is to take the offer and kill it later on so that you can revisit the comp conversation down the road. Definitely helps prevent complacency in the new role!
I was recently helping a relative in a similar position with her salary negotiations. She had already softly agreed on a number at the beginning of the process, but when they came back with a formal offer she told them she still needed to consider the offer and also had other interviews in progress that she was waiting to hear back from. She told them that she really wanted to work for their company, and if they could bump the offer (~10% over the original agreed upon amount) it would make the decision easy and she would cancel her remaining interviews and accept. Otherwise she would need to see how everything else played out. This way she was able to ask for more in a reasonable manner without saying no to the original offer (which she still would have taken).
In her case it worked and they got back with an updated offer within an hour. Your mileage may vary.
You can always negotiate but in this case since you told them what you wanted and they gave it, I’d be careful with the approach. If there are gaps in benefits like 50% vs 80% for health coverage or something like that, you could use it as a soft negotiation point. “Wow this offer looks great but I just realized your health benefits are less than what mine were before and this offsets it by ABC, can you bring up the offer to XYZ to match?” etc.
I negotiated twice and got my second asking salary. I asked in the final interview when they were going through terms of my offer, before I signed the offer letter. I told them that I had other offers on the table for more, and the other offers were more in line with industry standard. Then, I specifically re-communicated the value I was bringing and told them I was looking for a place to stay and not hop around. I just sat there and didn't say anything while the HR person thought on it. And they gave it to me.
This should teach you two things:
1. Never give your number first.
2. If you have to, high anchor yourself. But do this as late as you can, so that they're interested in you.
These are all great advice I will take as well! However, I have also heard someone do the same as you but went back and said after doing more market research and talking to other peers, I think the salary I asked was a bit below market. And go from there to negotiate again?
I wouldn't look at it as "That was too easy, I should've asked for more". I'd rather think of it like "I now have exacty what I wanted, now I can ask for more on my next job hop".
Exactly!
As a hiring manager I can second @google2 for the fact that if I really like a candidate, I will move mountains to get them what they are asking for plus a little extra to take the issue of money off the table and to start the relationship on solid footing.
I wouldn’t second guess how quickly they agreed to your request, it may be a sign that they will be the type of company or the type of manager who will appreciate and value you. This should pay out well especially if there are any annual bonuses or RSU’s at stake after some review period.
It would put an immediate sour taste in my mouth if after giving a candidate everything they asked for in good faith they rejected the agreement we settled on. Listen to your gut on this one, if it wasn’t such a questionable move you likely wouldn’t feel the need to ask the question to begin with 😉. Congrats BTW on the new role, you must have been fantastic in the interview!
Very helpful thank you! I'll let you know how it goes!
Give number yoe and tc
I have 10 years experience in IT (Virtualization) but this will be my first Sales Engineer Job. OTE is $140K (80/20) split for a small firm (50 employees) in Texas. I told them $130-$140k and he said “ok we’ll put something together for $140K. But now I’m debating how I can negotiate.
Pro
No I think it’s too late. You asked and they agreed. If you want to negotiate on non monetary items maybe, but even then it gets dicey as they probably said yes to your number because they wanted to close you quickly and help make the transition
I’m in the same boat. And curious everyone’s answers!
I agree with @Protivi 1 's advice. I'm in a slightly different place myself right now. I've reached the final stage with a company I'm excited to go to (just a shadow day) and l don't want to stay with my current employer (even if they countered very high) so I'm wondering if I even want to give them the chance to counter. The base salary range for the new one starts about 7k/yr more than my current but ends almost 40k higher (10k lower then my goal)
It feels wrong to allow my current employer to counter (as I'm confident they'll do handsomely) but I know that's common leverage to use so I'm not sure if I'm being stupid by not.
My. Role is in high demand in general and I'm getting recruiters every week reaching out to me. Most are starting at the high range I'd the one I want to work with. Some are as high as 80k/year base. (But my research has shown they aren't the best companies to work for so I don't know if I can leverage that either as I haven't proceeded with them to get to the offer phase.
For this one in likely going to, I will have a chance for a small piece of equity in 6 to 12 months if that is worked in up front with my offer but it sounds like it would typically lower the base salary I just don't know by how much. I feel like I need a freaking consultant to navigate this well enough to not come off greedy but still advocate for myself.
I would advise against asking for more. From your perspective, it may seems that the company has agreed to the number. But you never know what the hiring team actually did to get to that agreement. Maybe the team had been working on a few approvals already in the back end and came back to you on the agreement.
You can definitely bring this topic up again maybe after 3-6 months into your role and doing more market research on the numbers.
I’d say you got another offer from another place and see if they are willing to match that. Lately candidates have been getting multiple offers and I’ve lost a few great candidates even after they accepted the verbal offer. You need to treat this like how a business would look at a contract if it wasn’t in their favor. They’ll always negotiate until the terms are as close to what they want. So negotiate to what you’re worth.
I would recommend not to negotiate.
Based on my experience as a Hiring Manager, while the organization does want to give you a fair pay (which is in line with your expectations), it also doesn't want to bring in a new employee who is only coming in for the pay, which this re-negotiation will imply even if you may not mean it to.
1st, do you like your original company and paid well? You could be paid more but miserable
2nd, don't I would mention the new offer and explain you like the company but the new offer was so good you have to consider.
Locking at the pros and cons of the different companies should be used in your decision as well.
I’ve renegotiated several times after telling them my initial number. It’s pretty common throughout the interview process to learn more about the responsibilities expected of you. These can easily require more comp if you express why it differs from your original expectations.
This same exact thing happened to me when I threw out one single number and they met me exactly there, but afterward I wished I didn’t pigeonhole myself there. I had been desperate to end my job search and didn’t do much research on numbers. But after reading this thread, seems like the way to go is to take the offer and kill it later on so that you can revisit the comp conversation down the road. Definitely helps prevent complacency in the new role!
I was recently helping a relative in a similar position with her salary negotiations. She had already softly agreed on a number at the beginning of the process, but when they came back with a formal offer she told them she still needed to consider the offer and also had other interviews in progress that she was waiting to hear back from. She told them that she really wanted to work for their company, and if they could bump the offer (~10% over the original agreed upon amount) it would make the decision easy and she would cancel her remaining interviews and accept. Otherwise she would need to see how everything else played out. This way she was able to ask for more in a reasonable manner without saying no to the original offer (which she still would have taken).
In her case it worked and they got back with an updated offer within an hour. Your mileage may vary.
You can always negotiate but in this case since you told them what you wanted and they gave it, I’d be careful with the approach. If there are gaps in benefits like 50% vs 80% for health coverage or something like that, you could use it as a soft negotiation point. “Wow this offer looks great but I just realized your health benefits are less than what mine were before and this offsets it by ABC, can you bring up the offer to XYZ to match?” etc.
I negotiated twice and got my second asking salary. I asked in the final interview when they were going through terms of my offer, before I signed the offer letter. I told them that I had other offers on the table for more, and the other offers were more in line with industry standard. Then, I specifically re-communicated the value I was bringing and told them I was looking for a place to stay and not hop around. I just sat there and didn't say anything while the HR person thought on it. And they gave it to me.
Unless you lowballed yourself, I'd say stick to your first salary expectations. I think companies are pretty desperate too.
That's tough and definitely frustrating, but I don't think there's any professional way to renegotiate at this point. Still a good offer!
Agree with the above - might appear a bit unprofessional. However, if benefits and RSU's are still up in the air, you can try there.
Too bad you don't have another offer to leverage, if you do you could use that.
If you get what you ask for you should happily accept. Pushing for more after getting what you asked for will just make you look really bad.