If you negotiate, you'll make more than 60% of your coworkers

I agree, negotiation is scary. It does get easier over time, but if we've only negotiated our salaries once or twice, we will never be as prepared as the recruiter we're negotiating against. While I'm not a recruiter or professional negotiator, I can share with you why it's OK to ask for more.

Having a healthy relationship with the idea of negotiating

It's amazing if you were offered a job opportunity with a company you've been excited about. Whether it's a large company like Google, soon to IPO startup like Stripe or any other opportunity, it's important to understand your value and build the confidence to make the best offer for yourself beyond just working at the company.

If you're unsure whether you should negotiate, feel like it's rude to ask for me than what you're offered, or any other reason, let me explain why you should negotiate.

You're not the first person to ask for more

If 60% of applicants did not negotiate their salary, then 40% do. People do ask for more and people are generally successful. You're not standing out by asking for a stronger compensation package or asking for what you're worth.

All that matters is you're doing the same job as anyone else.

Your value is not based on how many companies want to hire you. It's not based on which companies want to hire you like Google or Facebook. Your value at the company is based on the work you do. I personally think it's unfair for two people who work at the same job get paid differently for any reason if they are doing the exact same role.

If you are working and doing the same things as anyone else at that level then you should be paid similarly. That means everyone deserves to be at the end of the pay band.

It will never be this easy to improve your compensation

All it takes is an email to at least ask for an increase in your compensation offer. A single email that takes 15 minutes or less could increase your offer by $5,000 or more (That's $20,000 an hour!)

Getting a compensation increase by negotiating your job offer is going to be easier than

1. Getting promoted - You'll spend at least 6 months trying to get promoted before you finally get that bump in compensation. Even then, it's not guaranteed.
2. Getting a performance bonus - The amount of work that's needed to get an average performance bonus is to be average. It means you need to do better than 50% of your peers at work to possibly get more than your peers. You can already be ahead of 60% by negotiating your offer.
3. Getting a raise - If you can ask for a raise later on, why not ask for it now?

If you're leaving your current role because of a gap in compensation, then writing an email explaining why you deserve more shows you care about your financial well-being.

You're not being Greedy

You're not being "greedy" asking for more. You're being fair to yourself asking for the same compensation others are receiving for similar work.

Asking for more money means you care about your financial well-being, preparing yourself if you need an emergency budget or supporting others if they're in a financial dilemma. It's not always about the fancy Tesla's or new houses, it's making sure you're prepared for any financial crises that could happen.

It's not worth being being "respectful" to the recruiter

If you're scared of negotiating your job offer because you want to be "respectful" to the recruiter, then really ask yourself if they're being "respectful" to you by offering you less than others.

Ask yourself if being "respectful" to the recruiter is worth $5,000, or even possibly more. A polite email isn't going to burn bridges with anyone. As we mentioned previously, you also will likely not be the first who has tried to negotiate their offer.

Your offer will not be revoked

Your offer will not be revoked if you try to negotiate your salary. This would only happen if you're extremely rude during the process.

It makes more sense to just reject your request than outright revoke an offer. The company is already invested in you and are more than willing to offer you a salary for what the job is worth. The leverage is in your favor whether you'd like to accept or decline the offer.

Closing Thoughts

Negotiate your offer because you're worth it. It's not wrong, it's not unfair. All it takes is sending an email and the worst that could happen is they say no. But if they do revise their offer, you'll already be ahead of 60% of applicants in the same role.

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"I like to tell myself 'Alex can code' and you can too"

It started on Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexcancode

I write on Medium: https://medium.com/@alexcancode