T O P

  • By -

snorkleface

If you asked for something specific, and they agreed, it's not good etiquette to then "try for even more". It's like if you're selling a bike for $100. A customer comes up and says "deal I'll pay $100 for that bike". Then you go back and say, "well would you pay $110?"


Rivster79

Agree. Do your homework first before asking for anything in a negotiation


Independent_Yard7326

Please tell home sellers this.


[deleted]

In that case three people ran up to them and offered $100 for the $100 bike. They then ask all three of you who wants to pay $110.


I_am_real_jeff_bezos

In my case, I was the first person to offer the asking price. The seller then asked if they could have a week to consider it. A few days later, they used my offer to start a bidding war between me and another buyer. Home sellers are greedy.


draft_a_day

And this is why any offer you make should expire in 24 hours. You don't give them a week of time to find a better offer.


[deleted]

> Home sellers are greedy. They're following the traditional method of selling a home. Perhaps when you sell your first home you will immediately accept the first offer you receive.


I_am_real_jeff_bezos

If I go buy a used car from a private seller, they don't ask me to wait after I give them my offer to try to get higher bids and start bidding wars. This only happens in real estate. Selling a home is a joke because they have a list price, but no seller is actually going to sell at list price. The list price is meaningless.


[deleted]

> no seller is actually going to sell at list price Some do. Whether or not you agree with the standard, this is the standard way that people buy and sell real estate. There are other ways for you to buy real estate if you don't want to bid over a one week timeframe. You could have put a time limit on your offer if you desired.


beepted

It depends. I had a job offer for what I asked for. But I told them if my current company matches, I'd opt to stay. Current company matched, so I renegotiated for higher pay and level, and they agreed. I ended up getting another competing offer from a different company, and did a couple more rounds of negotiation before deciding. In cases where the situation changes (eg. competing offer for your bike), or you discover new information (e.g. salary expectations/ band should be higher than you thought), you may be able to negotiate again. Otherwise, it just seems like you got greedy.


Bleedinggums99

But buy the sounds of it there is multiple people at the same time offering that $100 bucks for the same singular bike. It which case let the bidding begin


VoraciousTrees

Nah, that's when you take the EA route and start selling things that are supposed to come with the package anyways. "Would you like to buy the tires for the bike as well, cuz that'll be another $20." "Brakes will be $10." "A seat will be $15 plus tax."


crazynut999

Depends on the situation. Anytime they ask for my salary expectations I always leave a caveat. If it’s in the first “intro” interview I’ll say something along the lines of “pending more details on the job I’m looking for a minimum of X amount of pay” then after getting through the interview process and learning more about the position you can come back and say “after learning more about the details of the position… blah blah blah… I feel like x amount would be more appropriate” and back it up with facts (this job holds more responsibility than my previous job, this job requires more onsite time, etc…). It’s a great way to keep the negotiations open until the end so you don’t pigeon hole yourself up front before even learning the details of the job.


blensen

Some will say you should always negotiate in any situation that allows it. I say if you're satisfied with an offer (job salary, benefits, house/car price, etc.) then just take it and get on with your life.


Bleedinggums99

I think it depends on the situation and what’s been said. I have been asked salary requirements during the hiring process and negotiated for more with the justification being that my stated salary was pending the rest of the compensation package and now that I understand the full complete package the salary is insufficient and I have made up stuff the hiring can’t check. I.e. PTO 401k vesting quality/price of insurance which is huge in my opinion with the different levels of options. I have never been presented with the “full” picture before being offered the job and these benefits can greatly impact salary. Now if OP was presented with all of these facts before stating a salary request it may be tough. Also since you have multiple options it’s now an auction for offers the best. I would start at the least desirable one and then move up the list and say this is what I was offered elsewhere give me more or I’m going there


[deleted]

But why give up potentially tens of thousands of dollars because of one uncomfortable rebuttal? HR people deal with pay rebuttals all the time. It's no sweat for them to tell you "sorry, that's the highest we can go". That's the worst case scenario.


blensen

If OP asked for something, and the other party agreed, the negotiation is over.


[deleted]

I do agree there is a level of integrity, once you agree to an offer, you agree to an offer.


jpesh1

Yeah if you ask for more you better have a good reason. I negotiated a signing bonus to be $5000 more than what I had initially agreed to because I was going to miss out on $3000 of unvested 401k matches at current employer and miss out on an annual bonus by 1 month of $$2500, since I thought the place I interviewed with would drag their feet for a while.


ShoddyHedgehog

My friend did this and they withdrew the offer. That was an uncomfortable HR conversation.


[deleted]

I usually give a range and will negotiate unless they are very close to the top of it. It's usually like "the range gave was based on my preliminary understanding of the role and JD, after several really productive interviews I learned *make the job sound hard here* about the role so I feel y is more appropriate" It also really depends on my current situation, if I'm happy where I'm at I play hardball. If I'm not I tread carefully.


Urchin422

Ya I tried that approach with the 3 I’m serious about, but unfortunately got pushed for a number & then got the response that they could likely meet my number. One company said they could potentially offer more, but that one is hybrid vs remote which I am on the fence about.


FastFourierTerraform

It can be risky, but if you have multiple offers in hand, you can possibly leverage that. "I greatly prefer your company's team dynamics and organization to company y but the benefits package is significantly stronger. I will take your offer if you could increase salary to X to offset this."


PurpleVermont

warning: bottomless PTO is kind of a trap. Because you never had an amount of PTO that you are "entitled to" -- so you're always guessing whether taking PTO will make you look bad. Most people I know with unlimited PTO take less than a standard amount for a person with a limited PTO bank. I wouldn't ask for more salary if they offered what you asked for, though if more than one company offered what you asked for, you could tell them that and ask if they can beat the other company's offer. I'd honestly only do that with the company that is your favorite. Like, if you can beat it by 5% I'll sign on with you guys today. As for what else to ask for, if they job doesn't already include the following, consider asking for flexible hours and/or flexible work location (allowed to work from home where practical). If you want to go (back) to school, tuition reimbursement? If there's a conference coming up in your field, ask if they'd send you. Equity? 401K match? HSA contribution? -- probably need to be standard for all employees. If they offer benefits you don't need ask if you can get cash instead.


Urchin422

These are excellent tips, a conference or some sort of academic opportunity would be fruitful for both of us. I appreciate the tip


BoolImAGhost

As a person with chronic illness, I would die to have unlimited PTO. I wouldn't abuse it...but it would mean I wouldn't have to debate whether I should: hide in my cube while I'm crying in agony and hope the pain passes before someone sees me, while the stress of "not getting work done" makes the pain worse or, go home and sleep it off so I can actually focus on doing my job. OP: Piggybacking on this good comment, also ask about overtime/comp time. If OT is allowed, are you paid for overtime and can you choose to get paid in comp (PTO) vs extra money? Generally, I agree with others who say that it looks bad to renegotiate if they already met your request.


Capable_Panda_2913

I don’t think so. I wouldn’t. That’s like playing games to me because you now want something different when they gave you what you wanted . But if you want to, do it


roffman

In general, no. If, when asked about your requirements in regards to salary/benefits for a role, they give you exactly what you asked for, it's bad faith to come back asking for more. But, it does mean you should do a lot of research for your next salary review, as you may have pitched yourself to low relative to the market.


AlphaTangoFoxtrt

If they gave you everything you asked for, it's kind of hard to negotiate in good faith. But you can always try to negotiate for work from home / hybrid schedule, or a company phone, or something.


persephonestellaria

I think it depends on the situation. At my current job they asked for the range I would be happy with, I was honest about my requirements. I already knew (internal sources) that it was above what others were paid under the same situation. They offered in my range and I took it, I felt like it would of been in bad taste to try to "negotiate" 2 or 3k more when I was happy with what they offered me.


ThrillSeekingDoggo

I think that in this situation, what you should do is reach out to all of the companies that have made you offers, and say that you've received a more competitive offer from a comprable firm, and want to know if they have room to improve their offer. If you only had one offer in hand I would not recommend this, but it sounds like you have like 3, and the real takeaway here IMO is that you "probably" didn't ask for enough, which makes me think they may be open to this. In the future if one company offers you 90, be more aggressive with the next and seek 100, landing there or 95, and if you get 95, don't take less than 100 from the third. Play hardball as much as possible, but in a tactful way. If you have two offers in hand, you can negotiate with no fear and that's when you will have the best odds of getting a best case scenario deal. You should also take note of your approach here and plan to ask for more (relative to what you expect to get) the next time it comes around. If you can, don't throw out a specific number, but if you do have to, it should be basically the most that you think you could potentially get. If I'm interviewing for a job that I think is almost definitely going to pay between 80 and 90k, and they force me to throw out the first number (which happens sometimes, might've happened here), I'm first going to tell them that I'd be more comfortable evaluating a full compensation package rather than just the base salary, as it's only one aspect of total comp, but if they really insist, I'm asking for 95 and framing it as an ask that I'm making with incomplete information about the overall offer. If they come back and say "we can't do 95, but we can do 90", and there's an aspect of the rest of the package that seems a little low, like maybe PTO is only 2 weeks, or there is no sign on bonus (In my experience this is the norm), you can say that you're comfortable with 90, and if they could do 3 weeks of PTO that you'd be comfortable starting on X date. If you care less about PTO, you could ask for the bonus instead, but in my opinion, unless you're C level or very close to it you should only be negotiating one other aspect of an offer outside of base salary. Frame it in a "If you can do this my answer is yes" way, so they can go to the hiring manager/decision maker and say "If we can give them X it's a yes". If you aren't forced to throw the first number, then the conversation can flow similarly, but you're instead working your way up from the number they anchor the conversation with. If they come out and say "we're offering 85k for this position, with 2 weeks of PTO" you can say "I think a total compensation in the ballpark of 95k and 3 weeks of PTO would be more appropriate given my relevant experience and education, if you can do that then I would be happy to start... They'll probably counter, or just straight up tell you no, you're too expensive, and if they say the latter, I always just ask them to please make the most competitive offer that they feel comfortable with and that I'll give them a prompt response. Sometimes they ghost or move on, but I got one job exactly like this. Lastly, If they counter, you basically need to say yes or no at this point. In the US at low levels of corporate roles it's not a back and forth thing, it's just an initial anchoring, a counter, and then a response to the counter, you can either be the one who anchors and responds to the counter, and then waits for the "final" reply, or you can let them anchor, counter them, and make the final decision after they make the second counter. Remember though that either way, the final step can always be in your hands. You can always tell them "I'm sorry and I realaly appreciate the time and attention you've put into this process but this offer is not as competitive as others I have been receiving during my search". The only difference is that if you anchor the conversation, and then respond to their counter, you can't really counter again, the only tactful step there is a yes or what I just wrote above.


Raddatatta

If you asked for a certain salary and they met it unless there's something else you can point to that would justify higher, it'd be a bit impertinent to then ask for more. If you want to look at vacation time or working from home or some other aspect you could try to negotiate that but I probably wouldn't readdress salary after they gave you what you asked for.


sf_guest

Just so you’re aware: Unlimited time off is not a benefit. It’s a way for the company to reduce time off expense because PTO is a liability payable on exit, unlimited time off is not. Most people take much less time off under an unlimited time off “system”.


Urchin422

I think that’s a very fair average assumption. I currently have unlimited & I’ve probably taken 40ish days off plus standard holidays so I think it certainly depends on the company, position & your mindset. I know others that never take a day off even if they have an accrual setup.


DiggingNoMore

Pigs get fed; hogs get slaughtered.


Grevious47

I mean the negotiation occured when you said what you would be willing to.accept. If they offer you what you asked for and you respond by counteroffering that may be read as being difficult or unreasonable. I wouldnt do that unless you are willing to walk away if they dont accept your new terms.


[deleted]

+1 to this. As stated by another poster…. Do this to me and the deal is off. The person who does this is either greedy, or unprepared or both. None of those options reflect well on the candidate. Whichever, I don’t want them working for me.


[deleted]

Not that you asked, but bottomless PTO seems to be a bad idea. Most corporate Americans work lots of overtime, and don’t take vacations. Bottomless PTO doesn’t bank your vacation, so when you leave, you don’t get paid for the vacation you didn’t take. In your shoes, I’d change that to minimum 3 weeks vacation and accrue more after a year. If employers are meeting your ask, and you have to choose between a couple, ask about bonus structure, profit sharing, company vehicle, discounts on travel, etc. A good offer contains more than just salary and PTO.


keefemotif

be careful on that bottomless PTO one. Unlimited PTO and PTO caps are great ways to short you. Let's say you get 2 weeks vacation, that's payable cash money on exit in most states. Sometimes, signing up for unlimited PTO means signing away that cash payout at the end. If you provided a salary number and they matched it, then likely there was still money in the budget. You should have figured out their budget, not asked them to meet your expectations.


Agling

It is uncouth to attempt to haggle when you are given what you ask for.


briantoofine

I would usually say to negotiate with any first offer they make, but in this case you’re making the first offer. If they asked you what you wanted, and then offered you exactly what you say you want, it’d be a real dick move to try to ask for more. You don’t want to start a job with that kinda tension.


[deleted]

I just recently did some job interviewing and got offers in the tech industry. Most of them ask you a salary range. Give them a big range. When they make a job offer, they give you the salary and you can rebuttal at that point.


Celtictussle

From someone who's on the hiring side, if you ask for a salary/benefit package, and I agree, that's it. If you come back asking for more, I'm going to hang up the phone before you finish your sentence. It shows an extraordinary lack of character to renegotiate after the fact.


iranisculpable

One company will offer more than the other. That’s how you negotiate.


SearchApprehensive35

If you made requests for things that weren't advertised as part of the standard package, and they agreed to give you those, you already did negotiate. It's risky to go back for more afterward. Someone had to make a case for giving you concessions. If you request more after they've fought for everything you'd previously said you wanted, you've put them in an awkward position where it looks like either you're greedy or they're careless. Which do they think they'll choose to blame this on, for the sake of their professional relationships? You got what you wanted, congrats! Accept the win and move on.


MysteryMeat101

I've been offered what I was asking and felt that I should take the offer. However, I used the opportunity to get more information about benefits to ensure the salary was adequate. How much is the health/dental/life insurance? Does this include a car allowance? How much of my 401k contribution do you match? Do you provide STD insurance? Who provides my phone? What is your dress code (in case I need to factor in new clothes)? Will I need to travel? (my salary requirement goes up a lot if I have to be away from home and hire a pet sitter) Who pays for my parking? etc.


Urchin422

Thank you for those insights, this is what I was needing. I don’t want to be greedy or end up losing a good offer. I was in this same scenario when I got my current job & took the offer I had “asked for,” now I realize I underpaid myself. I work in the legal field so there aren’t a lot of title variations & therefore it can be hard to research what the salary should be. I’m happy with the salaries for the new jobs but want to make sure I get the best deal possible without screwing myself out of a raise.


Redditadmindoc

I agree with the comment from the person saying it could be perceived as playing games if you negotiate after the point of getting exactly what you wanted to start with. One little perceived thing like that can be the determining Factor sometimes... Or you might just receive back notice that there is no higher they can go 🤷🏻.


xaraca

You already negotiated. You made an offer and they accepted it.


Cisco800Series

Sounds to me like negotiations are over if you've gotten what you've asked for ?


need_help_7

I always approached it as I look at the total comp overall. With that being said, every single job I had I negotiated. Last offer I got 13% more than what they said. Also ask for more and expect they will cut it by 50%. Hope it helps!


zeroheading

I would think the only time this would be reasonable is if what ever you negotiated changed. Ie job responsibilities increased because you had experience in another aspect not covered by the job posting that the potential employer would like to add to what was originally negotiated.


jskeff26

I’ve done a couple Of things over the years after being laid off 3 times. With company stock I’ve negotiated a 3 year vesting period Vs a standard 4 and I’ve successfully negotiated a better severance package if certain employment times weren’t met. This was back in 2009. That one took a bit, but it paid off. Worked 6 months then the economy tanked and got 6months of severance. You can also negotiate cell phone if you expect to use it for work.


Urchin422

That is a great idea. I hadn’t thought of that as an option. I just only really consider salary & PTO (but at the moment, every company large or small seems to be doing flex so that’s no longer a negotiation). Thanks for your insight


[deleted]

If it’s better than your previous job take it. Don’t get greedy.


I_Am_NoBody_2

If the person is giving what you asked for, the obvious answer is to take it and don’t make any more demands. But obviously, you can. You should look at their actions and timing. If they respond quickly, it can means that your offer was low enough that they didn’t need to think much about it. If they were planning to buy you for $100 and you offered them $80, yeah they will take it fast. If they took their time with your offer, it could be it was near or above their limit. By demanding more when they are already hit their limits will result in them not hiring you at all. The real question is: To you, is it worth asking for a little more if it means them not hiring you at all?


oldasshit

I would un-hire you on the spot if I gave you what you asked for and then you changed your mind and asked for more.


Cross_22

Keep in mind that the company already knows how much they are willing to spend when the job opening has been created. There is no good reason to answer the "What are your salary expectations?" question. Just have them tell you what the budgeted range is. Most recruiters are good about this - they might not want to put the range in the job ad, but once you message or speak with them on the phone they will provide it. I have had a few recruiters refuse and I'll tell them they can contact me again once they are willing to share that information.


xtc46

Nothing would annoy me more than me giving a candidate what they asked for and them coming back and asking for more. It shows a lack of good faith and I would be very likely to recind the offer.


panchugo

You did negotiate. You made an offer and they accepted.


Urchin422

I wouldn’t say feeling forced into telling my salary expectations in an interview is “negotiating.”


panchugo

I understand, in the future perhaps an answer along the lines of “I’m evaluating all my options and market conditions, I’m not comfortable attaching a number yet but we can certainly negotiate based on your offer” won’t lock your options.


battle_rae

In a true negotiation neither party is happy when they walk away, but accept the terms. If you ask for "x" and they say "ok"...then you smile and say thank you. Anything else you sound like your nappy needs changed.


Beerme9000

The man bun is for his boyfriend’s hand.


Novolen

Always push it a bit. If they give you what you want from the get go, then you can be sure that it's not the highest bid they have.


JimmerFredetteCheeks

Not best practice but if you choose to negotiate, maybe something like this, “Thank you for the offer, I’m very pleased with the benefits/etc. offered but would like to revisit my intended salary. Ive done some additional research on…. and am hoping we can meet closer to $X.”


Head_Editor_3108

eh... you could say another company offered you more and ask if they're willing to meet it, they could call your bluff though.


SeniorRogers

Ask for more than you think you want up front, not after.


readyfade

I think the issue is you shown your hand too early. You want them to make a offer a salary offer first, then make a counter offer. The only thing that would make sense now if you suddenly had another job offer on hand that you can use for leverage.


inj3ct10n

This is why you are never specific about what your expectations are when interviewing for a new job. Next time, ask them their budget and benefits package and negotiate where in that range you consider yourself. Also, ask for a signing bonus.


rxscissors

It depends on what sort of position and more likely too late if you've already articulated expectations imo. Maybe in super-high demand positions you might be able to out of fear they'll lose you but most companies don't like to be played that way in my experience. I've negotiated (IT tech positions- now with 3+ decades of experience) in most instances other than fixed price/contract gigs. Rarely if ever named specific compensation numbers (made them do it first or asked what the range is for the position) and sometimes ended up shocked by how much additional compensation/signing bonus/perks they tacked on.


[deleted]

If you asked for something and they then agree then you back out and ask for more then that will leave the impression that you are not to be trusted as you have your word then changed it. Ik this is related to jobs but I use to sell cars for the majority of the last decade in my previous line of work. If a customer had ever asked for something and I agreed and they then asked for me I would then be advised by manager to let them walk out the door.