Prepare a request you can explain, compare the whole offer and decide what you will do if the answer is no. No universal percentage increase or confident script can establish the right salary for a particular role.
This guide concerns preparing a job-offer conversation. For an internal pay review, first check your employer's review timetable, criteria and decision maker. The same evidence record can help, but an external-offer process is not automatically your employer's process.
Establish what is actually offered
Ask for the role, location, hours, pay components, conditions and response deadline in writing. Clarify whether an amount is annual or monthly, its currency, and whether it is gross or take-home pay. Do not compare a contractor's revenue with an employee's salary as if the costs and protections were identical.
Separate guaranteed pay from conditional components. A target bonus, possible future raise or unvested equity is not cash you can rely on for ordinary bills. Ask for the relevant terms rather than inserting an optimistic value. Check unfamiliar tax, visa, contract or repayment conditions with a qualified local source before committing.
| Component | Written offer | What remains to verify | Priority for me |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base pay | Amount, currency and pay period | Hours and any conditions | Fill in |
| Variable compensation | Eligibility and stated terms | How it is determined and when payable |
Build a relevant comparison, not a borrowed number
Record current vacancies or credible pay information for similar responsibilities, level, location and employment arrangement. Note the source and date. A broad advertised range may cover several levels; a national occupational average may combine very different employers. Neither tells you where this offer must sit.
Then list the experience you can substantiate against this role. Explain the relevant task and evidence rather than claiming you will create a financial return you have not measured. Do not invent another offer or describe an interview as a secured alternative.
Keep your minimum workable conditions private in your own decision record. Include realistic living costs and commitments, but distinguish those personal needs from an employer-facing explanation of the requested package. For your own budget, compare expected take-home pay with costs; do not treat gross salary as spendable income. If the evidence is too weak for a number, ask about the budgeted range and how placement within it is decided.
Make a focused, conditional request
Before accepting, ask whether the component you care about is flexible. State your interest, the specific request and its basis. For example:
“Thank you for the offer. I am interested in the role. Given the responsibility for X and my documented experience doing Y, is there flexibility in the base pay? I would like to discuss [amount and currency], based on [dated, comparable evidence].”
Fill the brackets with genuine evidence. This wording is a conversation aid, not a guarantee that negotiation is available or risk-free. Some roles have fixed bands or programme-wide terms.
If pay is fixed, ask about a different condition that matters to you and can actually be changed. A future review date is useful to understand, but a review is not a promised increase. Avoid trading away a requirement you cannot afford to lose merely to reach an agreement.
Worked example: compare certainty before counting the total
This is a fictional teaching example. All amounts are invented accounting units, not salaries, currency benchmarks or market recommendations. There was no employer negotiation or measured result.
For the arithmetic only, assume a complete paid year under an unchanged work arrangement. All figures below are gross amounts before deductions. Elena has set an illustrative comparison threshold of 50,000 recurring gross units per year. This threshold is an assumption, not a calculation of her living costs or take-home pay.
The invented offer contains 48,000 base units per year and a possible 4,000 bonus. Elena initially writes “total 52,000, acceptable.” That treats a conditional amount as certain.
| Illustrative component | First complete year | Following complete year, if terms stay unchanged |
|---|---|---|
| Base pay | 48,000 gross units | 48,000 gross units |
| Possible bonus | 4,000 if its conditions are met | Not guaranteed |
| One-off payment proposed later | 2,000, only if confirmed and payable under its terms |
She records the base as 48,000 and the bonus as conditional. She asks how the bonus works and researches current, comparable local role information before deciding on a requested amount. Her transferable evidence is a documented example of coordinating the same kind of delivery, not a claimed revenue gain.
In the invented conversation, the employer says the base is fixed and proposes the 2,000 one-off payment. Elena checks when it would be paid and whether it could have to be repaid. Even if it is payable in full, it does not bring recurring gross pay to her illustrative 50,000 threshold. She asks about hours and whether any relevant recurring component can change, then compares the written answer with her minimum conditions. A real decision would also require a separate check of deductions, payment timing and actual costs.
If there is no workable recurring arrangement, she can decline or continue her search if her circumstances permit. If she chooses to accept for another reason, she records the unresolved trade-off instead of calling the package financially equivalent. The example teaches a comparison; it does not decide for a real applicant.
Respond to a refusal or a changed offer
- Fixed terms: confirm what is fixed, then evaluate the actual package. Repeating the same request without new information does not create a budget.
- Insufficient decision time: ask for the time you need and explain what you must clarify. The employer may refuse; decide using the real deadline.
- Changed responsibilities or location: rebuild the comparison. Earlier pay evidence may no longer describe the role.
- Unclear conditions: ask for written clarification before relying on them. Seek appropriate local advice for significant contractual uncertainty.
Once the conversation is complete, check that the written terms match what was agreed, including any conditions and response deadline. Do not treat a friendly verbal possibility as an approved benefit.
Your next action is to complete the offer table and identify the one unresolved condition that could change your decision. Use the career risk guide to make a feasible fallback, or the interview guide if you are still gathering role evidence.
Source and limits
Harvard Mignone Center for Career Success: Evaluating and Negotiating Job and Internship Offers, read 22 October 2026, provides U.S. university career guidance on written offers, compensation components and negotiation before commitment. Its student and U.S. context is not a statement of worldwide employment law or a salary benchmark. The comparison table and fictional calculation above are original editorial aids, not personalised financial or legal advice.