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Negotiation goes badly for a boring reason more often than a dramatic one: the candidate hasn't worked out their own numbers before the conversation starts. Knowing your take-home figure, what a raise compounds to over a few years, and how two offers compare once the benefits are priced in turns a stressful exchange into arithmetic you already did.
Compare offers on total value rather than base salary. Equity vesting schedules, employer pension contributions, health cover and commute cost routinely reorder two offers that looked a fixed distance apart on the headline number.
The scripts matter less than knowing when to stop. Ask once, clearly, with a number and a short reason for it. If the answer is a firm no on base pay, move to the things that are easier for the other side to say yes to, like a signing amount, a review date, or start date flexibility.
The tools
Work out your numbers before the conversation
Three figures are worth knowing cold before anyone asks about money: the take-home amount you'd actually receive each month, the total value of your current package once employer contributions are counted, and the number below which you'd decline. Having the third one settled in advance is what keeps a negotiation from turning into an improvisation you regret.
The gap between a headline salary and take-home pay surprises people constantly, particularly across countries or when moving between employment types. Run the number rather than estimating it, because a 15% raise that moves you into different territory on tax or loses you a benefit can be worth far less than it looks.
Comparing two offers properly
Price the whole package. Employer pension or retirement contribution, health cover and what it would cost you privately, equity and the schedule it actually vests on, bonus structure and whether it's discretionary, paid leave, and the cost in money and time of the commute. Two offers that look a fixed distance apart on base pay routinely swap places once these are counted.
Equity deserves particular scepticism at private companies. A number expressed in dollars is a number somebody chose. What matters is the percentage of the company, the vesting schedule, the strike price, and what has to happen for it to be worth anything.
Asking, and knowing when to stop
Ask once, clearly, with a specific number and a short reason grounded in the role rather than your personal circumstances. Then stop talking and let them respond. The most common self-inflicted wound is filling the silence by negotiating against yourself.
If the answer on base pay is a firm no, move to the things that are easier for the other side to approve: a signing amount, an earlier review date, a title, start date, or leave. Budgets for those often sit in different places, which is why a no on salary isn't a no on everything.
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Common questions
Should I give a number first?
If you have a well-researched figure, going first anchors the range in your favour. If you genuinely don't know the market, it's reasonable to ask what they've budgeted. In several jurisdictions employers must now disclose a range, so it's worth checking whether you can simply ask.
How much should I ask for in a raise?
Anchor on market rate for the work you're doing now rather than a percentage of your current pay, because a percentage compounds whatever underpayment already exists. Bring evidence of scope that grew since your salary was last set.
Is it risky to negotiate a job offer?
Having an offer withdrawn for negotiating once, politely, with a reasonable number is rare. What causes problems is renegotiating repeatedly after agreeing, or negotiating aggressively on something already stated as fixed.
Do these calculators send my salary anywhere?
No. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is transmitted or stored on a server. There's no account and no signup.
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