Most raises are a percentage of your current pay, so the salary you agree to when you’re hired can be the base your earnings grow from for decades. Before you accept any offer, counter with a specific, researched number, and push for higher base pay rather than a one-time signing bonus.
In a 2023 Pew Research Center survey, most U.S. workers who aren’t self-employed said they didn’t counter the first offer the last time they were hired. Of those who did ask, 28% got everything they asked for and another 38% got more than the original offer.
Skipping the counteroffer is expensive. Say you push a $60,000 offer to $65,000 and get 3% raises every year. Before taxes and inflation, that $5,000 gap grows to about $11,800 a year by year 30 and totals roughly $238,000 over those three decades, by our math.
Your retirement savings grow with the bigger base, since 401(k) contributions and employer matches are usually set as a percentage of pay. The gap can follow you to your next job too, if a new employer bases its offer on what you earn now.
So make the one negotiation count. Check the pay range in the job posting, on salary sites, and in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ wage data for your occupation and metro area. Counter with one specific number near the top of that range, plus one reason it’s justified, such as a competing offer or a measurable result from your last job.
Settle base pay before you discuss a signing bonus or extra vacation. A bonus is paid once, while base pay sets the starting point for every raise that follows. If the employer can’t move on base, ask for a pay review after six months and get that promise in the offer letter.
When the offer arrives, don’t accept it on the same call. Thank them, ask for a day to review it, and come back with your number.
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