Script: How To Negotiate A Job Offer

A script can be a useful tool as you develop your strategy for an upcoming conversation at work or on your job search.

My boss Jon used to say "You have to plan out every negotiation, imagining how the discussion might go and deciding in advance how you will navigate if you hear something unexpected. You have to be ready!"

Here is a script illustrating Caroline's job offer negotiation. Caroline was excited to receive an offer letter via FedEx from Marshall, her prospective new manager, but the salary offer is a bit low.

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Caroline had told Marshall when they first started talking in October that she needed a salary of at least $80,000 plus a $10,000 bonus opportunity in order to consider the role.

Maybe Marshall forgot that conversation, or maybe his HR department or higher-up leaders shot down the idea of a $90,000 package for Caroline.

Caroline's offer letter includes a base salary of $74,600 and a bonus potential of 10%, or up to $7460.

That means that Caroline's total first-year cash compensation could be as much as $82,000. That's eight thousand dollars less than Caroline needs -- and $8,000 less than she knows she is worth.

Caroline wants the job. She wants to work with Marshall, but she's also ready to walk away and keep her job search going if she can't nudge Marshall up to her $90,000 target, or close.

Caroline decides to call Marshall and chat with him about her offer.

Rrrrring!

Marshall: Marshall Abbott!

Caroline: Hi Marshall! It's Carolyn O'Halloran. How are you today?

Marshall: I'm good, Caroline. It's crazy here. Did you get the offer letter?

Caroline: I did! Thank you very much for that.

Marshall: Does it look okay? Have you signed it?

Caroline: Not yet. I wanted to chat with you about it, if you have a second.

Marshall: Sure.

Caroline: First of all, thank you so much for the offer. I'm very excited to join your team and get going.

Marshall: That sounds promising.

Caroline: We're a little ways apart on salary. Could we talk about that for a moment?

Marshall (warily): Yes, but I don't know how much more I can do.

Caroline: When we spoke back in October about compensation we were looking at a $90K cash compensation package -- a combination of base salary and bonus. With this offer we are about $8K short of that. Could we get creative together and see how we might bridge that gap, so I can sign the offer and schedule a start date?

Marshall: Hmm. Well, obviously I really want you on our team. It's just that when we looked at the budget, and what we are paying other people on our team, we thought that $74,600 would be a good starting point.

Caroline: I completely understand. The company is getting bigger and you have to maintain internal equity, I get that.

Marshall: Good, good.

Caroline: I have a few ideas for potentially closing the gap. May I run those by you?

Marshall: Okay.

Caroline: If you could bump up my base salary to $80,000 that would overcome one hurdle. I could take an extra week of vacation in exchange for $2000 of bonus potential.

Marshall: So what would your offer look like, if I were able to do that?

Caroline: The base salary would be $80,000 and my bonus potential would be ten percent of that, or $8,000 per year for a total of $88,000 if I hit my targets. I would have four weeks of annual paid vacation instead of your standard three weeks.

Marshall: Listen Caroline, if I had been able to get you $80,000 in your base I would have done it the first time. I have a boss and he has a boss, and those two people have to approve every job offer.

Caroline: For sure. That makes perfect sense. What base salary number would you be comfortable with?

Marshall: Maybe we can do something for you after three months.

Caroline: I appreciate that very much, but as you can understand I need a strong vote of confidence in order to take myself off the market.

Marshall: What about a $77,000 base?

Caroline: Plus the extra week of vacation and an $8,000 bonus potential? I can do that. That would get my total cash comp to $85,000. If you are comfortable, we can review my package at the ninety-day mark.

Marshall: Let me see what I can do.

Caroline got the revised offer letter 72 hours later and signed it.

Caroline valued an extra week of vacation time at $2,000 (a little more than her weekly salary, but Caroline would go crazy without sufficient vacation time!) so her total package is only $3,000 off her $90,000 target.

Caroline is confident she can get Marshall to approve a $3000 increase or spot bonus at her 90-day review.

Caroline was able to improve her job offer because she had prepared for her conversation with Marshall and didn't take "Sorry, it's out of my hands!" for an answer.

Caroline knew that Marshall had pain. By the time Marshall offered Caroline a job, he knew he needed her -- not just anybody, but Caroline specifically.

Caroline is not independently wealthy. She sweated the negotiation conversation as much as Marshall did, because Caroline was not excited about any of her other job possibilities.

However, she was not willing to take the job working for Marshall for much less money than she had already made clear she required. She knew that her response to Marshall's offer letter would set the tone for their relationship for as long as it lasted.

Caroline did not want to walk into a new job with the label "pushover" or "door mat" on her back!

Caroline said to herself before she called Marshall "If Marshall gets me and thus deserves me, he will work with me to try to reach an agreement. If he tells me that there's nothing he can do, then I have my answer! In that case, he is not the boss for me."

Luckily, things didn't work out that way.

You can negotiate a job offer the same way Caroline did. All it takes is preparation, plus a firm knowledge of prevailing salaries for people like you -- and a strong belief in your own talents!