Workplace Negotiating a higher salary

[rainyjewels]

I've received an offer for a position that I'm pretty excited about (my first job out of school!), and the senior management at the company seem to really, really adore me. When they asked me about what kind of compensation I'm looking for, they gave me a range. When they offered the position to me, they gave me the high figure in the range. However, I'm looking at the average salary for such a position, and the offer is like almost $10,000 below it. I guess I'm kind of disappointed now, because I honestly thought they were going to go higher than the range considering how desperately they seemed to want me (like many phone calls per day). The senior managemen guy who called me with the offer said they're writing up the offer letter and sending it ASAP, after I said I needed more time to consider my options. What does that mean? Does that mean their offer is now final and not negotiable? I've always thought that you should never accept the initial offer, since obviously they're not going to give you the max they're willing to pay you, so you should always negotiate, but now this is like a curveball and i have no idea/experience what to do.......any ideas guys?

 

[sailornep5]

Just because they give you a written offer doesn't mean it's not negotiable. If you have good reason as to why you deserve more, after you receive the letter, say, "Thank you for the offer. However, based on xyz, I'd like to know if the salary negotiable?" If they say no, ask if benefits or vacation time is negotiable. Good luck!

 

[claudette2]

^ That is good advise. Don't feel bad about wanting to speak further about your salary - it is really important to neogitate up front - the salary they give you will likely be the salary you will keep for a few years, so you want to make sure it is competative, or it can cost you in the long run. If you have other offers or strong reason to believe that the position you will be filling comands a higher salary you should go with your instinct. The tricky part is you already gave them a range, but it is okay to come back and correct your initial range by telling them you've done more research and you want to be paid more. Good luck!