How to Negotiate Your Salary After Receiving an Offer

Admin Phed · · interview-prep
How to Negotiate Your Salary After Receiving an Offer

Step by step salary negotiation after an offer: asking for time, setting your number, writing the email, and negotiating other terms when pay cannot move.

An email from HR pops up with an offer letter attached. You are thrilled and want to accept right away, but the salary is a bit lower than you hoped. The question in your head is: if I ask for more, will they withdraw the offer? In reality, polite, reasoned negotiation is a normal part of hiring, and most HR teams expect a candidate may want to talk.

Right after the offer is when you have the most leverage

The company has chosen you. It has invested time in several interview rounds and does not want to start again. That is why negotiating after an offer works better than negotiating in round one. But do it respectfully, because the person you are negotiating with may become your manager or colleague.

Step 1: Say thank you and ask for time

You do not need to accept or negotiate immediately. Reply the same day:

“Thank you very much, I am delighted to receive this offer. Could I have until Thursday to review the details?”

Asking for two to three working days is normal and gives you time to think calmly.

Step 2: Look at the total package, not just salary

Sometimes the salary looks low but the total package beats your current one. Read how to assess it in detail in Evaluating a Job Offer.

Step 3: Set the number you will ask for

Use salary ranges from ads for similar roles, the scope you learned about in interviews, and your specific skills. Ask for one clear number, not a range, because if you give a range the company will pick the bottom. And do not ask for something far beyond what the role realistically pays, as that ends the conversation quickly.

Step 4: Write the negotiation email

An example you can adapt:

Dear Khun ...,

Thank you again for the offer for the Senior Data Analyst role. I am excited about the pricing work I discussed with the team and genuinely want to join.

Having considered the scope, which includes owning dashboards for three departments, and compared similar roles in the market, I would like to propose a salary of ... baht. If this is possible, I am ready to confirm my start on the date the company has set.

Thank you.

Notice that the email opens with commitment, gives factual reasons and closes by showing you are ready to decide, which makes it easier for HR to seek approval.

If HR calls instead of replying by email

Keep your key sentences next to you. State your number clearly, then stop and listen. Do not lower it yourself just because of a silence. If HR needs time to talk to their manager, say you are happy to wait and ask them to confirm the outcome by email afterwards.

Step 5: If salary cannot move

If HR says the budget is maxed out, negotiate other terms instead:

See more ideas in Negotiating Beyond Salary.

What to avoid

How to get started

  1. Reply with thanks and ask for two to three working days
  2. Summarise the total package against your current job
  3. Set one number to ask for, with two reasons
  4. Write the email using the structure above, and let the AI Career Assistant help polish the wording
  5. Ask the company to send a revised offer letter in writing before you accept

If you are still interviewing and facing money questions before an offer, read 5 Salary Questions in an Interview and How to Answer Them.