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Job offers: salary research and negotiation
5 minutes · 7 steps · workout 6 of 6 in this module
What you'll be able to do
By the end of this workout, you'll be able to research a salary range before an interview, compare two offers on total compensation instead of base salary alone, and make one calm, evidence-based counter.
A first look: Research a range, not a number
Before any salary conversation, build a range from at least three sources: salary ranges printed in job postings for similar roles in your city, anonymous salary sites and industry surveys, and people who hold similar roles (a short, polite message asking for a range, not their salary, works well). Write down the low, middle and high for your level and city. Ranges vary a lot by company size, industry and city, so treat any single number you see online as one data point, not the truth. Then decide your own three numbers: the figure you'd be happy with, the figure you'd accept, and the figure below which you'd decline. The first number spoken in a negotiation anchors everything that follows. That's why you want to know the range before anyone says a number, and why you should never open with a single figure that hasn't been researched.
Example: Your notes: “Postings: 3 similar roles list ranges. Survey: median for 0-2 years in this city. Two people in similar roles gave me their sense of the range. My range: happy / accept / decline.”
What this workout covers
- Research a range, not a number
- Compare total compensation, not base
- Case: Making the counter
A question from this workout
First interview, and the recruiter asks: “What are your salary expectations?” You haven't researched anything yet. What's the best move? Reason it out first.
- Say the first number that comes to mind so you don't seem evasive
- Ask for the role's budgeted range, and say you'll come back with a researched range if they can't share it yet
- Say “whatever you think is fair”
- Name a very high number to leave room
Pick your answer first, then open the reasoning below.
Show the answer and the reasoning
Answer: B. Ask for the role's budgeted range, and say you'll come back with a researched range if they can't share it yet
Many companies have a budgeted range and will share it when asked. If not, buying time to research is normal and respected. The most common mistake is the first option: the first number spoken anchors the whole negotiation, and an unresearched number is usually low. “Whatever is fair” hands the anchor to the other side.
The other steps work the same way: you decide first, then see why each option is right or wrong.
How you practice here
- 2 short concept cards
- 2 multiple-choice questions
- 1 campaign case with real-looking numbers
- 1 guided calculation
- 1 recall question from an earlier workout
Part of the module: Portfolio, Resume and Interviews
Prove what you have learned to a recruiter: a project portfolio, an ATS-friendly resume, a LinkedIn profile and case interview practice.
More workouts in this module
- Portfolio: turning your projects into case studies
- A marketing resume: write results, not duties
- Setting up your LinkedIn profile for recruiters
- The case interview: "How would you spend this budget?"
- Take-home assignments: structure and presentation
Programs that include this workout