Accepting a Job Offer: Negotiate for What You Want

The phone rang (while you were in the shower, of course!) and that wonderful company you interviewed with last week is offering you a job. Do you take the offer made? Do you insist on certain benefits?

How, whether and to what extent you negotiate a job offer will depend a lot on your financial position and your profession. Regardless of those variables, preparation for the job offer should begin as soon as your job hunt begins.

When your job hunt begins, list all of the things you are seeking in a new job (e.g. salary, benefits, hours, culture). Rank the most important to the least important. Write them down again, this time in order of importance. Starting with the most important factor, go down the list. What items will you refuse to negotiate? Draw a horizontal line across the list: All items above it are non-negotiable; items below it are flexible. (If you have something way down on your list that is non-negotiable, that indicates it is more important than you thought it was. Move it up on your list.) You may have no items that are non-negotiable, or numerous ones. A sample list would look like this:


Salary ($50-$60K)
Medical benefits (for me and my partner)
Culture-Can be formal or informal, but must be tolerant

Hours (40-ish); flexible work week
Vacation time (3 weeks)
Sick leave


Next, add two columns to the right of your list. Mark them "A" and "B". Column A will be used to list parts of the offer that meet what you want. Column B will be used to describe compromises you would have to make and what other items the employer offers which might offset it. Using the example above, let's say you are offered a job with only 2 weeks' vacation, but the employer offers two or three personal days a year. You still don't have a three weeks of vacation, but you do have more time off than two weeks.