Salary negotiation email template

A negotiation email is only as good as the numbers in it. Before you write, decide:

1. Your target: the figure you’ll ask for. One number, not a range: if you give a range, expect to be offered the bottom of it.
2. Your walk-away point: the lowest offer you’d accept. Keep it to yourself, but know it, so you can decide quickly when they reply.
3. Your evidence: why the target is fair. Pay ranges in similar job ads, salary surveys for your role and city, the scope of the job as described in the interviews, or a competing offer.

More and more job ads publish a pay range, thanks to pay transparency laws in several US states and the EU’s pay transparency directive, so a search for similar roles often gives you a fair benchmark. Our salary pages show advertised pay by role and country, taken from job ads that publish it.

No single percentage works everywhere. Ask for a figure you can justify in one sentence, a little above what you’d happily accept, so there’s room to meet in the middle. If the ad published a range and you meet all of its requirements, the upper part of that range is a reasonable target. With a competing offer, asking them to match it or come close is normal.

Compare like with like: base salary with base salary, in the same currency, period and hours. A higher base with a smaller bonus or a weaker pension can be worth less overall.

Both work. Email gives you time to choose your words, keeps a record, and lets the recruiter pass your request on internally exactly as you wrote it. A call feels warmer and gets a faster answer. These templates take the middle path: make the request by email and offer to talk it through by phone.

Whichever you choose, get the final agreement in writing. A revised offer letter is the only thing that counts.

When the salary band is fixed, the rest of the package often isn’t. Pick the one or two items that matter most to you:

• a signing bonus, for example to cover a bonus you’d give up by leaving your current job;
• an earlier salary review, at six months instead of twelve, against agreed goals;
• extra paid leave, or a later start date;
• remote or hybrid days, or a home-office budget;
• a learning or certification budget;
• relocation support, or a higher job level and title.

In much of Europe, some of these are set by law or collective agreements, such as minimum annual leave, so ask what’s negotiable rather than assuming.

• “I need more because…” followed by your rent or your bills. Base the request on the role and the market, not on your costs.
• Ultimatums. “Unless you can do X, I’ll decline” invites them to let you decline.
• Invented offers. Mention a competing offer only if you have one, in writing. Recruiters sometimes ask to see it.
• Over-apologizing. “Sorry to ask, I hope this isn’t rude…” weakens a reasonable request. Thank them, then ask.
• Saying yes, then negotiating. Negotiate before you accept. Reopening the salary after you’ve agreed damages trust.

If you’re replying to the offer email, keep its thread and subject. If you start a new email, keep the subject neutral:

• Senior Data Analyst offer – salary discussion
• Question about the offer before I accept
• Product Manager offer – timing and next steps
• Offer for Claims Team Lead – questions about the package
• Following up on our call about the offer

Most recruiters need a day or two to get an answer from the hiring manager or from finance, so don’t read anything into a short silence. If they meet you partway, judge the new number against your walk-away point, not your target. Once you agree, ask for the updated offer in writing before you resign from your current job, then confirm with the job offer acceptance email generator. For the full strategy, read our guide to negotiating salary by email.