You Got the Offer. Don't Accept It Yet.

The negotiation playbook: base salary, sign-on bonuses, and the levers you can pull

The email arrives. Or the phone rings. But this time, it’s different.

“We’d love to extend you an offer.”

Congratulations. Seriously.

Take a moment and pat yourself on the back. You have beaten out hundreds, maybe even thousands of other candidates for that role.

That is an amazing accomplishment.

Now, once the excitement settles, the next phase begins: Negotiation.

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This Is Based on My Experience

I want to be clear, there are hundreds of amazing resources that go deep into negotiation theory.

What I’m going to share today is based on my own personal experience. Negotiations can go so many different ways depending on the company and the title.

Everyone’s circumstances are different, so take what works for you.

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The First and Most Important Rule

The first and most important rule is this: Do not immediately accept the first offer.

Almost every company has some wiggle room, and their first offer is typically not their absolute best.

This is your moment to professionally and respectfully negotiate for what you’re worth.

Now, a lot of the time, this offer will come via a phone call, which can put you on the spot.

Here is your playbook for how to handle that call.

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The Phone Offer Playbook

Step 1: Express Enthusiasm & Gratitude

The very first thing out of your mouth should be genuine excitement.

Something like, “That is fantastic news! Thank you so much, I’m thrilled about this opportunity.”

This sets a positive tone for the entire negotiation.

Step 2: Listen & Document

As they walk you through the offer, write down all the details: the base salary, the bonus structure, stock options, PTO, start date, etc.

Then, ask for it in writing. Say, “This all sounds great. To make sure I have everything down correctly, could you also send me an email with these details?”

Step 3: Buy Yourself Time

Never negotiate on the spot. You need time to review and plan.

Say this with confidence: “This is a big decision and I want to give it the proper attention it deserves. I’d like to take a look at this later today, digest it, and get back to you. Would it be okay if I followed up tomorrow morning?”

They will always say yes.

Then ask, “What’s the best way to reach you then, via email or a call?”

This gives you the space to prepare. You’ll use this time to plan your counteroffer for each part of the package.

The next day, you follow up as agreed and begin the discussion.

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What to Negotiate

So let’s talk about what to negotiate, starting with the biggest lever: Base Salary.

Remember how we talked about salary ranges in my previous post? Go back to that range and see where their offer lands.

If you’re not at the max, you have runway. But you don’t want to counter aggressively just to get the max number.

Remember, if you start at the very top of the band, you might limit your potential for a meaningful raise at the end of the year.

Before you counter, consider a few factors:

• First, the market rate

• Second, the scope of the role

• And third, your unique skills

For example, if the range was $100K to $150K and they offered you $125K, based on these factors, I would typically aim for a $5K to $15K increase.

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Beyond Base Salary

After base salary, you can look at Bonuses.

What’s often easier to negotiate is a Sign-on Bonus. For many professional roles, asking for a sign-on bonus between $2,500 and $10,000 is very reasonable, especially if you’re leaving an old bonus on the table.

Now, for roles in tech, consulting, or investment banking, those numbers are a whole different animal. Much higher.

Then you can move on to other things like stock options or even an extra week of PTO.

The point is to know the different levers you can pull.

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What If You’re Leaving Money on the Table?

Let me give you a real-world example from my own experience.

When I decided to leave consulting, I was just a few weeks shy of my two-year anniversary. That timing mattered because it meant I’d have to pay back a large portion of my sign-on bonus.

I was burned out and needed to leave for my mental health, but I also didn’t want to lose that money.

This is actually pretty common. A lot of companies structure bonuses around specific anniversaries or fiscal year-ends. If you leave before hitting those dates, you either forfeit the bonus or have to pay it back.

So in my negotiation with the new company, I was honest. I explained the situation and asked for a sign-on bonus that would “make me whole.” That’s the term people use. It basically means covering what you’re losing by leaving early.

But I didn’t stop there. I also asked for an additional amount on top of that to get me to enthusiastically say yes.

At that time, I also had two other offers, which gave me leverage to make sure my total package was well above the others.

And they agreed.

The point is, if you’re leaving money on the table at your current job because of timing (annual bonus, unvested stock, sign-on repayment, whatever), that’s a legitimate thing to negotiate. Most companies understand this and have budgets for it.

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Multiple Offers

Now, what if you have multiple offers?

This is a great problem to have, but it requires some soul-searching.

I can’t tell you which job to take, but I can say this: put the money aside for a moment and ask yourself, which opportunity are you most genuinely excited about?

Which one will make you happier and has the most long-term potential? Which one will get you excited to get out of bed every day, five days a week, every week of the year?

Remember our philosophy: the money will come. Decide based on the qualitative factors.

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A Few Final, Critical Rules

First, always get the final, negotiated offer in writing and wait until your background check is complete before you resign from your current job. Always.

Second, keep the tone positive and collaborative.

And third, know your walk-away point.

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Your Task

Here’s your task.

For any target role, I want you to do a few things.

First, identify one or two things beyond base salary that you might consider negotiating. Is it a sign-on bonus? A specific start date?

Second, identify your “hard nos.” The absolute minimums you need.

And remember, these points of negotiation may change for every job you’re a finalist for, so you may need to do this exercise each time.

Just thinking about these levers in advance is a key part of being prepared.

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You’ve Completed This Phase

This concludes this phase on post-interview strategies.

You now have the tools to follow up, handle rejection, and negotiate an offer with confidence.

Great work.

I’ll see you in the next posts.

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Next up: Strategic career moves and long-term planning

Here is the complete career playbook (all 26 posts with real-world interview, resume, and career examples) for anyone who is pivoting roles, industries, about to graduate, stuck in their current path, not sure what to do next, etc.