The reasons for negotiating your job offer are many.  We’re going to go through some of the most important ones in this post.  The reasons for not negotiating your job offer is one. 

And it’s not a good one.  We’ll touch on that below too. 

Before we get into specific reasons why you should negotiate, let’s get one thing out of the way right up front.   They offered you the job.  You are their primary candidate.

Were you their overall first candidate?  Who knows – but you’re first now.  They want YOU at the company.  They are excited to bring you on board.  If they weren’t, you wouldn’t have received the offer.

Simply put, don’t forget that, and know that it means you are finally in a position of power. Throughout the interview you may not have been in this position, but you’re here now, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with leveraging that.

With that out of the way let me give you three great reasons why it’s important to negotiate:

1. The hiring manager may actually be looking for an ask from you as a sign of your negotiation skills.  I was NEVER offended when a candidate brought an ask to the table and if it was reasonable we just considered the negotiation part of the hiring process.

2. Related to number 1, given many hiring managers expect some asks, the offer many times is presented with room for potential negotiation.  In other words you are probably leaving something on the table if you don’t go back.

3. My favorite: You have a zero percent chance of getting something you don’t ask for. 

So what’s the one reason not to negotiate?  It’s fear. 

Fear that if you ask for something, ask for more, you’ll somehow offend the hiring manager or organization and they’ll pull the offer.  Who would you be offending?  Businesses don’t have feelings.  You have to remember they want you there and your confidence will shine through! 

Oh and if they If they do pull it you likely dodged a bullet. Pulling a job offer simply because a candidate initiates a negotiation is a major red flag.

As a bonus I’m going to share a quick list of reasonable asks, especially if there isn’t a ton of movement on the compensation.

So once you get that job offer in hand, and you muster up the courage to negotiate just a little bit, start with these asks:

— More comp on the variable side (i.e. performance based, you are putting your money where your mouth is)
— Some guarantee on the variable during the first few months (I don’t like the term draw but just some kind of floor given ramp)
  —  More equity (you believe in the company and mission!)
  —  Some flex in the work arrangements (WFH, etc)

It’s a candidate’s market, and it’s going to be a candidate’s market for a long time.  Take advantage.

Good luck out there!