“Hi Rich,
I’ve received a job offer but how what is the best way to ask for a higher basic salary? I would be nervous doing it by phone call. Can I email it so everything is clear? Is it ok to direct my question straight to their HR person that I have dealt with so far? What is the best way to word it?”
Malia based in Austin, Texas
Rich’s reply
Firstly, congratulations on receiving a job offer. It’s very tough in the marketing sector right now, so well done for getting things to this point.
Everyone will have an opinion on topics like this, so you’re doing the right thing: asking others for their views. After that, it’s important you make the right decision for you, for the right reasons. Only you have all the context in terms of your personal situation and the seniority and environment you could be walking into.
I’ve had the privilege of leading very large marketing teams and I consider myself a bit of an outlier in always wanting to be fair and transparent when making hiring decisions. On more than one occasion I have given new hires more than they asked for because it was the right thing to do in relation to the role and location.
After hiring hundreds of marketers in my time, a lot of those asking for a higher salary offer than they received make a very similar mistake: they fail to sell it to the hiring manager in a compelling way.
So for me, if you genuinely feel you’re being undervalued, your aim should be to engage into a meaningful discussion direct with the hiring manager – after all, you should know them now, added them on LinkedIn and had a little civil follow up message back and forth. HR are the ones that lead you through the hoops but the buck stops with the hiring manager, it’s their budget you’ll be charged to and it’s their team you’ll be reporting into, and, crucially, either sitting within their salary structure or sticking out like a sore thumb.
HR are too busy and far too removed to have this discussion with you as they will not understand the ins and outs of the role, or the team, you may join. Get the hiring manager onsider and let them knock on HR’s door asking for a favour.
For me, I always, without fail, let the hiring manager make the call and I never said ‘haha, told you so”, if a hire went south at a later date. The only time I would ask them to hold on for a second would be if the compensation on offer was way out of whack, and even then, HR would normally be all over that and be the ones flagging it to me.
Malia, I strongly advise you try and get onto a call with the hiring manager. A possible approach would be:
“I want to say thank you for selecting me for the role. I am really happy and I can’t wait to work with you and the team”. I think this sets a good tone. You are making it loud and clear that you want the job, that’s a massive relief to a hiring manager. They selected you and you like them too!You are also subtly reinforcing that you and the team got on, another win! And you are separating your desire for the job with the compensation
“I just wanted to jump on a call with you and have an honest discussion around the compensation rather than sending emails that could be misunderstood or take too long to resolve. A salary of $X would be enough to get me over the line and start talking start dates. Are you open to discussing this with me?”. It’s mature to realise email tennis wouldn’t be optimal here. You are laying a carrot, if we can get to this number, we can finish this hiring process and I can join the team and get cracking.
“Are you open to discussing this with me?” Is a very direct, but fair, question to ask and it would be a strong character to respond with a hard no. It opens the door…
Now the hard part, you need to justify any higher compensation and show a high level of emotional intelligence. You could lose the entire job offer here if you lose control.
All hiring managers like to see that you have done extra homework, the work you had to initiate on your own. So this is an opportunity to show that you have really, really thought about the role, asked the right questions during the interview process and really understood the answers you received. And now you are ready to share how you will do the role even better than they would have hoped. You have started to develop on their thoughts in a compelling way, bringing more skills than they knew they needed, and with genuine passion to get going. You’re not trying to negotiate, you’re trying to achieve a fair offer.
After you have, succinctly, tried to get your point of view across, let the hiring manager respond. They may decline flat, insisting the offer is the offer or that the range is the range. So, before you even request the call, you must have already decided where your line is. If pushed, would you back off and take the offer or say thank you, let’s keep in touch in case the right role and package become available in the future.
I’ve experienced candidates get this scenario very wrong. Common mistakes include:
Making it personal rather than professional: I’ve had candidates tell they want to buy a house, go on holiday more, buy a new car – sorry, whilst I sympathise with this, this isn’t a reason for me to increase the offer.
Quoting salary benchmarks: I’ve had candidates mention salary surveys (or these days an Ai tool!) that says they should be earning X, but you should always assume the hiring team have already done their due diligence. HR typically has their own benchmarking tools that they have zero incentive to deviate from.
Reacting emotionally: I’ve seen candidates react really emotionally and showing frustration in a way that can shift the tone real fast. I can assure you that all such emails to HR do get forwarded to the hiring manager and usually with some commentary and judgement…
Focusing on one number: It sounds a bit cliché but salary is just one component. Bonus structure, benefits, equity and flexibility are well worthy of consideration. And as your career progresses, and the shape of your Homelife develops, your weighting to the individual elements will fluctuate.
Issuing ultimatums too early: Threats like “I cannot accept unless you hit X can shut down dialogue, fast. Only say it if you mean it as some hiring managers enjoying flexing their muscle and telling you where to go.
Apologising: People sometimes soften their request with apologies or disclaimers like ‘I might be wrong’ or ‘I know budgets are tight’. This could signal that you are a bit uncertain about your ask before you’ve even made it.
Not knowing their walkaway point: You need to be sure on what is acceptable to you and what is not. Without a clear floor, it is easy to accept something that you will resent later.
If you can convince the hiring manager you are worth it, I would expect an uplift in the offer, even if minor because they are working within constraints. Demonstrate the value, the passion, the desire to prove yourself whilst being mature and relatable…and well, you give yourself a good chance.
Malia, I hope that helps and I wish you all the best! Feel free to let us know how you get on!
Rich
