An offer is exciting. It is also the moment many people either say yes to the first number on the spot, or ask for more in a way that leaves them nervous for days.
In our latest video, Chez Jennings, our Lead Career Coach, and I covered the moment you leave a job in our exit strategy conversation. This is the other side: the moment an offer arrives. We have both sat on the hiring side of a lot of offers, so we compared notes on what companies expect, what you can negotiate beyond salary, how equity works, and how to ask.
The timing matters. In the US, hiring usually slows after the Thanksgiving holiday, so teams are working to close their last roles of the year now.
*One thing up front: we are not lawyers or financial advisors, and nothing here is legal, financial or tax advice. Every offer is different, because the people, the company, the market and your priorities are different. Timestamps let you jump to any part of the video.
Asking is expected: an offer sits inside a range (5:56)
From the employer side, an offer is usually built inside a pay range that was set before you ever applied. Companies use compensation tools to compare their pay against the market, often at the median or a higher percentile, so they stay competitive.
So it is not a free-for-all, but because the range is planned in advance, asking is usually expected and the first number can usually move. In our experience, when you ask well, it should not put the offer at risk. If the team wants you and you want the team, you are working toward the same goal.
What happens inside the company when you ask for more (7:39)
Chez and Kelly walked through what candidates rarely see from the recruiter’s side:
- The verbal offer is often near the midpoint of the range. Many companies start near the median of the range, and sometimes higher for very senior candidates.
- Small asks can move quickly. At many companies Chez and Kelly have worked with, a recruiter has a pre-approved increase they can offer without extra approvals. Nonprofits and tighter budgets can have less.
- Bigger asks need sign-off. HR, finance and sometimes executives need to approve. That can take two business days, or eight or nine at a bureaucratic company.
- The recruiter makes your case. For a big gap the answer may be a mix of base, bonus and sign-on.
What helps the recruiter most is a clear ask with a reason: here is what I am focused on, here is why, and I would be happy at this number instead of “Can you do any better?” which is very hard to take to finance.
Call or email? We see it a little differently (11:15)
Chez’s tip: if you are comfortable, put your ask in an email before the call. The recruiter can start approvals before you speak, instead of being surprised on the phone.
I often advise asking for a call and saying you have questions about the offer, because many people find it hard to sound sincere rather than confrontational in writing. If your ask sits within the range you already discussed, an email is fine. If you are stuck in a back-and-forth, pick up the phone.
Both work. Choose the one that lets the recruiter represent you accurately, then confirm what you agreed in email so it is documented.
When benefits change the math (12:08)
A friend and client of mine said yes to a verbal offer in the US. When the formal offer arrived, the health insurance premiums were so much higher than at their previous job that the package left them behind. They were not trying to squeeze out a few thousand dollars, so they asked for a conversation and explained what they needed to make it work.
Two lessons. In the US, ask to see the benefits and premium costs before you sign. And your next salary depends on the budget for the job, not on your last salary. Benefits are personal, too: someone early in their career may still be on a parent’s plan, while someone else cares most about paid leave.
Look beyond base salary (15:50)
When clients tell us their target number, our first question is: is that base salary or total compensation? Here is what else sits in an offer:
- Level and title (16:12, 19:16). Levels differ from company to company, and at some companies bonus percentages are tied to them, for example 10% at manager and 15% at director. A VP title at a small startup may not match a manager role at a large company. Chez’s advice: build the case for your level during the interviews, not at the offer.
- When the role turns out to be a level up. If the interviews show the scope belongs at a higher level, you can raise it once the team wants you. Two companies up-leveled roles for me. It is not common, but it happens.
- Annual bonus. It may be prorated if you start partway through the year, and it is taxable income, so count it as compensation.
- Sign-on bonus (22:47). Often used when you are at the top of the range for your level, or leaving a bonus or vesting behind. It is usually paid in your first month and does not raise your salary but it does count as taxable income. Read the repayment terms: if you leave within a set period, often a year, you may have to pay it back. The same goes for relocation support.
- Start date (24:14). Take time between jobs if you can. Ending a job on Friday and starting a new one on Monday is not a badge of honor.
- Work model and location (24:29). A four-day office policy may have room for two, and large companies may let you choose your office.
- First review timing (25:04). Make sure your first performance review, and the pay conversation that comes with it, is on the calendar.
- Time off and relocation support. Both can be negotiated, and relocation often has a standard package and an enhanced one.
- Learning and development, including a career coach. Leadership candidates often have coaching in their package, and there is no reason everyone else should not ask for it up front. If a company recommends a coach, you can ask to be reimbursed for the one you prefer.
Many employers cover career coaching as a benefit, often under learning and development, continuing education, leadership coaching, or career or professional development. Check your benefits, ask HR, and in many cases ask your manager for approval. We can invoice you and/or your employer directly or provide documentation for reimbursement.
Equity is part of the offer, not free money (27:30)
*A reminder before this section: we are not financial or tax advisors. Equity terms vary by company and by country, and much of what follows is US-specific.
Equity is part of the offer, not a bonus on top of it, and its value depends on the company’s stage. At a public company, you can see a share price. At a private company, it is a number on paper until something happens, such as an acquisition or an IPO.
Chez saw this up close at Reddit before its IPO. Early hires received very different packages from people who joined closer to the IPO, when new hires moved from stock options to RSUs, and they were given the option to buy shares at very different prices. One candidate turned down an offer while the company was on options, then came back and accepted once it had moved to RSUs and she no longer had to pay for her shares.
Her first two startup jobs, at Series A and B companies, came with no equity, and she did not know to ask. If equity is not in your package, you can ask.
What a recruiter can and cannot tell you (29:51). Ask about the type of equity, how much, the vesting schedule and the cliff. Recruiters cannot share everything, such as dilution or how many shares remain, so expect some questions to be off-limits.
Stock options vs. RSUs (31:17)
- Stock options give you the option to buy shares at a set price at a later date, once they vest. You pay to buy them, which has tax implications, and at a private company you usually cannot sell until there is an event, such as an acquisition or IPO. There is no guarantee they will be worth anything. Sometimes when a company is acquired, employees may receive an unexpected offer to sell their shares back. Some companies offer buybacks before an IPO or acquisition, usually at a discount.
- RSUs (restricted stock units) are more common at public companies, or at private companies close to or targeting an IPO. Once they vest, the shares are yours. You can usually track them in a portal and sell during set trading windows.
Vesting and the cliff (34:57). Vesting is the schedule on which your equity becomes yours. Think of it as a savings account that fills up piece by piece. Most offers have a one-year cliff: nothing vests until you have worked at the company for a year. After that, many companies now vest monthly or quarterly, though some have used schedules weighted toward later years to keep people from leaving.
The schedule itself is rarely negotiable. The mix often is: some candidates negotiate more equity instead of, or alongside, cash. If a startup offers lower cash and higher equity, ask whether you will stay long enough to see it vest.
Be cautious. WeWork is a public example: after its IPO plans collapsed in 2019, Fortune reported that about 90% of current and former employees held stock options that were underwater, meaning the shares were worth less than the price to buy them. We have seen people put their savings, and more, into buying shares that ended up worth nothing. Talk to a tax professional, talk to people who work there, look closely at the leadership, and get a financial view before you rely on the number.
How you ask matters as much as what you ask for (38:22)
Negotiating an offer continues a relationship. The more positive it is with the recruiter, the hiring manager and the leaders above them, the more likely you are to get what you want. Be kind and grateful, even when you are asking for more.
The recruiter is not against you. It is not their money, and they want the role filled so they can move on. As Chez put it, the win for the recruiter is filling the role, so the real question is what will make it work for you.
What sours it is being so difficult that the team dreads your arrival. We have both seen offers rescinded. When I was the recruiter on one offer, the candidate agreed to terms, then changed their mind more than once and came back unreasonably away from what we had agreed. I brought it to our VP of Technology who was my hiring manager for this tech leadership role, and the offer was rescinded. The way you negotiate shows how you will communicate once you join.
What a strong ask looks like (41:23)
- Ask for time to review. At most reasonable companies, 24 to 72 hours is standard. Pressure to decide on the spot, especially when they know you have other interviews, is a red flag.
- Give a reason. For example, you are walking away from a bonus or a vesting date: can the start date move, or can a sign-on bonus recover some of it?
- Make one organized ask. Know your priorities and ask for them together. A drip of small asks looks disorganized and starts to look insincere.
- Stay consistent. Range alignment should start in the first recruiter call, and after a verbal offer there should not be much left to discuss. If there was no verbal, asking for the weekend is reasonable. If you agreed at every stage, asking for a week with no reason raises questions.
Competing offers: be honest, and be ready to show proof (43:42)
Some companies now ask to see a competing offer. You decide what to disclose, and you can stay high level: you are talking to several companies and are in late stages. Naming companies, levels and salaries is where it gets tricky.
Never invent an offer. Chez had a candidate claim a competing offer and then decline to show it. Senior leadership lost confidence in him, and when he accepted, it looked like a bluff. Back-channeling happens, too: a recruiter may know someone at the company you name.
A real offer, shared, can help. Chez has sent a candidate’s competing offer straight to finance and gotten them more money, and it gave the company market data showing it was falling behind. The same works for what you are walking away from, such as a promotion or salary increase you are on track for.
Use it to manage timing (46:45). Say you are actively interviewing early on. Later, you can say you are in late stages, or expecting an offer if that is true, and ask whether the process can move faster. That tone helps when your second choice makes an offer first: asking for until the end of the week to finish a process you already mentioned is reasonable. A week with no context may not be.
Be as honest as you can without giving away your leverage. The person advocating for you has to sell your request to their team.
Before you sign: read the whole offer (50:51)
Read the whole offer, even the legalese. Do not paste it into an AI chat and take the answer as final. AI tools are not attorneys. (We cover where AI helps and hurts in our AI in the Job Search post.) What to check:
- Start date and conditions, such as background checks and NDAs.
- Repayment terms on a sign-on bonus or relocation support.
- Equity documents, which are often separate from the offer letter. You can ask to see them before you sign, and in the US you can ask to see the health premiums too.
- Restrictive clauses, such as arbitration or a non-compete. What applies depends on the state.
- Intellectual property. If you have had a startup, consult, run your own business, or built something of your own, make sure the contract does not give the company a claim to it. Keep your own projects off company hardware. *As a founder I highly recommend having a lawyer review the contract to make sure your IP is fully protected
- Severance terms, which some leadership and founding team offers include.
A client story. I coached one client into their first principal engineer role, then through promotions to architect, until they had grown as far as they could at that company. This year, we negotiated their offer to join a startup’s founding team. The title of founding head of engineering was part of the negotiation, because their long-term goal is CTO, and severance was built into the offer, so they are covered if anything changes.
If anything looks unusual, get an employment lawyer’s view. Leadership candidates with complex offers often do. And if you are currently employed, get the final offer in writing, signed and completed before you resign.
The takeaways
- The first offer is a starting point, and asking is usually expected.
- Know whether your number is base salary or total compensation.
- Look beyond base: level, bonus, sign-on, start date, work model, review timing, benefits and learning budget.
- Understand your equity before you value it, and get tax and financial advice.
- Make a clear, organized ask with a reason, and confirm it in writing.
- Never invent a competing offer.
- Read everything before you sign, and get the final offer in writing and signed before you resign.
Questions people ask
Can you negotiate a job offer?
Usually, yes. Most offers are built inside a pay range set in advance, so recruiters expect questions and the first number can often move. Make one clear ask with a reason, stay courteous, and confirm what you agree in writing.
What can you negotiate in a job offer besides salary?
Level and title, a sign-on bonus, your annual bonus, equity, your start date, work model and location, the timing of your first review, time off, relocation support, and a learning and development budget, which can include a career coach.
What is the difference between stock options and RSUs?
Stock options give you the right to buy company shares at a set price once they vest. RSUs are shares you receive without paying for them once they vest, and they are taxed as income. Both usually follow a vesting schedule, often with a one-year cliff.
Plain definitions
- Total compensation: base salary plus everything else with a value, such as bonuses, equity and benefits.
- Sign-on bonus: a one-time payment, usually in your first month, that does not change your base salary. It is taxable and often has repayment terms.
- Vesting schedule: the timeline on which your equity becomes yours.
- One-year cliff: nothing vests until you have worked at the company for a year.
- Repayment terms: a clause requiring you to pay back a sign-on bonus or relocation support if you leave within a set period.
Talk it through with us
If you are holding an offer right now, or expect one soon, and want a second pair of eyes, book a free consultation. It is a real conversation, with no pressure and no pitch.
Book a free consultation: https://calendly.com/allora-collective-free-consultation
Offer negotiation is part of the Allora Coaching Plans. In our 3-, 6- and 12-Month plans, after an offer negotiation session we build you an Offer Negotiation Game Plan, so you go into the conversation with a clear plan.
If you need one focused hour on an offer that just landed, a Single 1-hour session is built for this: one 60-minute session, a recording and a written follow-up. Support is session-based: no tools, no custom searches and no continuous communication between sessions. Email [email protected]. You can also read what clients say about working with us.
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We are not lawyers or financial advisors, and nothing in this post is legal, financial or tax advice. Individual results vary based on role, market, level and effort.
