Yes, you absolutely should negotiate your salary—here’s how
Remember, this is called work, not play. You deserve to get paid an equitable amount of money for the work you're going to do.

Congratulations! You've got an offer! Before you accept the verbal offer you've received on the phone, we want you to practice saying this.
"Thank you so much. I'm so excited about the prospect of working with you and your team. Once I get the formal offer via email, I'll need a couple of days to process my final decision."
Then, oh my gosh, hang up. And start working on your negotiation plan.
Recruiters expect you to negotiate, so go for it.
Here's the deal. Only 63 percent of women negotiate salary offers. And when they do negotiate, 70 percent of the time they receive some kind of boost; and that amount ends up being about five percent higher than their male counterparts. Why would you not do this? That's money laying on the ground, waiting for you to pick it up. We hear objections to doing this all the time, including: "I'm uncomfortable asking." "I'm just happy to have a job." "I'm afraid they'll rescind the offer." "This is a good offer." "Money isn't that important to me." Remember, this is called work, not play. You're doing these jobs because you want meaning and fulfillment, sure. But you also want to get paid an equitable amount of money for the work you're going to do. It's called fair trade and the onus is on you to ask for it. It's okay to be uncomfortable—you can research, prepare and practice so that you'll be ready. You want to keep your eye on the end goal, which is to get paid equitably for your work. Pay negotiations are often positioned as a game or battle—something you have to win where there are rules of engagement, hardlines, ultimatums, and go/no-go conversations. That's a very adversarial, zero-sum equation in our estimation. Remember, it's just a conversation Instead, we suggest that you approach these interactions as a conversation. When it comes down to it, we're people having a conversation about what you're going to do at this new company and in this new role. Ideally, everyone wants to come out of that conversation feeling good. Make sure to look at compensation websites to get a sense of both what you can command, as well as the pay band or range for this particular role. Salary.com, Comparably, LinkedIn and Payscale all provide this information at no charge. From there, you will be able to have a realistic view when considering your skills vs. performance vs. compensation. In general, a reasonable negotiating goal may be 5 to15 percent above the initial offer. You can also think beyond money (such as time off, bonuses, and training) as you negotiate your compensation. Just be careful to avoid absolutes and ultimatums. We also want to take a moment to remind you to bring up your future as part of this compensation conversation. When you bring up the topic of pay, managers often use this as a proxy for better understanding what motivates you, and to establish an idea of how you are thinking about your future within the organization. Rather than allowing recruiters and hiring managers to draw their own conclusions, we suggest you tell them explicitly how you foresee your future. And do make sure your future management team understands that your focus is on the overall success of the organization, as well as for you individually. If it looks like your focus is a bigger paycheck and not the wellbeing of the organization, a pay conversation potentially falls flat.
Here's the deal. Only 63 percent of women negotiate salary offers. And when they do negotiate, 70 percent of the time they receive some kind of boost; and that amount ends up being about five percent higher than their male counterparts. Why would you not do this? That's money laying on the ground, waiting for you to pick it up. We hear objections to doing this all the time, including: "I'm uncomfortable asking." "I'm just happy to have a job." "I'm afraid they'll rescind the offer." "This is a good offer." "Money isn't that important to me." Remember, this is called work, not play. You're doing these jobs because you want meaning and fulfillment, sure. But you also want to get paid an equitable amount of money for the work you're going to do. It's called fair trade and the onus is on you to ask for it. It's okay to be uncomfortable—you can research, prepare and practice so that you'll be ready. You want to keep your eye on the end goal, which is to get paid equitably for your work. Pay negotiations are often positioned as a game or battle—something you have to win where there are rules of engagement, hardlines, ultimatums, and go/no-go conversations. That's a very adversarial, zero-sum equation in our estimation. Remember, it's just a conversation Instead, we suggest that you approach these interactions as a conversation. When it comes down to it, we're people having a conversation about what you're going to do at this new company and in this new role. Ideally, everyone wants to come out of that conversation feeling good. Make sure to look at compensation websites to get a sense of both what you can command, as well as the pay band or range for this particular role. Salary.com, Comparably, LinkedIn and Payscale all provide this information at no charge. From there, you will be able to have a realistic view when considering your skills vs. performance vs. compensation. In general, a reasonable negotiating goal may be 5 to15 percent above the initial offer. You can also think beyond money (such as time off, bonuses, and training) as you negotiate your compensation. Just be careful to avoid absolutes and ultimatums. We also want to take a moment to remind you to bring up your future as part of this compensation conversation. When you bring up the topic of pay, managers often use this as a proxy for better understanding what motivates you, and to establish an idea of how you are thinking about your future within the organization. Rather than allowing recruiters and hiring managers to draw their own conclusions, we suggest you tell them explicitly how you foresee your future. And do make sure your future management team understands that your focus is on the overall success of the organization, as well as for you individually. If it looks like your focus is a bigger paycheck and not the wellbeing of the organization, a pay conversation potentially falls flat.
Compensation structure
Now let's discuss how to think about compensation. When looking at total compensation, companies offer common types of benefits. Typical compensation packages include:- Health insurance
- Performance bonuses
- Vision and dental insurance
- Retirement plans
- Workplace culture
- Personal life issues
- Diversity and social responsibility
- External recognition.