Spend Two Minutes. Raise Your Salary.
Answer a few questions to know your true worth in a salary negotiation.
Why This Matters
Most people accept the first number. That's usually a mistake.
Employers typically leave room in a first offer, expecting a counter. Not asking is the single most common - and most expensive - mistake in a job search.
Real money, every year
A stronger counter doesn't just add to your first paycheck - it lifts every raise and bonus calculated off that base going forward.
Rescinded offers are rare
A professional, well-reasoned counter almost never costs you the offer. The real risk is the quiet one: accepting too fast.
Most people don't know the number
The hardest part isn't the courage to ask - it's knowing exactly what to ask for. That's a data problem, not a confidence problem.
How It Works
Know your number in about 5 minutes.
Recomlinked's Counter Offer tool weighs your specific situation - not a generic salary guide - to tell you exactly what to ask for and how to ask for it.
Answer a few questions
Your offer, your deadline, how the process felt, and what leverage you have. About 60 seconds.
Get your offer analysis
See your counter range, your risk level, and how likely each ask is to be accepted - based on their urgency and market position, not guesswork.
Counter with confidence
Your exact counter number, the email to send, and a pushback playbook for "this is our best and final offer."
Ready to see your own numbers? The tool walks you through this in about 5 minutes.
Price My Counter Offer →
Finds you the job.
Helps you negotiate it.
This guide and the tool linked throughout are provided by Recomlinked, a salary negotiation service, in partnership with JobOffer.com.
The Complete Guide
Should I counter a job offer?
In most cases, yes. Employers typically leave room in a first offer, anticipating that a candidate will negotiate - and a professional, well-reasoned counter almost never costs you the offer. The exceptions are narrower than most people assume: when the offer already sits at the top of a defensible range for the role, or when there's no real leverage to support asking for more. The honest answer depends on your specific situation - your offer's structure, your deadline, and whether you have a competing offer or other signals of demand.
How to negotiate a job offer
The strongest counters share a few things in common:
- Counter in writing first. A short, professional email lets the employer check their real flexibility and respond on their own timeline, rather than being put on the spot in a call.
- Lead with one clear number. A specific figure, not a vague "I was hoping for more," gives the employer something concrete to respond to.
- Reference real leverage. A competing offer, the market rate for the role, or your specific experience all give the ask a reason, not just a request.
- Confirm enthusiasm. Negotiating well and wanting the job are not in tension - say both clearly.
How to counter a job offer: what to actually ask for
How much to counter depends on real signals, not a flat percentage. A candidate with a competing offer and a company that moved quickly through the process has more room than someone with no other options and a slow-moving employer. This is exactly the gap a generic salary calculator can't close - it doesn't know your deadline, your leverage, or how the process actually felt.
Recomlinked's tool weighs those specific signals - your offer's structure, the company's likely urgency, and the market for your role - to give three counter levels: a safe ask, a stronger ask, and a bold ask, each with an estimate of how likely it is to be accepted.
Price My Counter Offer →Salary counter offer email: what to include
A strong counter-offer email is short and specific. It typically includes:
- A thank you for the offer and clear enthusiasm for the role
- One specific counter number, not a range
- A brief, factual reason (market rate, experience, or a competing offer)
- A clear next step - confirming you're ready to move forward once the number is settled
Recomlinked's Counter Offer kit generates this email automatically, built around your actual offer and leverage, so you're not starting from a blank page under a deadline.
What if they say "this is our best and final offer"?
This is one of the most common moments candidates freeze on - and it's rarely actually final. A calm, prepared response usually falls into one of a few categories: asking about non-salary levers (signing bonus, start date, title, review timeline), requesting a short window to consider, or making one clear, final ask rather than continuing to push. Having a plan for this moment before it happens is what separates a confident counter from an anxious one.
Common Questions
Job offer negotiation, answered.
Should I counter a job offer?
In most cases, yes - a professional counter rarely costs you the offer, and the room built into most first offers means there's usually something to gain by asking.
Will a company rescind an offer if I negotiate?
It's extremely rare. The far more common and costly mistake is accepting the first number without ever asking.
How much should I counter offer on a salary?
It depends on your specific leverage - competing offers, how quickly the company moved, and how in-demand your experience is - not a flat percentage from a generic guide.
What's the best way to send a counter offer?
In writing, first. A short email with one clear number lets the employer check their flexibility and respond without the pressure of an on-the-spot call.
You've read the guide. Here's the tool.
You get one counter. Make it the right one.
Answer a few questions about your specific offer and get your exact counter number, the email to send, and a pushback playbook - built for you, not a general guide.
Price My Counter Offer →A negotiation guide from JobOffer.com, powered by Recomlinked. Negotiation guidance and tool by Recomlinked Technologies Inc.