Negotiating Your Offer

When you receive an offer, there may be some aspect that is not particularly attractive to you. There may be no relocation benefit, the salary may be lower than you were expecting, or there may be some conflict with the starting date, hours of work, etc.

Most employers would prefer to know if there was an aspect of the job that would cause you to reject the position. After all, they want you to work for them!

Honesty is the best policy when discussing terms of employment. Wait until you have received a formal offer of employment (but not accepted it), then contact the employer and state your concerns in a straightforward manner.

For example, you might explain that you really want to work with the company, but the salary (or other benefit) is less than you expected. State the terms that you need and listen to the response. You may have to put your request in writing or wait until management have been able to consider the issue.

If your request is reasonable and presented professionally, it is unlikely that it will jeopardise your offer. If the employer can agree to your request, they will. If they can't, they will tell you, and you can decide if you wish to accept the offer anyway.

While new graduates generally are not in a strong position to negotiate (particularly on salary), an employer may be more flexible if you have unique qualifications or expertise. On the other hand, employers hiring large numbers of entry-level graduates are often reluctant to negotiate, as they have large numbers of graduates with similar qualifications and skills to replace any candidate that rejects an offer.