Most salary negotiations are successful, but some fail. Don’t lose hope if the company rejects your salary negotiation and you still have to take the job. Be gracious in your reply while mentioning that the compensation was below expectations. And suggest compensation in other areas or future renegotiation opportunities.
By Lora Korpar
Asking for a higher salary is scary, and rejection never feels good. But not everyone has the luxury of waiting for another good opportunity when the salary doesn’t meet their expectations.
Sometimes you must take the offer even if it is not what you wanted. It is important to remain polite and grateful in these situations while also advocating for your future.
“I think most people need to be realistic that all salary negotiations aren't going to be successful,” said Brandon Bramley, founder of The Salary Negotiator. “We haven't seen it happen in a high volume, so I still urge everyone to go ahead and try to negotiate their job offer, but I would stay realistic that they wouldn’t [all be successful].”
A survey by Fidelity Investments found that 87% of young professionals who negotiated salaries received at least some of what they asked for. But negotiations can fail.
However, other compensation options exist even if the company rejected your salary request. You can also try again in the future.
I spoke with Bramley and Mary Jeanne Vincent, a career coach and salary negotiation expert, to discuss how to accept a less-than-ideal salary and ensure you still receive options to grow in the future.
Responding to the Rejected Salary Negotiation
Don’t take the rejection personally. You never know what factors led to the employer’s decision. Perhaps they lacked the budget to pay more. Don’t be afraid to ask the employer why they rejected the negotiation.
Bramley also said to be proud of yourself for negotiating.
“I think the best thing people should think about is… at least they had the confidence and know that they tried rather than the unknowns on if they could have negotiated and possibly received more compensation,” Bramley said.
“ I think that people often don't negotiate because they're worried about getting shut down,” Vincent added. “So it's more likely that people don't negotiate rather than that they try to negotiate and don't get anything.”
Acknowledge the offer is lower than you planned while remaining gracious. This is especially important if you plan to work with the people who rejected the negotiation.
Bramley suggests telling the recruiter, “I appreciate you advocating internally for me to get an improved offer and taking back my concerns. However, like I mentioned, the offer is lower than I was expecting. So why don't you give me a day or so to go ahead and think through this and I'll get back to you with either an acceptance or any additional questions or concerns.”
Bramley said not to accept the lower offer immediately because that could imply you were negotiating just for the sake of it.
“Also, it will possibly shake out any last concerns from the recruiter in case they are willing to take it back if they think you're truly not going to accept,” Bramley said. “And [it gives you the time] to think through it to see if you still feel the same and if that compensation fits your needs before you accept.”
Alternative Compensation Options
Salary is not the only job offer element to negotiate. Vincent says other negotiable factors include bonuses, vacation time, position title, travel costs and company-paid certifications.
“The first thing is to know what other negotiable items there might be that are not necessarily money,” Vincent said. “So if I got shut down on salary, I might try to shoot for a higher-level title, which puts me in a better position when I want to negotiate salary next time.”
Negotiating for a higher position could also increase your salary range.
“If you're coming in and they said, ‘We can't pay you any more because you're in X salary band, and that's the top of the salary band,’ OK,” Vincent said. “I'm saying ‘I can take that, but how about we move me up to the next salary band for the future because then I'll be at the low end of the salary band?’ So that is not something that necessarily [means] you're going to get more money right now, but it sets you up for success in the future.”
Benefits and additional negotiable items ideally would be part of your initial negotiation so it doesn’t seem like you want a consolation prize. Bramley suggests including benefits in your counteroffer to put it “all on the table.”
“And the best way to phrase it would be asking the recruiter, ‘Like I mentioned, the compensation is much lower than I was expecting or hoping for. But I also had a concern about this benefit, so I'm hoping you can take this back to your team to see if that might be something they think through since the current compensation is OK for me,’” Bramley said.
Future Salary Renegotiation
Open the possibility of a future raise in your negotiation if accepting a lower offer. Salaries tend to grow with the inflation rate, so the employer should already account for the need for a raise.
“One thing to ask about would definitely be ‘What does the compensation growth look like in the future? Is there an opportunity to go ahead and evaluate my performance and take another look at my compensation and see if we can make any adjustments?’” Bramley said.
Most large companies conduct annual performance reviews on their employees, at which point they discuss increasing salaries. But if you believe you are being severely underpaid based on research on the position’s average pay, Bramley suggests returning to the subject around six months into the job.
Vincent added that you can ask for a “retroactive raise” during the negotiation. This is an agreement to revisit the idea of a higher salary “based on meeting certain objectives within a specific timeline.”
“So you're not getting the money now, but you might get it in the future,” Vincent said.
Another option is to ask for a salary review after a specific period. Ensure written negotiation agreements to prevent the employer from forgetting them.
“I always recommend sending an acceptance email,” Bramley said. “That's where everything is documented — what you discussed, what the initial offer was, what the final offer was and all the details. So I would put in there if they do mention when they [plan to] review [salary].”
“When that manager leaves or is promoted, if you don't have [the agreement] in writing, it doesn't exist,” Vincent added. “So you want to get those objectives in writing [saying] ‘These are the key points that I need to hit at the six-month mark in order to get this retroactive raise.’”
Top Takeaways
How to Take a Job When Salary Negotiations Failed
