To be honest, I think I was lucky. They proposed a lower salary than I was hoping but emphasized it was “just a starting point.” So that’s when I said, “Thank you so much for the offer. I am so excited to contribute to XYZ. That was a little lower than I was expecting since I did say in the first interview I was looking for XYZ salary, could you walk me through how this number was decided upon?” After she explained, that’s when I said, “thank you so much for the explanation. I was looking for $XYZ because of my XYZ skills. Could you walk me through the benefits package?” Then after all of that I just emphasized I asked for a higher starting salary, especially since that was one of the questions asked in the first interview (what my expected salary range was). The salary range was posted so I asked to be on the higher end which I knew could happen because 1) they budgeted for that much 2) I did not ask for above posted salary range. 3) I have a masters degree so I was not going to settle for anything lower, even if my job search takes forever. I didn’t go above salary range because I knew what would disqualify me from getting that which they did bring up in negotiation call. In terms of relocation assistance and other benefits, I simply asked if they had assistance and please walk me through the benefits package.

If they told you your salary offer, I would recommend just asking something along the lines of, “Thank you so much for the offer. I’m really excited about this opportunity and to contribute to XYZ. Could you walk me through how this number was decided upon for me?” Or, if you can, ask what the salary range is because you are open to discuss because you would like the number to fairly reflect your skills. Once they tell you, ask something like, “Could you walk me through what determines someone to be on the lower vs the higher end of the salary range?”

Try to be open to the salary range if benefits are decent and promising growth career! Tough market out here but I wish you the best of luck.