Vocations · Professional Development

Ask for the number
the market supports

A counteroffer works best when it is polite, specific and backed by numbers. Enter the offer, the pay figures you found for the same role and area, your counter and the lowest you would accept. The tool shows where your counter sits against the offer and the market, flags the asks that could backfire and prints an email that names one number, never your floor.

Add an offerWhat you get

Offers

The worked example is made up: a marketing coordinator with solid market figures, a developer asking for a lot at once and a clinic offer under the floor. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Vocations · Professional DevelopmentFree

What you finish with
A record per job offer: the offer, answer date, your counter, your private floor and market pay figures with sources, other asks, your thanks and reasons, and six checks; the counter as a percent above the offer and against the market middle; a printable counteroffer email that leaves out your floor, and a call card for the phone.
Who it is for
New graduates, early-career workers and anyone weighing a job offer, plus the career center staff and teachers who help them.
Format
Browser tool with a saved record per offer. Prints the counteroffer email, a call card, the record, every offer in a table or a blank worksheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Professional Development space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Enter the offer and the answer date.
  2. Add pay figures for the same role and area.
  3. Set your counter and your floor.
  4. Write your thanks and your reasons.
  5. Print the email and the call card.

Add an offer

How a counteroffer works

From offer to agreement1Thank them firstEnthusiasm keeps the talkfriendly2Know the marketSame role, level and area3Set two numbersA counter to say, a floor tokeep4Name one numberThen stop talking5Trade, do not caveBonus, raise date, start date6Get it in writingA revised offer letterFrom offer to agreement1Thank them firstEnthusiasm keeps the talk friendly2Know the marketSame role, level and area3Set two numbersA counter to say, a floor to keep4Name one numberThen stop talking5Trade, do not caveBonus, raise date, start date6Get it in writingA revised offer letter
Most employers expect a counter, and a polite one backed by market figures rarely costs an offer.

Where the numbers come from

Government wage data lists pay by occupation and metro area, salary surveys from professional associations add detail by level, and postings that list a pay range show what employers are offering now. The middle of a few such figures is a fair anchor. A counter a little above that middle leaves room to meet partway and still land where the market pays.

Say one number

Name a single figure, not a range: a range invites the employer to pick its bottom. Keep your floor to yourself; it is for deciding, not for saying. If the salary cannot move, a signing bonus, a pay discussion at six months, a later start date or a training budget sometimes can. Whatever you agree, ask for it in a revised written offer.

Sources

  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics: wages by occupation and area (bls.gov/oes).
  2. U.S. Department of Labor, CareerOneStop. Salary Finder and negotiating a job offer (careeronestop.org).
  3. Fisher, R., Ury, W., and Patton, B. (2011). Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, 3rd edition. Penguin.
  4. National Association of Colleges and Employers. Salary negotiation guidance for new graduates (naceweb.org).

The worked example is made up, including the people, employers and pay figures. The 20% and three-ask thresholds are working rules stated on the page, not rules employers follow. This is not legal or financial advice. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.