Look at the whole move.
An offer is a good moment to slow down for a day. Salary is the line everyone looks at first, and it is rarely the thing that decides whether the move was a good one.
Take the time you need. A business that will not allow a day or two to consider is telling you something.
Worth checking
Ask for the offer in writing before you accept anything.
The full package
Salary, holiday, pension, hours, working pattern, probation, notice and anything else that affects your week.
The role as offered
That the job described in the offer matches the job discussed at interview, including who you report to.
Start date
Whether it works with your notice period and anything already booked. Say now if you have a holiday planned.
Conditions
Any references, checks or paperwork the offer depends on, so nothing arrives as a surprise.
The honest reckoning
Whether this moves you towards what you set out to find. If it does not, it is still fine to say no.
A raise fixes a salary problem. It rarely fixes the reason you started looking.
Counter-offers are common and can be flattering. Before you accept one, it is worth asking why the improvement needed a resignation to arrive, and whether anything else about the role will actually change.
If you want to negotiate
Say it once, clearly
One considered position is easier to work with than a series of adjustments.
Give a reason
Market level, the responsibilities involved, or a specific practical need. Reasoned requests tend to be met better than round numbers.
Know your answer
Be clear with yourself about what you will do if the answer is no. Ask only for what you would genuinely accept.
Let us handle it
Talking about money is easier through someone else, and we do it every week.
A note
This is general guidance based on what we see day to day. It is not legal advice, and your own contract and circumstances always come first.
Speak to us
Once you have the offer in writing, talk it through with us before you reply.