How to Write a Salary Negotiation Email After a Job Offer

First, read what the offer actually contains

In India, offers are usually stated as an annual CTC (cost to company), which is the employer's total cost, not what reaches your bank account. Two offers with the same CTC can differ a lot in monthly in-hand pay depending on how they are split. Ask for the full annexure or salary breakup before you negotiate anything.

Once you know the split, decide what you actually care about. A higher fixed component is worth more than the same increase in variable pay that may not be paid in full. A joining bonus may solve a one-time problem, such as a bonus you lose by leaving your current job, without the employer changing its salary bands.

Build your number from evidence, not hope

A request is easier to agree to when it has a reason behind it. "I would like more" is not a reason. These are reasons an employer can take to whoever approves the offer:

• Your current CTC and what you give up by moving: an annual bonus due in a few months, unvested stock, an increment cycle you would miss.
• A competing offer you actually hold, in writing. Never invent one; recruiters sometimes ask to see it.
• Salary ranges published in job postings for similar roles in the same city. Some employers now print a range; collect a few.
• Conversations with people in similar roles, former colleagues or seniors from college. Ask about ranges, not exact salaries.
• Salary-comparison websites, treated as a rough guide only. Their figures are self-reported and can be out of date or mix very different companies.
• Scope of the role, if it is larger than the title suggests, for example managing people or a budget.

From this, decide three numbers before you write: the figure you will ask for, the figure you would be happy with, and the figure below which you would decline. Write them down. It is much harder to think clearly in the middle of a phone call with a recruiter.

Call or email, and when

Many Indian recruiters prefer to discuss numbers on the phone, and a call lets you hear how much room there is. Email is better for setting out a considered request with reasons, and it leaves a record. A common approach is to do both: a short call to say you have a few points to discuss, then an email that puts them in writing.

1. Acknowledge the offer within a day, thank them, and say when you will respond. "I would like to review the details and come back to you by Thursday" is enough.
2. Negotiate after you have the written offer and before you accept or sign it. Once you have accepted, reopening the numbers is very hard.
3. Ask for everything in one email. Negotiating salary, then coming back for a joining bonus, then for the joining date, makes the process feel endless.
4. Expect one round, possibly two. If the employer says the offer is final, accept or decline; do not keep pushing.
5. Get the final terms in a revised offer letter before you resign from your current job.

Sample: counter-offer on fixed pay

• It opens by confirming interest. The recruiter needs to know that a yes on this point is likely to close the hire.
• Each reason is a fact the recruiter can verify or pass on: current pay, the lost bonus, a written competing offer.
• It asks for one specific figure, not a range. A range invites the employer to pick the bottom of it.
• It offers an alternative, which gives the recruiter a way to say yes even if salary bands are fixed.

Sample: asking for non-salary items

When the salary band is fixed, other parts of the offer often have more room. Notice-period buyout is especially relevant in India, where 60- and 90-day notice periods are common and many employers want people sooner.

Numbering the requests makes it easy for the recruiter to reply point by point and to take them to an approver. Asking for changes to be put in the revised offer letter is not rude; verbal promises about reviews or bonuses are easily forgotten when the person who made them moves on.

Samples: accepting after negotiation, and declining

Notice that the revised offer is not exactly what was asked for. Most negotiations end somewhere in between. When you accept, accept fully; do not add "although I had hoped for more".

A decline should be short and should not reopen the numbers. If you might want to work there later, the tone of this email matters more than its content.

Mistakes that weaken a negotiation

• Inflating your current CTC. Many employers ask for payslips or check with your previous employer during background verification. A mismatch can lead to the offer being withdrawn.
• Inventing a competing offer. The same risk, and it puts the recruiter in a difficult position if they ask to see it.
• Negotiating after accepting, or after resigning from your current job. You have given up your strongest position.
• Asking without reasons. "I was expecting more" gives the recruiter nothing to take to the approver.
• Comparing CTC to CTC without checking the split. A higher CTC with a large variable component may pay less each month.
• Treating "no" as an insult. Employers do sometimes decline every request. Decide calmly whether the original offer is still acceptable to you.

Once the numbers are settled, the next letter you will write is usually a resignation. Our guide to writing a resignation letter includes a sample for requesting an early release.

Key takeaways

• Ask for the full salary breakup first; compare fixed pay and in-hand, not just CTC.
• Base your request on facts the employer can check: current pay, lost bonuses, written competing offers, published ranges.
• Negotiate after the written offer and before accepting, and put all requests in one email.
• If salary is fixed, ask about joining bonus, notice-period buyout, joining date or an early review.
• Get every agreed change into a revised offer letter before you resign.