Negotiating Salaries in the IT Industry: Your Confident Playbook

Decode Total Compensation, Not Just Base Pay

A tech offer can include base salary, annual or performance bonus, sign-on bonus, equity grants, benefits, and perks like education budgets. Negotiating effectively means comparing apples to apples and understanding vesting schedules, bonus targets, and health coverage costs before anchoring your counter.

Research Market Rates and Levels Before You Anchor

Compensation bands map to job levels, so clarifying your level is essential. Ask the recruiter for the role level and discuss scope, ownership, and leadership expectations. A correct level unlocks a stronger pay band and validates your higher anchor.

Research Market Rates and Levels Before You Anchor

Use multiple public benchmarks, peer conversations, and trusted reports to triangulate a realistic range. Remember location, company stage, and hybrid versus remote policies can shift numbers significantly—and your counter should reflect those nuanced differences.

Timing Is Strategy: When and How to Negotiate

When asked for expectations, deflect courteously until you understand level, responsibilities, and compensation ranges. Questions first, numbers later. This lets you anchor after you’ve collected data, keeping your ask aligned with role scope and market evidence.

Timing Is Strategy: When and How to Negotiate

After you counter, pause. Let the recruiter respond, check with compensation, or escalate. Filling the silence can weaken your position. Calm pacing demonstrates confidence and helps you avoid rushing into unnecessary concessions.

Craft a Persuasive Counter: Anchors and Rationale

Start with gratitude and excitement about the mission. Then present your anchor as a data-backed request: market ranges, level alignment, and impact evidence. This framing keeps the conversation collaborative while clearly signaling your target.

Craft a Persuasive Counter: Anchors and Rationale

Provide two or three packages that meet your goals differently: higher base with modest equity, stronger equity with sign-on, or a balanced mix. Options make approval easier while preserving your total value across multiple levers.

Demystify Equity: RSUs, Options, Cliffs, and Refreshers

RSUs grant actual shares that vest over time, while options grant the right to buy shares at a strike price. Company maturity, liquidity timelines, and risk tolerance should shape whether you prefer guaranteed value or leveraged upside potential.

Special Situations: Remote, Startups, Visas, and Relocation

Some companies geo-adjust, others pay national bands. Ask directly how location affects base and equity, and whether moving later triggers adjustments. Clarifying policy protects you from surprises and informs where to set your counter.

Special Situations: Remote, Startups, Visas, and Relocation

At earlier-stage companies, titles span wider responsibilities. Balance lower base against larger equity and learning velocity. Negotiate for clarity on runway, burn, option pool size, and dilution to judge the true upside of your offer.

Handle Pushback Gracefully Without Losing Ground

“We’re at the Top of Band”

Bands are real, but levers exist. Ask about sign-on, equity size, refresher timing, early performance review, or an accelerated level calibration. Your flexibility across levers shows partnership while preserving overall value.

“We Need You to Share a Number First”

Deflect politely: emphasize learning about scope and level first. If pressed, give a researched range with a firm lower bound, explaining your data. Protect your floor while signaling cooperation.

Build Your BATNA and Know When to Walk Away

Avoid serial interviews when possible. Keeping two or three processes alive creates scheduling leverage and real options. Communicate honestly, never fabricate offers, and let timelines nudge companies toward their best proposal.

Decide in advance your must-haves: minimum base, equity floor, remote tolerance, or on-call expectations. Pre-committing reduces stress, clarifies counters, and prevents last-minute concessions driven by anxiety rather than strategy.

If you decline, thank everyone, highlight what impressed you, and keep the door open. A gracious exit can lead to future offers, referrals, or collaborations when timing or levels better align.