The email that gets you more money is shorter than the one you are about to write.
I have read a lot of these. The ones that work are five sentences with a single number in them. The ones that do not are three paragraphs of gratitude, a hedge, a second hedge, and a range — at which point the recruiter picks the bottom of your range and everyone moves on.
Pick the number before you write a word
Start with the percentage, because the percentage is what tells you whether your ask is normal or eyebrow-raising.
An offer of $88,000 and a target of $95,000 is an ask of 7.95 percent. That is inside the range recruiters expect and usually has room in the band. Asking for $110,000 against the same offer is a 25 percent jump, which does not read as negotiation — it reads as a candidate who misread the role, and it can genuinely make a recruiter wonder whether to proceed.
My rule of thumb: 5 to 12 percent above the offer is an ordinary counter. Above 15 percent you need an external reason — a written competing offer, or published market data for the role in your metro. BLS publishes occupational wage estimates by area through its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, which is a far better citation in an email than "based on my research."
Below 5 percent, honestly, think about whether to counter on salary at all. A $2,000 ask can cost you more in goodwill than it gains you in cash, and the same negotiating capital spent on a sign-on bonus or an extra week of leave often goes further.
The template, five sentences
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Subject: Re: Offer — Senior Analyst
Hi Dan,
Thanks for sending this through — I'm genuinely keen on the role and the pricing work you described.
Before I sign, I'd like to ask about the base. Based on what the role covers and what comparable positions pay in the Chicago area, I was targeting $95,000.
If you can get there, I'm ready to accept today.
Best, Priya
That is it. Gratitude, the ask with a reason, and a close that makes saying yes easy.
The last sentence is the one people leave out and it is doing more work than the rest combined. "I'm ready to accept today" turns your email from an open-ended negotiation into a transaction the recruiter can finish this afternoon. Recruiters are measured on time-to-close. Give them a close.
The worked version, start to finish
Same numbers, the whole sequence.
| Step | What happened | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal offer | Recruiter calls with base | $88,000 |
| Candidate asks for it in writing | Buys 48 hours of thinking time | — |
| Counter email sent | 7.95% above offer, one reason attached | $95,000 |
| Recruiter response | "I can do $92,000, and I'll add a $3,000 sign-on" | $92,000 + $3,000 |
| Accepted | Year-one value $95,000; base up 4.5% | — |
Four thousand dollars on base for one email that took eleven minutes to write. And the base is the number that matters most, because next year's raise, the year after's, and the anchor for your next job are all calculated from it — a one-off sign-on bonus is not.
Which is why, when a recruiter offers you a choice between $2,000 on base and $6,000 as a signing bonus, the arithmetic is less obvious than it looks. Over four years and assuming modest annual increases, the base wins. Put both versions through the offer comparison calculator rather than eyeballing it.
Three sentences to delete from your draft
"I understand if this isn't possible." You have pre-conceded. Whatever room existed just closed.
"I was hoping for something in the range of $92,000 to $97,000." You will get $92,000. A range is an invitation to take its floor.
"I know the market is tough right now, but..." Anything before a but is an apology, and apologizing for asking to be paid is how people talk themselves down four thousand dollars before the recruiter has read a word.
Also worth cutting: anything about your rent, your commute costs, or what you were paid at your last job. None of those are reasons the employer can act on, and the last one hands over information you are not obliged to give — several US states prohibit employers from asking for salary history at all.
Tone, and the one thing that actually risks the offer
Offers are almost never withdrawn because someone countered politely. They are withdrawn — rarely, but it happens — when the candidate is rude, goes silent for a week, or renegotiates a second time after agreeing.
So: reply within 48 hours, counter once, and if they meet you or come close, take it. A second counter after they have moved is the move that burns people. You asked, they answered, and going back to the well makes the whole process feel like it will never end, which is precisely the impression you do not want to leave with your new manager before day one.
If writing the thing is what is stalling you, the counter offer email generator takes the offer, your target and one reason and produces the five sentences with the percentage worked out for you. Edit the reason so it sounds like you, then send it.
Send it within 48 hours
Get the offer in writing, work out your percentage, write the five sentences, and send. The window where you have the most leverage you will ever have with this employer is short and it closes the moment you accept.
Put your offer, your target and your one reason into our free Counter Offer Email Generator and it will hand you a draft with the math already done.
FAQ
Can a company rescind an offer because I countered?
It is rare, and when it happens there is usually something else going on — an aggressive tone, a very large ask with no justification, or a hiring manager who had already had doubts. A polite, specific counter sent within a couple of days is a normal part of hiring and most recruiters expect it. If a company genuinely pulls an offer over a single reasonable question about pay, that is information about the company.
Should I counter by email or on a call?
Email, for the first move. It gives you control over the exact wording, puts the number in writing where it can be forwarded to whoever approves it, and spares you the pressure of responding live. If the recruiter calls you back to discuss, that is fine — by then your number is already on the record.
What if the recruiter says the salary is fixed?
Believe them about base, then ask about everything else. Sign-on bonus, start date, annual leave, a guaranteed first-year bonus, remote days, a review at six months rather than twelve, or a budget for a certification. Bands really are rigid in plenty of organizations, but the things around the band frequently are not.