Salary Negotiations can be difficult and stressful but are an important part of any interview process, annual employee review, or promotion. Having the opportunity to negotiate your salary over email has some pros and cons. Negotiating over email gives you the benefit of carefully crafting your statements and reducing impulsive decision-making, such as accepting an offer you’re not truly comfortable with. On the downside, salary negotiation over email limits what you can say as you must be concise, and means that your tone or personality can get lost over text. Despite these obstacles, we have a few templates that provide a solid foundation for any salary negotiation email.
#1. Applying for a New Job – Compensation to Match Experience
Hi Ms Johnson,
I wanted to thank you again for our great discussion over the phone and let you know I have received the job offer package from HR. I believe I am the right fit for this role, and I am truly grateful to have been considered for the position.
Before I can accept this offer, I would like to further discuss the compensation outlined in the package. As we discussed, I have over 8 years of experience in the field, with five of those years in a managerial position. At my previous company, my team exceeded its quota by 30% and was the highest-earning group within the company. Further, in the last two years, I was able to increase my team size to over 20 people, which was one of the largest teams managed in my company. I believe that my experience makes me a valuable candidate for this job and goes above and beyond those requirements requested. As such, I feel that an annual salary of $105,000 – $115,000 is fair.
I know that I can bring the leadership and value that is required to do this job successfully. I am extremely excited about this opportunity, and I hope to discuss the salary further.
Thank you again and I look forward to talking with you soon.
Best Regards,
Monica
#2 Applying for a New Job – Compensation to Match Job Requirements
Dear Mr. Bedi,
Thank you for offering me the Account Manager role. I want to express my gratitude and excitement about working for the company.
Prior to going ahead with this offer, I would like to continue the conversation around my compensation. While the offer is greater than my current salary, I feel that the increase does not match the average cost of living to where I would relocate to. For instance, according to government statistics, my average cost of living would increase 22% while my salary would only increase 15%. Additionally, I will have to spend more time commuting to work.
For these reasons, I think a salary of $85,000 is reasonable to cover my increased expenses and continue to the same standard of living I currently enjoy. However, I understand this is a new role, and I am willing to consider other forms of compensation or reimbursement if also possible. This role is an incredible opportunity, and I would love to work for this company.
I want to thank you again for your consideration. I hope we can come to an agreement and move towards the next steps. Hoping to talk to you soon.
Thank you,
Rahul
Also Read: How to Negotiate a Higher Salary
#3 Applying for a New Role/Promotion in your current company
Hi Brad,
I wanted to express my gratitude again for our conversation earlier about the new role and let you know that I received the compensation package from HR.
Although I love this offer, I would like to review the salary amount that has been offered. While the salary increase is the company standard of 10%, I believe that because of my years of commitment to this company and the value I bring to the team, I think a 13%-15% increase should be considered. Following the obstacles faced by the team last year, I took on roles and responsibilities that were far greater than expected of me. I increased my team from 2 to 7 members while still growing our group revenues year over year.
I understand that due to budget constraints, this increase may not be possible. However, if this is the case, I would be willing to discuss other types of compensations such as an increase in PTO days, an increase in my commission percentage, or something similar.
I truly enjoy being a part of this company and I hope to continue to help our team grow. I’m excited to continue the conversation and hear your thoughts.
Warm Regards,
Erica
What Next?
These three email templates should provide the foundation for any salary negotiation conducted over an email. Don’t forget to make the emails as personal to your experience as possible. Include examples and quantitative data that are appropriate to your arguments. And always try to have another person read your article or use a website like Grammarly.com to edit your emails; poor grammar and spelling errors make you look less professional. The most important factors of any email are to remain confident, be concise, and be respectful.
At the end of the day, you will still have to work with the people you are negotiating with. However, these people have also been in your shoes and know the importance of negotiating a salary. It can be an intimidating process but learning how to negotiate a salary is a necessary skill to earn your fair compensation and hopefully be on the other end of the negotiations one day.
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