Current Events > verbally accepted a job offer. can I counter in the written?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Crap, so I was offered verbally the other day with a 10% sign on bonus, and I accepted without countering. it took me by surprise.

I was doing some research last night and noticed that people in my city for my title were getting paid slightly higher.

I just got the written offer today that clearly states the salary I accepted verbally the other day, about an hour ago. I don't see anything about a sign on bonus on the offer letter. I can certainly address the sign on bonus, but I was wondering if it's still possible to ask for a counter offer for a higher amount as well?

thanks

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probably too late, you gotta know your worth going in
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bump

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It's not going to hurt at this stage.

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IMO if you already agreed to that, it's too late to try to backtrack and say "....actually I want more"

I would ask them about the sign-on bonus, but if I tried to haggle with them after already agreeing, I would expect them to say "hell no, bye"

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ufff conflicting answers.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

hmm I'll see. I just want to make sure they don't forget the 10% sign on bonus, and if I can get 5k more, which is actually what closer to the median salary for my job title in the city the company is at. should have researched beforehand

Wetterdew posted...

IMO if you already agreed to that, it's too late to try to backtrack and say "....actually I want more"

I would ask them about the sign-on bonus, but if I tried to haggle with them after already agreeing, I would expect them to say "hell no, bye"

does it really hurt though? especially when I gavr range, and they gave me the middle (with me stupidly saying yes verbally), and I am now asking for the end range and basing it off of actually matching the median salary people on my position get?

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JACKBUTTMOMMY posted...

Life isnt about money.

No, but it is important to know your worth, how much the market is paying and how to haggle for a good deal (buying a house/car, auction, farmers market) especially job offers. It's not like hiring managers and HR aren't prepared to this. They totally see expecting counter offers while trying to save as much as possible. Annual raises alone suck. if you start out asking for the higher range (3-5% for ex), you'll get more in the end.

I screwed up at the beginning by accepting it verbally, instead of doing my research and offering a counter offer.. once it's written after you accept a verbal confirmation, they are very unlikely to change it and gain the leverage as it's seen as bad to go against something you agreed

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Nothing is final until it is in ink. While they may say "oh you accepted verbally", unless they have recordings of it, it didn't happen. What you need to do is sit yourself down with someone who understands law better than all of us and go over it with them. I'm 35, and any and all big financial decisions I run by my father, who managed a bank for 30+ years, because he understands this stuff better than I ever could. Conversely, when it comes to technology, he gets my opinion on the matter. I may not know everything, but I know more than he does.

It's called a counter offer! You absolutely can ask for a little more money before signing on to the company. They are probably expecting you to. You can't negotiate any more once you sign that paper.

Ivany2008 posted...

Nothing is final until it is in ink. While they may say "oh you accepted verbally", unless they have recordings of it, it didn't happen. What you need to do is sit yourself down with someone who understands law better than all of us and go over it with them. I'm 35, and any and all big financial decisions I run by my father, who managed a bank for 30+ years, because he understands this stuff better than I ever could. Conversely, when it comes to technology, he gets my opinion on the matter. I may not know everything, but I know more than he does.

I ended up not doing it. I was researching online and people were saying it's not a good idea/to risky to counter offer after you verbally agreed and an offer letter is sent with the written salary. So I didn't. Maybe those people were old school. I dunno.

I did get advice from a family member to counter offer and I absolutely had a draft explaining me to match the current market value, but didn't go through.

I'm also in a unique situation where i don't want to draw too much attention..
Ivany2008 posted...
[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

I ended up doing that. I framed it in a way where I questioned if I heard the manager give me a sign on bonus or something else (like a mistake), because the offer letter just states my salary and that I would be getting an annual bonus percentage based on performance.

she said she was talking about the annual bonus. I feel bam boozeled. in the very first initial call (last week) post interview, she asked me how much bonus I got at my work so she could match it as a sign on bonus. I was taken aback and said 5%. I think she wanted an exact number but she said she would talk to HR to confirm.

then the week after (this week) is when she gave me the verbal offer based on the range I was asking for during the interview and I stupidly accepted it. I could have sworn she said 10% sign on bonus. But oh well.


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Gotta stick up for yourself man, and never accept things point blank where they can have that intimidation factor. Because once they know that they can walk over you, they will do that every fucking time. Give you some advice from one of the best wrestling managers out there Paul Heyman. "I don't want you to sign anything tonight, because you should never be put in that position, I want you to go home tonight knowing that you are valued."

Basically meaning that you should always be given time to look over any contract that you are to sign. Because I'll be honest with you, you don't know what is on that contract. It could sound all well and good, but in very tiny lettering they want to take your first born child. I will never sign a contract on the spot. If that company really wants me, then they have to be willing to go the extra mile and let me take a day to read over the contract and make the decision without any pressure on me.

I know my worth. It isn't much at the moment, but its something. You should feel the exact same way. If you were promised something and they kept fucking with you and wording it differently, then you should be willing to walk away. If they really want you, they will extend that hand and match what you were going to get in the first place.

Because at the end of the day, if they aren't willing to match their original offer, then there is a lot of shadier shit going on in the background that you do NOT want to be part of.

godogod posted...

she said she was talking about the annual bonus. I feel bam boozeled. in the very first initial call (last week) post interview, she asked me how much bonus I got at my work so she could match it as a sign on bonus. I was taken aback and said 5%. I think she wanted an exact number but she said she would talk to HR to confirm.

then the week after (this week) is when she gave me the verbal offer based on the range I was asking for during the interview and I stupidly accepted it. I could have sworn she said 10% sign on bonus. But oh well.

that's a good reason to counter, saying the salary was acceptable factoring in the sign on bonus.
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If they already decided you were a potential candidate Im sure they dont mind throwing a bone or two your way in terms of stuff they were willing to offer an employee should they ask about it >_>

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