Salary Negotiation E-mail Templates

For when you'd like to get paid more

October 25, 2022

Asking for more money is hard. In my experience, most salary negotiations happen over e-mail, which is good for you because it gives you more time to pause, breath and think about what you really want to stay.

Still, most of the negotiation emails that I edit are either too wordy or not wordy enough. These are fairly straightforward communications most of the time, so to get you started, here are two sample negotiation emails.

Negotiating a new offer 

Hi [NAME], 

Thanks for sending this over! I’ve enjoyed our ongoing conversation about this role, and I’m excited about the prospect of joining [COMPANY] in this new venture. 

I’m glad to see that our incentives would be aligned through the ownership and commission components of the package. 

At this point there are just two aspects that I’d like to check in about. Firstly, can we increase the base salary to something closer to between [TARGET SALARY]? I’d like to start off in a place that is sustainable, knowing we’re building something for the long run. 

I also wanted to check in about vacation. Can we start off at 4 weeks vacation in the first year, moving to 5 in the second and subsequent years?  

Let me know what’s possible for you with respect to these two things. 

As I said, I’m excited about the possibility of joining [COMPANY]. It feels like a great fit for my skills and experience, and I’ve been very impressed with the team and operation.

Let me know what you think. 

[NAME]

Negotiating with an existing employer

Hi [NAME],

I hope you both had a great weekend. I wanted to reach out to set up some time to discuss my compensation. 

I’ve led the legal department on my own for almost a year now.  According to my research, my current salary is about [SALARY DIFFERENCE] below the industry average for [REGION].  As I’m sure you both are aware, I’ve also taken on all of [PERSON OR TEAM’S] work including litigation, settlements, franchising (domestic and international) and advising the board. 

With that in mind, I’m hoping to see my salary increase from [CURRENT SALARY] to [REQUESTED SALARY] by [DATE]. 

I’m excited about the future of [COMPANY] and I enjoy working with you. 

Let me know when you are free to discuss my compensation. 

Best,

[NAME]

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