Salary Negotiation
There's a gap between what gets advertised and what gets paid. Most people don't know where it is. That's fixable in two sessions.
I've watched hundreds of offer conversations from the inside. The hiring manager's actual question — once you're at offer stage — is usually not "how much does this person want?" It's "how much room do we have before they say no?" There's almost always room. Most people just don't know the conversation is negotiable, or they know it is and don't know how to open it without feeling like they're being difficult.
The thing nobody tells you in the recruiter briefing is that an offer coming back slightly higher is expected. It's built into the process at most organisations. The first number is rarely the only number — it's the opening position in a conversation most candidates decline to have.
We cover the conversation itself: how to respond to an offer, the framing that works (and the framing that doesn't), the alternatives to cash if cash is fixed, and the specifics of your situation — what market rate looks like, what you can legitimately point to, how to handle the counter-question "what are you expecting?" Two sessions is usually enough to go into the negotiation with a clear plan.
No coach can guarantee an offer, a promotion, or a specific salary increase. What coaching can do is sharpen preparation, decision-making and communication — measurable things — within a process you and the coach control together.
Questions
FAQ — salary negotiation
What if I'm worried about losing the offer by negotiating?
It happens rarely, and usually only when the negotiation is handled badly — with ultimatums, with unrealistic expectations, or with a tone that reads as disengaged from the role. The conversation I'll prepare you for is professional, specific, and doesn't put the offer at risk. I used to brief hiring managers on candidate post-offer conversations; the candidates who'd clearly prepared were seen as competent, not difficult.
What if the recruiter asks for my salary expectations before the offer?
We cover this specifically. The "what are you expecting?" question comes up in most processes and most people answer it worse than they need to. There are a few different approaches depending on where you are in the conversation and what leverage you have. We'll work out the right one for your situation.
Is this just for new job offers, or can it help with internal reviews too?
Both. Internal salary reviews have different dynamics — you're not at offer stage, you're asking for something from a manager who has to make a case internally. The conversation is different. I cover both contexts; the one you need depends on your situation, and that's what the discovery call is for.
What if I don't know the market rate for my role?
We find out. Between SEEK salary data, industry-specific reports, and what I know from being in this market for 13 years, we can build a defensible number. "I believe market rate is around X based on Y" is a much stronger position than a figure that sounds like a wish.
Client case
What this looks like
A finance manager at a mid-size firm in inner Melbourne received an offer to move to a national role at a listed company. The package was roughly what she'd been on — slightly higher on base, lower on super. She was going to accept it as written. She'd already told the recruiter she was interested.
We had two sessions over ten days. The first: going through the offer in detail, identifying what was likely to be fixed versus flexible, working out her actual position and what she was giving up by taking the role at face value. The second: practising the conversation twice — once with a cooperative hiring manager and once with a resistant one.
She went back. The base moved by A$18k. They agreed to a six-month salary review. The super stayed the same — that one actually was fixed.
No coach can guarantee a specific outcome from a negotiation. What I can do is make sure you go into the conversation knowing what to ask for and how to ask for it. What the other side decides is theirs.
Get started
Have an offer on the table?
Book a free discovery call. If you have a specific offer, bring the number and the timeline — we can often get to the strategy in the first 20 minutes.
Book the free call