A new grad salary script that does not invent experience. How to talk about internships, level, and a first offer without bluffing a competing package.
Sample figures are filled in so you can see the script. Replace them with your offer before you copy it.
Your script
Base $115,000. Annual bonus $10,000. Equity yearly value $8,000.
Priced total: $133,000.
Target total compensation: $145,000.
Target is $12,000 above the priced figure, about 9%.
Opener
I appreciate the offer and the time you have spent with me. I am excited about the new graduate software engineer role, and I want to be straightforward about pay.
Anchor and justification
I am targeting $145,000 in total compensation.
From what I can price today: $115,000 base, $10,000 bonus, $8,000 as the yearly equity value I am willing to count.
That priced total is $133,000. I am asking for $12,000 more, about 9%, which is my target and not a padded number.
The market check I can cite is that new grad totals I have seen for this city and this kind of role are around $125,000 to $140,000. I am early in my career, so I will not invent years of experience. The work I can talk about is a summer internship where I shipped a feature customers used.
Name the target once. Do not raise it on the spot, and do not apologize for it.
If they say this is our best offer
I hear you, and I appreciate you saying it directly. If this base is the ceiling, I still want to see whether a signing bonus, the equity grant, or the level can move. If none of those can, I will decide on the package as it stands rather than ask the same question again.
Thank them before you ask what else can move. Then wait.
If they say the budget is fixed
Understood. A salary band is often fixed once the level is fixed. Signing bonuses and equity grants sometimes sit outside that annual budget. Is either of those actually open? If both are closed, what does a pay review look like in six months, and what would have to be true for the level to change?
Ask one question, then stop. A list of demands sounds like you did not hear them.
If they ask for your current salary
I would rather keep this on the pay for this role. A prior salary is a different job, and in some places an employer should not ask. The number I am using here is $145,000.
I am not going to invent a current salary, and I am not required to answer with one.
You can decline. If you answer, use the real number.
Non-salary asks
If salary cannot move the whole way, I will ask about other terms I actually want. I will start with a signing bonus.
If base cannot reach the target, I would like to talk about a signing bonus that closes part of the first-year gap. I want the amount, and any payback terms, in writing.
On equity, I would like the grant size, the vesting schedule, the cliff, and what happens to vested shares if I leave. If these are options, I also want the last independent valuation and how long I have to exercise after I leave. I will not treat a percentage as cash.
I would like to know how refresh grants work here: whether they happen on a schedule, what they depend on, and whether this offer is only the initial grant.
Remote work matters to me. I would like the written policy: which days, which locations are allowed, and whether pay changes with location.
I would like to confirm paid time off: the number of days, whether they are accrued, and what happens to unused days.
I can start on a date I can keep. If you need someone sooner, tell me the real date and I will say yes or no, rather than agree and then slip.
Pick the two you care about. You do not have to read all six.
Closing
Thank you again. I am excited about the people I have met. I will stay easy to reach while you see what is possible, and I will not drag the decision out.
Email version
Subject: Compensation for the new graduate software engineer role
Hello,
I appreciate the offer and the time you have spent with me. I am excited about the new graduate software engineer role, and I want to be straightforward about pay.
I am targeting $145,000 in total compensation.
From what I can price today: $115,000 base, $10,000 bonus, $8,000 as the yearly equity value I am willing to count.
That priced total is $133,000. I am asking for $12,000 more, about 9%, which is my target and not a padded number.
The market check I can cite is that new grad totals I have seen for this city and this kind of role are around $125,000 to $140,000. I am early in my career, so I will not invent years of experience. The work I can talk about is a summer internship where I shipped a feature customers used.
If base cannot reach the target, I would like to talk about a signing bonus that closes part of the first-year gap. I want the amount, and any payback terms, in writing.
Thank you again. I am excited about the people I have met. I will stay easy to reach while you see what is possible, and I will not drag the decision out.
Thank you,
[Your name]
A first full-time offer is negotiable more often than new grads are told, and less negotiable than a forum thread claims. You usually cannot point at a decade of scope. You can point at an internship, a project you can demo, the level of the req, and the band for that level if you have seen one. This script says you will not invent years of experience. The sample cites one internship. Swap in yours, or delete it.
What new grads can ask
Ask whether the offer is the standard new grad package or whether there is room for a stronger internship or a competing return offer you really have. If the team is hiring you into a higher location band, ask them to confirm the location that sets pay. If the role is called “new grad” but the work is the same as a higher level, ask about level before you ask for a random increase.
Signing bonuses are a common place companies have room when base is locked to a campus scale. Equity may be a fixed new-grad grant. Ask, and accept a clear no. Do not imply you have three other offers from companies you only applied to.
The tone on this page is grateful, because you can be glad about the job and still name a number. Gratitude is not an apology. The sample prices to $133,000 if you count the equity value, and the sample target is $145,000 total. Change both if they are not your figures. If an offer already clears the target you type, the script says so instead of inventing a higher ask.
Questions
Can a new grad negotiate without another offer?
Yes, on level, location, and any band you can actually cite. No, by inventing a return offer. Leave the competing-offer box off unless the return offer is real.
Should I negotiate my first salary at all?
If you have a reason and the gap matters, yes. If the package is the posted campus number and you would accept it, a long fight can cost goodwill you need in month one. Decide before you send the note.
Updated 2026-10-08. Wording help, not legal advice.
