Negotiate a start date

Agree a start date you can keep. What to say if they want you sooner, including notice period and a date you will not slip.

Currency Base salary Annual base, before bonus. Annual bonus Expected cash bonus for the year, not a percent. Equity, yearly value A yearly value you believe. Leave blank if you will not treat it as cash. Equity terms Your target The number you would accept, not a padded one. That target is Role Optional. Used so the script can name the job.

What you can say honestly I have a competing offer I can describe Competing offer, in your words Leave this blank if you do not have one. The script will not invent it. Scope you can defend Current total pay Optional. Spoken only if you check the box below. I will say this current-pay number. It is the real one. Market data you will cite

Channel Tone

The script updates on this page. These boxes are not uploaded.

Your script

Base $150,000. Annual bonus $15,000. Equity yearly value $20,000.

Priced total: $185,000.

Target total compensation: $195,000.

Target is $10,000 above the priced figure, about 5.4%.

Opener

Thanks for walking me through the offer. I am interested in the software engineer role, and I want to talk about compensation while we can still shape the package.

Say this, then stop. Let them respond before you add the number.

Anchor and justification

I am targeting $195,000 in total compensation.

From what I can price today: $150,000 base, $15,000 bonus, $20,000 as the yearly equity value I am willing to count.

That priced total is $185,000. I am asking for $10,000 more, about 5.4%, which is my target and not a padded number.

The market check I can cite is that published ranges for this level in my city sit around $180,000 to $200,000 total. The scope I can defend is this. I can give notice on the day I sign, and I need that notice period.

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 $195,000.

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 the start date.

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.

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.

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.

Pick the two you care about. You do not have to read all six.

Closing

I would like to get to yes. If $195,000 is possible, I can move forward. If it is not, I am open to a different mix of base, bonus, and equity that lands in the same place. What is the next step on your side?

Stop talking after the question. The next person to speak should be them.

Email version

Subject: Compensation for the software engineer role

Hello,

Thanks for walking me through the offer. I am interested in the software engineer role, and I want to talk about compensation while we can still shape the package.

I am targeting $195,000 in total compensation.

From what I can price today: $150,000 base, $15,000 bonus, $20,000 as the yearly equity value I am willing to count.

That priced total is $185,000. I am asking for $10,000 more, about 5.4%, which is my target and not a padded number.

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.

Thank you,

[Your name]

A start date is a promise about someone else’s team and about the job you are leaving. Offer a date you can keep. If they need someone sooner, ask for the real date and answer yes or no. Do not agree and then slip. This page leads with that start-date language.

Notice and overlap

Count your notice period, any prepaid bonus you would owe back, and the days you need between jobs. Say the date, not a vague “a few weeks.” If a signing bonus is what makes an earlier date possible, because you would repay a bonus at the old job, connect those two facts. Do not hide the repayment and then hope they volunteer cash.

You can ask whether the date is flexible by a week. You should not invent a family emergency or a visa timeline. If a real constraint exists, state it simply. The script’s skills box is prefilled with a notice sentence you should rewrite so it matches your contract.

Salary still belongs in the same conversation if it is unresolved. A perfect start date does not repair a target you never said. The anchor section still carries the number.

Questions

Can I negotiate a later start date?

Yes, if you give a date and a real reason, such as a notice period. Offer the date you will hit. A later date is a normal request, not a stunt.

Updated 2026-10-08. Wording help, not legal advice.