2026 · career

Salary negotiation script generator

Tell it your situation and what you want. It writes the counter-offer email, the whole thing, ready to send. Plus what to say if they call first.

Most people know they should negotiate and freeze on the wording. This writes it for you: pick your situation (low offer, competing offer, post-layoff), choose what to ask for (base, sign-on, later start, remote), set the tone, drop in your numbers, and get an email that sounds like a person, not a template. Bring a market number from the BLS and the ask lands harder. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.

Optional. Look your role up on BLS OES and cite it.

What do you want to ask for?

Your details never leave your browser, the email is composed on your device.

Bring a real market number

The single thing that strengthens an ask is a credible source behind the number. Look your role up on the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics national and by-state medians, free and public. And cite it. This tool deliberately doesn't invent salary ranges; it frames your ask around the number you bring.

After a layoff: the sign-on move

If you're coming off a layoff, a sign-on bonus framed as offsetting the income you lost between roles is often more approvable than base, it's a one-time cost, not an ongoing one. Know your walk-away number first: the runway calculator tells you how many months you can afford to hold out, which is exactly the leverage a negotiation runs on. If your severance had a sign-on-to-offset angle, the severance tax calculator shows what you actually netted.

Questions

How do I counter a job offer by email?

Thank them, say you're excited, name one number, and stop. This tool writes exactly that: a short email that anchors your ask, backs it with your market number, and closes warmly. The most common mistake is over-explaining, say the number and let them respond.

Should I negotiate salary after a layoff?

Yes. A layoff doesn't weaken your case, the offer reflects the role, not your last month. A sign-on bonus framed as offsetting income you lost between roles is often the easiest ask to approve, and this tool has a post-layoff mode that writes it that way.

Where do I get a market salary number?

Look your role up on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), it's free, public, and credible to cite. Bring that number into the tool; the email frames your ask around it. This tool never invents salary ranges.

Is a phone or email negotiation better?

Email gives you a paper trail and time to word it well; phone is better if they call first and you can hold your nerve. The generator writes both, a ready-to-send email and a short "what to say on the call" script.

Negotiating for a specific role?

Each role page presets the tool and explains where the leverage is in that field:

A writing tool, not career or legal advice. Market figures come from you, cited to the BLS. Nothing you enter is stored.