6 Things to Negotiate in a Job Offer Besides Money

Learn some more things to negotiate in a job offer other than just money. 

After days of constantly refreshing your email or waiting for a phone call from an unknown number, you finally heard back — and you got the job! Once the excitement settles it’s time to think about negotiating.

First things first, read through the entire offer and make sure you truly understand everything the company is offering. Then, it’s time to consider what you’d like to negotiate for. The obvious answer is more money, but that’s not always possible if hiring managers have a specific budget to work with. However, there are other things to negotiate in a job offer. Think about what you really value and then consult this list for what you can ask a company for besides, or in addition to, a higher salary.

Consider These Things to Negotiate in a Job Offer

1.Bonus

If a company can’t budge on their salary offer, it’s possible that they can give you a signing bonus or include a year-end bonus in your offer. They may have to pay everyone at your level a specific amount, or bonuses could come out of a different budget than salaries. It’s worth a shot to ask if there is any additional money on the table, just in a different form than a salary increase.

2. Paid Time Off

A lot of companies offer unlimited vacation time these days, but if your company has a set amount of days, ask if they can increase that by a week or so. Maybe they only give 10 days of paid time off and the standard holidays, but you know you will run through that between family vacations and other obligations. The time to ask for an increased number of vacation days is at the stage when you are thinking of things to negotiate in a job offer.

3. Flexible Work Schedule

In the same vein as paid time off, a flexible work schedule or remote work days is something to consider touching on when discussing the job offer. If you know you need to get your daughter to soccer practice at 5 PM on Tuesday nights, it would really help to leave early or work from home on those days. Ask for the schedule you need before you start the job.

4. Title

The job title is another one of the main things to negotiate in a job offer. If the job title of the new role is the same as your old one or not the one you envisioned, ask if there is flexibility to come up with one that better suits what you think you bring to the table. It’s easier to start a job with a certain title than ask for a title change once you’ve been at a company and everyone knows you as your original title.

5. Moving Expenses

This only applies if you are moving to a new city, state, or country for the position, but asking for relocation reimbursement can be mean huge savings for you. If you’ve ever moved you know how expensive it is. So if the company offers a fixed amount towards moving expenses instead of covering the full cost it should still be considered a win.

6. Professional Development

You want to keep pushing your career and skills forward, and your company should support that. When considering the things to negotiate in a job offer, ask if there is a budget for conferences, classes, or courses. That way you know going into the job that your company not only supports your professional development but will provide you ways to do it.

So remember these six things to negotiate in a job offer next time. And remember, even if they do agree to a salary increase it’s important to ask for what you want or what you’re looking for — and the negotiation stage is the time to do it. Get out there and advocate for yourself and your worth.