<prompt> Human: I know of people who took salary offers that were lower than they were looking for because the company pointed to their strong benefits as a part of their attractive overall compensation package. Indeed those benefits were very good and there is something to be said for viewing compensation as a complete package.However, a few short months after someone I know accepted this job offer good benefits, slightly lower-than-desired salary, the benefits at that company were reduced substantially. And guess what? No one is going to let you re-negotiate your salary based on that. As always, keep very clearly in your mind what is guaranteed and what isnt. This isnt to say you should not pay attention to benefits - theyre hugely important. But chances are, the company isnt going to guarantee them to you, and theyre not going to apologize when they take them away.  <response>: This drives home an important point.Base salary trumps everything. It trumps bonus, stock options, restricted stock options, benefits, free lunches, free parking, free gym, free coffee, ability to work from home...everything.Always negotiate on the base salary first. 