<prompt> Human: Im heading home at the airport from a job interview that I think went well. It included a try out day, tour of the city and dinner.Im expecting a call tomorrow. And one thing Im worried about is salary.The job would be in a much bigger market than Im currently in and closer to home. And its a beautiful area that I fell in love with.My friend worked in a similar sized market and said at least 40k, and while its more than I make now, not sure if an extra 5k is worth moving half way across the country with pets to a place with a higher cost of living though no state income tax.Im hoping for 45k but honestly would take 43k.So lets say I get the call tomorrow and I get the job, should I start the negotiation then or say Id think about it and get back to them to negotiate? How do I do It?Im new at negotiation so Im honestly terrified.If it helps, its hourly so Im assuming saying an extra 3 an hour would be easier. Not sure though. And given that Id be moving within my company, this kid my best shot at returning to my home state anytime soon so I cant screw up  <response>: Here is what I would recommend:When you get the call tomorrow and get an offer, tell them something like Thank you for the offer, Id like to look it over and get back to you in X days Generally, youll want about 2-4 days but here i would say 2-3 is good.If you are going to negotiate YOU NEED TO PREPARE. Negotiations on job offers are incredibly common, especially if you are expected to be moving for it so you should not feel guilty or bad for bringing it up. Remember, this is what you need to do to have a better future with this company. You can negotiate fairly and respectfully and both sides will come out happier.Ok, how to prep for this:First you need to research the market. You can search for your exact position online and for that area to get a more solid idea of what your salary should be. Just search average pay for ___. cross check it with a few sites and get as close to your arearegion as you can. You want this to be fairly accurate because you want to anchor your expectations higher rather then lower hey, everybody gets lucky right? and if they dont like it, they might counter offer higher then what your first target salary was.Heres an example:Lets say the least you can take is 60k never tell ANYONE this btw and they offer you 63k. Not bad right? Well you let them know you need to think about it and do some research. Turns out, market value is between 70-75k for that job. You call them back in a few days and say hey, i did some research and the market value for this position is closer to 75K They respond, Sure but for XYZ reasons, we cant offer that, but we can do 70k Boom. you just got an extra 7k a year from what you thought you could get. Youre happy with more money, and your employer is happy because A they know you are happy and content with the salary for a bit B they see you care about the job because you took the time to research it and C Its still within an acceptable range for them.Ok, next step: Figure out your counter offer.You want this number to be around the higher end of the market value, but not unrealistically high. Say the market value for the job is 46-49k. I would ask for 49k because the difference between the top and bottom end of the job isnt very drastic. If, say, it was something like 46k-66k, then it would be more appropriate to start with something around 55-60k rather then the absolute max.Finally, PRACTICE.Negotiation is a skill like anything else and even though everyone thinks they are good at it, you need to practice if you want to feel more in control and get as best a value for yourself as you can. Remember, this is going to be your salary for the forseeable future. You care about this and you should prepare for it. Heres how to prepare: Write youre counter offer down in front of you, as well as the absolute least you are willing to accept called your reservation point. These help you remember your goal and prevent you from taking a deal that is actually worse for you. Find a friend to practice with. Have them play the part of the other party. You want them to be firm but fair ie. dont let them role over immediately or just say no to everything. What you are really working on here is saying out loud something close to what you will say on the phone. Youll feel better and less nervous when the time comes if youve practiced what you want to say before hand. Do some power poses It looks ridiculous but trust me, they help. A few minutes before you call back, do a few of these poses for a minute or two. They have been proven to raise confidence and help with nerves. Ive done them and they actually help.Lastly, heres a few quickish tips: Focus on your target salary, not the least youll accept. Push for your goal, this is your future here. You care about this. However.. Dont be too aggressive. A perfectly acceptable number of offerscounter offers are about 2 or 3. Example:I see you offered me 100,000 but after my research, I believe 130,000 is fair for this position 1st offer.Unfortunately, we cant match 130,000; the but we can offer 110,000 2nd offer. I see, I would feel comfortable with 110,000 if I can also get an extra 2 weeks of vacation 3rd offerI think that sounds acceptableMore offers then that during one negotiation puts pressure on the job, but 2-3 offers is a good spot. Especially if you REALLY care about getting the job which it seems like you do. Consider other benefits besides salary to ask for. Sometime, a hiring manager is limited to a certain salary range, but has more flexibility to offer other incentives. Other things you can ask for might be vacation time, relocation bonus big for you, normal bonus, faster evaluations, company car, clothing reimbursements, ect. Many companies are happy to offer you these small things for an employee they like, you just need to see if you can add them to the deal. If they say the best i can do is X or I really cant offer you more thats you cue to make a decision. They often have restrictions and you should not assume they are lying. They want a good relationship too. Decide if you take the new deal or not, dont keep pushing for more. GET THE NEW DEAL IN WRITING. Do not just sign the old one now and theyll change it. Sign the offer you agreed upon. Have them email you a new copy and if it looks good, then you sign it but do not sign anything else.Hopefully this was helpful and if you have any more questions, or want more specific answers, just let me know! Theres really so much you can say about this and I tried to include what I could. I studied this in college and love helping people with their negotiations! 