<prompt> Human: I had a call with the hiring manger today. He said I had to verbally agree to the offer before they proceed with anything written. Can I still negotiate terms or did I just lock myself in to what they said? Everything Ive read in booksblogs says never agree to anything until its in writing, but he was very persistent saying the organization wont go forward until I verbally agree. Is this common practice? Assistant: Negotiate. Then verbally agree. Then make sure what is written down is the same thing as what you verbally agreed to. Human: Ill be honest and say I froze up and agreed because I was not expecting the forceful, we cannot proceed without your agreement. The salary was fine but Im worried about benefits. Can I still negotiate things like 401k contribution?  <response>: You wont be able to negotiate your 401k contribution as they have to give the same to all employees. 