How to Negotiate Salary: A Practical Guide

Whether you are a fresher, switching jobs or negotiating a promotion, the strongest approach is to enter the conversation with a salary range rather than a random number.

How much salary should you ask for?

Start with three numbers:

• Minimum: the lowest compensation you would realistically accept.
• Target: the compensation you actually want.
• Stretch: an ambitious but defensible number.

For example, if your current CTC is ₹10 LPA:

Your target should be based on your role, experience, skills, location, current compensation, competing offers and the value you can bring — not simply a percentage hike.

Step 1: Research your market value

Before negotiating, compare:

• Similar job titles
• Years of experience
• Location
• Company size
• Industry
• Technical or domain skills
• Fixed compensation
• Variable compensation
• Equity / ESOPs
• Benefits

Step 2: Don't negotiate only on percentage hike

A common question from HR is: "What hike are you expecting?"

Instead of thinking only in terms of percentage, think about the total value of the offer. Suppose your current CTC is ₹10 LPA and the new CTC is ₹13 LPA. That sounds like a 30% hike. But if the new offer contains ₹10 LPA fixed plus ₹3 LPA variable, while your current job has ₹9.5 LPA fixed, your actual guaranteed increase is much smaller.

Always compare fixed pay + variable pay + bonus + equity + benefits + career value.

Step 3: Give a range

"Based on my experience, the responsibilities of this role and the market for similar positions, I'm targeting around ₹14–16 LPA. I'm open to discussing the overall compensation structure depending on the role and expectations."

This gives you room to negotiate without locking yourself into a single number.

Step 4: Negotiate the entire package

You can negotiate:

• Fixed salary
• Variable pay
• Joining bonus
• Performance bonus
• ESOPs
• Relocation assistance
• Notice-period buyout
• Leave
• Review timeline
• Designation
• Remote / hybrid arrangement

If the employer cannot increase fixed salary, ask whether they can improve another part of the package.

What should you never do?

• Lie about another offer
• Invent competing offers
• Give an unrealistically high number without justification
• Negotiate aggressively before understanding the role
• Focus only on CTC
• Accept variable compensation without understanding its conditions

Final rule

Don't negotiate because you want more money. Negotiate because you can explain why your experience, skills and the role justify the number.