Salary Negotiation Playbook
Leave nothing on the table when the offer comes. A step-by-step negotiation framework, market-rate calculators, word-for-word email templates, and counter-offer scripts for tech roles.
📁 File Structure 14 files
├── LICENSE
├── README.md
├── free-sample.zip
├── guide/
│ ├── 01-overview.md
│ ├── 02-the-negotiation-framework.md
│ ├── 03-email-scripts-and-counter-offer-scenario.md
├── index.html
├── interactive.html
├── playbook/
│ ├── market-rate-research.md
│ ├── negotiation-framework.md
├── scenarios/
│ ├── negotiation-scenarios.md
├── scripts/
│ ├── negotiation-scripts.md
├── templates/
│ ├── email-templates.md
├── tools/
│ ├── offer_compare.py
📖 Documentation Preview README excerpt
Salary Negotiation Playbook
A complete, step-by-step system for negotiating tech compensation — the framework, the research, the exact words, and the email templates that turn a job offer into thousands of extra dollars.
Most engineers leave money on the table because negotiation feels uncomfortable and improvised. This playbook removes the guesswork: a repeatable framework, market-rate research methods, word-for-word scripts, ready-to-send email templates, ten fully worked scenarios, and a Python tool that compares offers on a cost-of-living-adjusted basis. Everything is in portable Markdown — read it on any device, no apps required.
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Table of Contents
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What's Included
| Component | Size | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| **Negotiation Framework** | 11 sections | Mindset, why companies expect you to negotiate, the 5 phases, BATNA/walk-away, leverage, timing, negotiating each comp component, common mistakes, junior vs. senior vs. staff+, internal raises, and the ethics of the long game |
| **Market Rate Research** | 8 sections | Total-comp anatomy, leveling across companies, geographic & remote pay, reading data sources, building your floor/target/stretch number, equity risk, cost-of-living math, and a full worked example |
| **Negotiation Scripts** | 10 scripts + selection guide | Word-for-word language for recruiter screens, verbal offers, asking for time, the counter, capped-base situations, "best and final," exploding offers, accepting gracefully, and internal promotions |
| **Email Templates** | 9 templates | Counter-offer, request for time, leveraging a competing offer, requesting a written offer, sign-on/relocation, accepting, declining gracefully, following up after silence, and reneging (with caveats) |
| **Worked Scenarios** | 10 scenarios + decision matrix | Lowball offers, "no budget to counter," two competing offers, no leverage, below-market internal raise, contract-to-hire, startup equity, relocation pay cut, being underleveled, and recruiter pressure |
| **Offer Comparison Tool** | 1 Python script | Compares multiple offers on a cost-of-living-adjusted basis (base, bonus, sign-on, equity vesting). Standard library only — no installs |
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How to Use This Playbook
If you have an offer in hand (start here)
1. Open scenarios/negotiation-scenarios.md and find the scenario closest to your situation.
2. Pull the matching script from scripts/negotiation-scripts.md.
3. Adapt the relevant email from templates/email-templates.md and send it.
4. Run tools/offer_compare.py if you're weighing more than one offer.
If you're preparing ahead of time (recommended)
1. Read playbook/negotiation-framework.md end to end — it changes how you think about the whole process.
2. Do your homework with playbook/market-rate-research.md and lock in your floor/target/stretch numbers before any conversation about money.
3. Rehearse the scripts out loud until they sound like you, not a teleprompter.
As a quick reference during a live process
---
Recommended Reading Order
1. playbook/negotiation-framework.md — the mental model and the 5 phases
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📅 Changelog
v1.0.0 — Initial release.
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