The salary survey stat that made me question my whole negotiation approach

I was digging through the Bureau of Labor Statistics data last Tuesday and found that people who negotiate their first job offer make about 7.5% more on average than those who just accept it. That number hit me because I've never negotiated anything, not even my current job in Columbus or the one before it. I always figured asking for more would get me laughed out of the room, but seeing the actual percentage made me realize I've probably left thousands on the table over the past 6 years. Has anyone here actually negotiated a first offer and had it work out, or is that stat just misleading on paper?

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the_eric1mo ago

That 7.5% number really hit me too, cause I was the exact same way. I never pushed back on any offer, including my first one out of college, and I just took what they gave me because I figured they'd say no and I'd look dumb. Reading that stat made me do the math on my own raises since then and honestly it stings a little, like I could've been way ahead if I'd just asked once. I finally tried it a couple years ago on a job change and it worked, I got like 4% more just for saying "can you do better?" which was basically a leap of faith for me. It's not always gonna work but man, never trying at all is the real mistake. That data makes me wonder how many of us just quietly take the first number.

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