How to negotiate salary in the initial offer of company which I want to work for

Question

I just received an offer from one of the big software companies which I really wanted to work with. I only got the information through a phone call with my assigned recruiter. The recruiter will send me the offer as an email tomorrow. The offer is a very decent one. I really don't want to miss this great opportunity.

1. Should I negotiate the offer?
2. I also have imposter syndrome as this is one of my dream company and the position is also at a senior level job offer.
3. What are the key points to include in my email if I should write back asking to raise a bit more on their initial offer?

Update:

I checked the common websites like glassdoor, LinkedIn salaries for this similar position salary where I live.

Answer 1

1. "Should you" can only be answered by yourself since it depends mostly on personal preferences. Your comment suggests you are more than happy with the offer but would maybe try to milk more out of it. You need to decide is it worth the possibility that they offered you the best they could and asking for more would raise the issue on their side that they can't afford you, or would not be able to afford you long-term if you would to expect big raises, in which case they might decide not to hire you at all.

2. If it's your dream job, and it's any good, even if you start lower, you should eventually get raises and probably at some point come to the salary you would want right now. I would probably not pass an offer of a dream job unless the pay was really a show-stopper. It seems that their offer is more than good enough, so why risk it?

3. You could write them back that while their offer is good, and you would definitely be willing to accept it, you had a bit higher expectations and would like to ask would a higher initial offer be possible, and if not, what would be their time/performance requirements so you can advance in that direction.

This way you are not telling them you absolutely want more and you would like to know what their expectations are for a higher salary so you can also commit yourself (long-term) to meeting those in order to get a raise.

Answer 2

Before entering any negotiation you should first know what is your goal, once that's decided, you decide the minimun that you'd settle for. If the only variable that you're considering is money, then that's easy since you probably already know the value of your work in the market. If not, your reasons for accepting the offer become personal (work culture, position, personal goals, etc) and we can't really help you decide. And since that's your dream company, should you really be considering only salary? Is it really your dream company then?

I assume you passed a long selection process and is not common for an entering employee in this situation to negotiate after an offer has already been made, it can happen and is acceptable, but uncommon. Therefore, if I would like to renegotiate the salary, I would ask for a meeting and present my terms on why I should receive more but also be prepared to receive a "no". Since I never generated value to them, there are other people ready to take the position and they have no real reason to raise the offer.

But, if you never participated in any selection and it's them who are after you, then you should totally negotiate on your own terms and an email is more acceptable. I would write something like:

I am interested in the position you're offering, but the salary is not exactly what I expected, are you able to offer a value closer to $X? If you have an avaible time in your schedule we could talk better about this.

Finally, the best I can recommend to help with your imposter syndrome is to seek professional psychological help if you feel like it difficults your personal and professional life.