Got a job offer but think you’re getting lowballed? 

A lowball salary offer is when a company offers you a job with a salary that is lower than your market rate. This could be because of the company’s budget, misunderstanding your background and experience, or other reasons. But this is NOT the final offer.

Many hiring managers will actually offer a lower number in preparation for negotiations. According to research from Robert Half, 44% of hiring managers say that people today are more likely to negotiate their pay. Make no mistake — they’re expecting a counter offer from you. They expect that number to increase as you negotiate your salary.

This is actually one of the reasons Salary Transparent Street was started: to fight for salary transparency and get people paid what they deserve. 

Think of being lowballed as the first step to negotiating the salary you want. This will prompt you to find your market pay and prepare your response. The last thing we want you to do is accept a subpar salary without doing the market research to make sure you’re getting paid fairly.

Before you continue reading, first download our FREE Market Research Guide to find your market salary. You’ll need it later on in the article. 👇

Key points:

• If the offer is lower than your market rate, lower than your last salary, and has poor benefits, then you might be getting lowballed.
• Never accept the initial salary offer without negotiating, especially when it’s lower than your market rate.
• Use our Salary Database to search for thousands of publicly shared salaries from across the U.S. and apply your findings to your market research.

Key Sigs You’re Being Lowballed in a Job Offer

Let’s say your last job paid you an $80,000 a year salary but the job offer you just received for a more senior position is for only $65,000. This is one example of receiving a lowball salary offer.

In addition to this example, here are other signs that you might be getting jipped: 

1. The offer is below your market salary. If you don’t know your market salary, use our free Market Research Guide to find a range according to your job title, skills, experience, and other factors. This will also be your secret weapon in salary negotiations.
2. The job requires senior-level duties with entry-level pay. The offer is lower than your previous role, especially if increased responsibilities are required. You’re looking for a higher-paying job, so of course, it feels sketchy when you’re offered much less than you expected.
3. There is little to no salary transparency. The recruiter or hiring manager avoids transparency or dodges questions about pay ranges and how the offer was determined around pay scales. Thanks to pay transparency laws, they may be required to be transparent upfront, depending on your state. For example, California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Washington are among the 15 states that require salary ranges to be disclosed in job listings or in the introductory interview. See what your state’s pay transparency laws are here.
4. The benefits are weak. Essential benefits include healthcare coverage, a fair amount of PTO, an employer-sponsored retirement plan, parental leave, disability insurance, and life insurance. But you can negotiate for whatever benefits you want (within reason). Negotiating your benefits is just as important as negotiating your salary.
5. There is a pressure to accept quickly. The employer gives you a limited time frame or requires you to accept immediately without giving you time to compare your options or negotiate.

What to Do If You’ve Been Lowballed

Take your market rate and start putting together your counteroffer. Be sure to also ask about the total compensation package, including the benefits included, so you have all the details before you respond.

When crafting your response, start with the high end of your market salary range. Some negotiations may include several back-and-forths, so it’s possible they could try to counter. You want to ask for a higher salary than the one you want, so you have room for further negotiation. 

We interviewed a financial planning and analysis professional in the video below who did this for their current job that pays $115,000 a year ($130,000 after bonuses).

How do you politely say the salary is too low?

Don’t immediately respond by saying, “the salary is too low." You don’t want to appear ungrateful and rude. Instead, thank them for the offer and express your excitement for the role.

Tell them you need some time to think about it but give them the expected time frame, whether that’s 24 hours or a few days. During this time, put together your script and gather any necessary market data that you might need to present.

Example: “Thank you so much for offering me the position! I’d love a little time to review everything carefully. Would it be alright if I got back to you with my response tomorrow?”

Pro tip: Use our list of salary negotiation scripts for more ways to politely respond to their offer.

Example for How to Respond to a Lowball Job Offer

When you get back to the hiring manager, use a simple script like the sample below. Feel free to personalize it to your voice and situation so it sounds more natural. 

“Thank you so much for the offer! I really enjoyed meeting you and the team, and I’m excited about the chance to contribute here. Before I can accept, I’d like to revisit the salary since it’s lower than the competitive market rate for this role. Based on my experience and skills, I’d be ready to accept the role at [$X], along with [insert any benefits you want to negotiate].”

More Salary Negotiation Tips

Salary offers and discussions can be confusing and a lowball offer can sometimes seem like an insult. But trust me, if you approach the negotiation more as a partnership, those conversations will get easier. 

The hiring manager wants to come to an agreement with you. They’re the ones who chose you over everyone else they interviewed, so of course they want to do what they can to bring you on. They’re just bracing themselves for the impact. 😉

Author note: I’m Daniella Flores, a former engineer who writes about tech, money, and careers, a current member of the CNET Money Expert Review Board, and career researcher that’s appeared in TIME, CNBC, and Investopedia (among many others). I’m extremely passionate about workers' rights and financial freedom, so it’s a pleasure to be able to bring you this type of content through the Salary Transparent Street blog (thank you for the opportunity, Hannah!) You can also follow me on Linkedin. Chat soon!

If this guide helps you land your dream job, let us know! Send us an email ➡️ hello@salarytransparentstreet.com

For more Salary Transparent Resources:

• Want to join the movement? Explore thousands of individually reported salaries nationwide across all industries in our Salary Database!
• Looking for a job? Start your job search on our salary transparent job board!
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• Don’t know what you want to do? Take any of our free career quizzes!
• Need help determining your market rate? Download our free Market Research Guide to learn what you should be making.
• Need help negotiating your salary? Download our free Salary Negotiation Guide!
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