Should you always counter the first offer letter?

manpreet Best Answer 2 years ago

I just received the first offer letter and it is better than what I asked for. So I am tempted to just accept it but many people and sites say you should always counter. Is it always better to counter asking for more?

manpreet 2 years ago

You were offered more than you asked for. At this point going back and countering asking for more still will appear greedy. That is not to say you can not get more but you have an offer that will make you happy. Why not take that good will and show them that doing right by you is going to pay off. If you ask for more they could withdraw the offer all together. So the question is would you rather have more than you asked for for sure. Or take the risk that you might get more but might lose a great offer?

For what it is worth I did consulting for nearly 20 years. I only rarely ever countered. I had an expectation. If they offer came in below that I either accepted or rejected. Sometimes they came back with more usually I would reject them anyway. I have never had an offer come in for more than I asked for. And I have some fairly good references.