Yes, you can negotiate your first job offer. Here is the script.

The fear is always the same: I am junior, they have hundreds of candidates, if I ask for more they will move to the next person. So most graduates say yes within the hour and spend two years catching up to a number they could have had on day one.

Here is the reality on the other side of the table. By the time a company makes you an offer, it has spent weeks of recruiter time, interviewer hours, and internal approvals on you. Restarting that process with another candidate costs far more than the increment you are about to ask for. Offers are almost never withdrawn for a polite, factual ask; hiring teams expect it.

When to negotiate, and when not to

Negotiate when the offer is below the posted range, below the market for the role in that city, or below another offer you hold. Do not negotiate structured graduate schemes with published, non-negotiable cohort salaries (banks and consultancies mostly); there, the answer is set and asking burns goodwill. And never bluff an offer you do not have; small industries talk.

The script

After genuine thanks, one paragraph, by email or call:

"I am excited about this role and ready to accept. Based on the posted range and what comparable roles in this city pay, I was expecting something closer to X. If you can get there, I will sign this week."

That is the whole technology: enthusiasm, a factual anchor, a specific number, and a clear close. No ultimatums, no life circumstances, no apology. If they can move, they will, and usually within a day. If they cannot, ask about the parts that flex more easily: signing bonus, start date, review timing, learning budget.

One more thing: know the number before the offer comes. Salary expectations are a profile question on Apply Wingman precisely so the roles you see and the materials we draft already point at the right band for your market.

FAQ

Can a company withdraw a job offer because I tried to negotiate?

It is rare to the point of folklore when the ask is polite and factual. Companies have invested heavily by offer stage and expect negotiation. The realistic worst case is a simple no, after which the original offer stands.

How much more should I ask for as a new graduate?

Anchor to evidence rather than a universal percentage: the posting's own range, typical pay for the role in that specific city, or a competing offer. An ask in the range of five to fifteen percent above the offer, tied to one of those anchors, reads as informed rather than greedy.

Should I tell them my current or expected salary first?

Where the posting lists a range, anchor to that range. Where you must name a number, give a researched expectation for the role and market rather than your history, and give it as a range whose bottom you would genuinely accept.