I almost talked myself out of negotiating. I was staring at a job offer in my email inbox that was higher than I expected. I was excited and flattered, but my gut said that taking the first offer would leave money on the table.

Since the offer was already above what I anticipated, I needed a good way to structure my counteroffer so that it didn’t sound baseless or purely greedy. I already got some insight from reading Josh’s article about “re-selling” myself in a counteroffer email. I hoped getting the email templates would give me more ideas. I decided to upgrade to the Complete Bundle of Fearless Salary Negotiation since it includes information about getting a raise (which I figured would come in handy and likely more than pay for itself in the next year or so).

The most helpful thing about the Crash Course was having exact word-for-word scripts at each step of the process. I didn’t have to fumble for words or spend hours scouring the Internet for “the right thing to say”. It was all there and the scripts gave me the confidence to ask for way more than I would have otherwise.

I used the email templates from the course to successfully negotiate an offer $12,000 higher than my original offer (an increase of about 10%). The total package represents a 30% increase over my current compensation! I’m ecstatic and extremely grateful for the valuable information that Josh provided to help me get an amazing result.

Going through the process of negotiation made me confront my insecurities and realize that I do bring highly valuable skills to the table. I found having to brainstorm and then write out the reasons I’m a great fit for this position — and thus deserve a higher salary — was a key benefit I got from the course. It made me 100% more confident that I am a great fit and that I will contribute a lot to this team. Getting a positive response to my counteroffer confirmed that.

What was particularly interesting about the results I saw was that it was an internal transfer between two separate business units within a large company — meaning the hiring manager actually knew my current salary down to the dollar. I expected that to limit my ability to negotiate, but focusing on the value I would bring to his team and not my current salary was the right strategy. It worked!