A master's student asks—

I saw your advice about salary negotiation, and I have a pretty small question. What exactly do you say when you ask for a higher salary? It feels awkward, and everything I come up with just sounds like “please give me more money.”

Here's a simple template I’d recommend—

"Thank you for the offer. Given that [reasons why you are asking for a higher salary], would you consider a salary of [new number you are proposing]?”

The key to making this feel (and sound) reasonable is to make sure that the reason you give is something that the employer cares about, not something that only matters to you. So, if your reason is ‘I have significant loans to repay,’ ‘I’m hoping to retire early,’ or just, I don’t know, ‘I want to buy a boat’ or something, it is going to feel like you are just asking for money. However, if the reason you offer is ‘I have extensive experience with the core job functions,’ or ‘I understand comparable positions are paying X more,’ or anything else directly relevant to the employer’s interests, this will sound like a very reasonable ask. You don’t need to make an elaborate justification at first. I recommend limiting your ask to just those two sentences at first, then give them a chance to respond.

-David Blancha, Assistant Director, Career Development Team for Researchers