Salary negotiation covers more than one conversation. Answering a new employer’s offer, asking your current employer for a raise and deciding on a counter-offer after you resign each call for a different approach, and the package around the salary (bonus, benefits, remote work, pension) can matter as much as the base pay. These guides take one situation each.
Guides by situation
| Situation | Guide |
|---|---|
| You have a job offer from a new employer | How to negotiate salary on a job offer: research, your three numbers, scripts and pushback |
| You want more money from your current employer | How to ask for a raise: building the case, timing, handling a no |
| You resigned and your employer wants you to stay | Counter-offer guide: whether to accept, with scripts either way |
| The base salary is firm | Negotiating a signing bonus, including clawback terms |
| You want to work from home | Negotiating a remote work arrangement and getting it in writing |
| The benefits fall short | Negotiating your benefits package: which items usually move |
| You are comparing packages | Total compensation vs. salary: a dollar value for each part |
| You are deciding whether to accept | How to evaluate a job offer: a checklist, with red flags |
| The better job pays less | Should you take a job with a lower salary? |
| The posting lists a salary range | Pay transparency laws by province: where ranges are required and pay-history questions are limited |
Preparing for any negotiation
Whatever the situation, the preparation looks similar: market data for the role and city, a specific target and a private walk-away figure, evidence of what you deliver, and a short list of fallback items if the salary can’t move. The job offer guide sets these out in full, with scripts; for an internal raise, the raise guide covers building the case over the months before you ask.
For market pay, government wage data by occupation is gathered on our salaries by profession pages. To see what a raise or a new salary pays after tax, the raise calculator and the salary after tax calculator do the arithmetic.
Beyond the base salary
An offer with a lower salary can still be worth more once the bonus, an employer RRSP match, benefits, vacation and commuting costs are counted. The total compensation guide shows how to compare them, and the group benefits guide explains what a typical plan covers.
Related guides
Browse All Salary Negotiation in Canada: Job Offers, Raises, Counter-Offers and More Articles
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