Email negotiating the salary in a job offer
Who wrote it
Dana Qutob, an accountant with five years’ experience, was offered a senior accountant job at a food company in Amman. The salary is below the market rate.
The writer and every detail about them are fictional.
What went into the template
- Who made the offer
- Mr Fadi Nimri, HR Manager, Rawabi Foods
- The offer you received
- Senior Accountant, Rawabi Foods, Amman: 1,100 JOD a month, start 1 January
- What you are asking for
- 1,250 JOD a month, or 1,175 with a salary review after six months
- Your reasons, in facts
- A 2026 salary survey of finance roles in Amman: senior accountants with 5 years, 1,150 to 1,400 JOD
CMA certification
I already use NetSuite, their system, every day
At my current company I brought the month-end close from 9 days to 4 - How much room do you have?
- Open to a middle ground
The writer’s facts, as typed into the template’s form. The example uses nothing else.
The example
Salary and offer negotiation: Salary negotiation
Numbered notes in the margin explain each choice.
Subject: Senior Accountant offer: a question about salary
Subject line
Dear Mr Nimri,
Greeting
Thank you for the offer of the Senior Accountant role at Rawabi Foods. I enjoyed meeting the finance team, and I would very much like to accept1.
Yes to the job
Note 1: Saying yes to the job first makes the request a conversation between two sides who want the same outcome.
Before I sign, I would like to ask whether the monthly salary could be 1,250 JOD rather than 1,1002. A 2026 salary survey of finance roles in Amman puts senior accountants with five years’ experience between 1,150 and 1,400 JOD3. I also hold the CMA certification, and I already work in NetSuite every day, so I can take over the month-end close from my first month; at my current company I brought it down from nine days to four4.
One number, with reasons
Note 2: One specific number. Vague requests (“a little more”) are easy to refuse and hard to approve.
Note 3: Market data the HR manager can check, and the request sits comfortably inside it.
Note 4: Evidence of the value she brings, not of what she needs.
If 1,250 is not possible now, I would be glad to start at 1,175 with a salary review after six months5.
An alternative
Note 5: An alternative gives the company a way to say yes even if the budget is fixed today.
Could we talk about this by phone this week?
Next step
Kind regards,
Dana Qutob
Structure
How it is built
Each part in order, with its share of the words.
Checklist
Before you send
Go through your own draft line by line.
Before and after
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Lines like these turn up in many drafts by Arabic speakers. Each fix keeps the meaning and changes only the English.
Sorry to ask, but is it possible to increase the salary a little?
I would like to ask whether the monthly salary could be 1,250 JOD rather than 1,100.
My expenses are high because I have a family and the rent in Amman is expensive.
A 2026 salary survey of finance roles in Amman puts senior accountants with five years’ experience between 1,150 and 1,400 JOD.
If you don’t increase the salary, I will not accept the job.
If 1,250 is not possible now, I would be glad to start at 1,175 with a salary review after six months.
Questions people ask
Is it risky to negotiate a job offer?
Rarely, when it is done politely and with facts. Most employers expect a question about salary, and a calm, specific request seldom makes them withdraw an offer. Ultimatums and personal arguments are what create risk.
How much more should I ask for?
Base it on market data for the role and your level, and ask for one number within that range, usually 10 to 15% above the offer. This email asks for about 14% more and offers a smaller step with a review.
Should I negotiate by email or by phone?
Email is good for the first request: you can choose your words and give your facts. Then offer a call, as this email does, because the final agreement is often reached by talking.
Every writer in this library is fictional, and so is every detail about them. Universities and companies appear only as places someone applies to; the professors, papers and facts mentioned around them are invented for teaching. Use the examples to learn the moves, never as text to copy: committees notice, and your own facts are stronger.