Why did nobody tell me to negotiate my first salary offer?

Six years ago I took a job in Austin and accepted the first number they gave me, $52k. I found out last month that the guy hired two weeks after me, same role, started at $58k just because he asked. That conversation with my coworker over lunch is what tipped me off, I had never once questioned the offer. I always thought the number on the paper was the number, not the starting point. Has anyone else learned this the hard way, or did you actually try negotiating your first offer?

1 comments

1 Comment

seanlee10d ago

Heard this exact same story from my buddy who works in IT. He took the first offer too and found out later his coworker got 6k more just for asking. He still brings it up at every dinner party, it's been like four years lol.