As a recruiter, even I often refer people to Patrick&#x27;s article on salary negotiation, and I agree with much of it. There are a couple points that weren&#x27;t covered that I think are valuable.<p>First, negotiating live is often difficult and it seems somehow job seekers are somewhat surprised to find themselves negotiating (or talking money at all). You need to be prepared for the conversation, otherwise you will find yourself throwing out numbers that you will often regret. Expect that you&#x27;ll be asked these questions at every point in the interview process and be prepared to answer - just like you may study technical topics.<p>Second, in negotiations job seekers tend to mistake silence for a &#x27;no&#x27; answer. &quot;I&#x27;m looking for 130K&quot;. Manager is silent for 10 seconds. &quot;...but that number is negotiable&quot;. Don&#x27;t do this. Once you state your number, don&#x27;t speak until the other party has spoken - otherwise you are negotiating yourself down before getting an objection.<p>Lastly, it can be rather powerful for the company to envision you starting work (the end goal of negotiation) during the negotiation process. Instead of saying &quot;Can you make it 130K?&quot; as a counteroffer as Patrick suggests, it can be stronger to say &quot;If you are able to offer 130K, I am willing to commit to a start date of MM&#x2F;DD&#x2F;YY.&quot; It&#x27;s a subtle difference, but asking for a number without context can be mistaken for &quot;negotiation simply for the sake of negotiation&quot;, whereas an offered start date lets them know you&#x27;re serious and committed to the negotiation.<p>EDIT: And as much as agency recruiters are maligned, Patrick&#x27;s mention of having an &quot;internal champion&quot; isn&#x27;t much different than an agency recruiter&#x27;s representation. Sending resumes to &quot;jobs@company&quot; is ineffective. As an agency recruiter, if I&#x27;m presenting your resume it is going direct to the decision makers, it&#x27;s being presented by a trusted source with credibility (for some agency recruiters anyway), and it&#x27;s not just a resume but rather a short letter outlining why this candidate is a fit for the role. Not to mention, when negotiation does come up, the agency recruiter will have experience and know both the salary ranges and negotiation tactics of the hiring company.