Negotiating Like a 5-Year Old (+Job list)

I’ve negotiated hundreds of offers at this point—some for myself, and many on behalf of clients—leading to significant bumps in base salaries and sign-on bonuses that weren’t even on the table initially.

But the best negotiator I’ve ever met? My 5-year-old.

Maybe all kids are like this at that age, but I genuinely aspire to negotiate as well as she does.

She knows the rule of thumb: she’ll get about half of what she asks for. And that’s exactly how she wins.

She’ll start with, “Can I have two cookies?”—fully expecting just one. When I hand her the one cookie, she sighs and says, “Aww, I really wanted two,” but then smiles and says thank you. She's content with what she got, because she knew what she was doing from the start.

This is exactly what I see play out in salary negotiations. Sometimes, an organization will give you what you ask for, no questions asked. Sometimes they won’t negotiate at all—often citing “equity across the team.” But most of the time, they’ll give you about half of what you ask for.

If you're offered a $150,000 salary and you counter at $160,000, chances are you’ll land at $155,000. So go ahead—ask for twice the increase you’re hoping to get (within reason, of course).

Here’s another lesson from my daughter: offer choices.

When she’s asking for a treat, I’ll say, “You can have one cookie, or carrot sticks with 20 minutes of screen time, or an apple with peanut butter.” By giving her options, I’m letting her feel like she’s in control.

Psychological warfare? Maybe.Parenting tactic? Possibly.Expert-level negotiation? Absolutely.

I coach my clients to do the same when negotiating offers. Start with gratitude—always. Thank them for the opportunity. Then present three options:

Let them choose. Most organizations will land in the middle—and you’ll walk away with more than if you hadn’t asked.

If you’re in the process of negotiating and want to talk it through, you can book a free initial call here.-Navid

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