The call comes in on a Tuesday afternoon, HR says the magic words, "We'd like to offer you the position," and before the salary figure has even finished landing, you have already planned your how long your testimony on Sunday at church will be. You haven't asked a single question, you haven't seen the full package, and you've just agreed to a number the way you'd agree to a stranger's offer of a free ride, grateful and slightly worried about where it ends up. Brethren, we need to talk about this, because the five minutes after an offer is made are some of the most expensive minutes of your entire career.
Why asking for more feels so wrong
For many of us, negotiating a salary feels a little rude, as if the job itself was a favour and any question about money is ungrateful. In a market where openings feel scarce and everyone knows someone who has been searching for months, it's easy to believe the safest move is to accept whatever is placed in front of you and say a quiet prayer of thanks. That instinct is understandable, but it rests on a wrong assumption. Employers expect some conversation about pay, many build room for it into their budgets, and negotiating respectfully is a normal part of hiring, not an act of defiance. The person on the other end of the call has likely done this dozens of times, and a polite, well-prepared question will not make them withdraw an offer they just spent weeks deciding to make.
Know your numbers before the call
Walking into a negotiation without a number is like walking into Makola market without knowing the price of tomatoes, you'll pay whatever the first voice tells you. Before any offer arrives, find out what people in similar roles, at similar companies, in your city actually earn, by asking former classmates, seniors in the field, and anyone willing to be honest, and by reading job listings that state a range. Then settle on three figures: the number you'd love, the number you'd be happy with, and the number below which you'd politely walk away. Know your walk-away figure before the conversation starts, because deciding it under pressure, with a smiling person waiting for your answer, is how people end up agreeing to things they regret by month three. This is homework we hand out first at JADE Consult, since a client who knows their range sounds calm, and a client who doesn't usually sounds like they're guessing.
Look at the whole package, not just the basic salary
A salary figure is only the headline. The number that hits your account depends on deductions like SSNIT and PAYE, so ask whether the amount quoted is gross or take-home, because the gap between the two can be a nasty surprise at the end of your first month. Beyond that, a package in Ghana often includes allowances for transport, rent, data, fuel, or medical cover, plus leave days, training support, flexible working arrangements, and a clear timeline for salary reviews. A package is more than the basic salary, and a company that truly can't move on the base figure may be able to move on several of these, sometimes with less fuss than a straight pay rise would cause.
Build your case on what you bring
The weakest reason to ask for more money is a personal one, such as rent going up or a long list of bills, because it gives the employer nothing to say yes to. The strongest reason is the value you'll add, backed by specifics: the results you've delivered before, the skills the role needs that you already have, the extra experience you'd bring. This is the same discipline as writing a good CV, where a vague claim falls flat and a quantified achievement does the talking, so anchor your ask in what you bring, not in what you need. Walk in able to say, in one or two sentences, why the figure you're proposing is fair for the work you'll be doing.
What to actually say
Many people never negotiate because they can't picture the words. Something along these lines works well: "Thank you, I'm genuinely excited about this role. Based on my research and the experience I'd bring, I was hoping for something closer to this figure. Is there flexibility?" That's warm, direct, and specific, and it gives them a clear number to work with instead of a vague hint. Then comes the hardest part of the whole exercise, which is that after you ask, you stop talking. The silence will stretch like a trotro in Kasoa traffic, and every instinct will tell you to rescue the moment by lowering your own request, but whoever fills that silence first usually pays for it. Practising this out loud beforehand, ideally with someone who'll push back, is what we do in mock negotiation sessions at JADE Consult, because the sentence feels very different in your mouth than it did in your head.
When they say "that's our final offer"
Sometimes the base figure truly can't move, and that doesn't have to end the conversation. You can ask about a signing allowance, an earlier performance review with clear targets, extra leave, a training budget, or a title that reflects the work you'll actually be doing. Whatever is agreed, get every promise in writing, because a verbal "we'll revisit this in six months" has a way of dissolving once the person who said it changes departments.
Moves that quietly backfire
A few habits can turn a reasonable negotiation sour. Making ultimatums you aren't prepared to follow through on is one, inventing a competing offer to create pressure is another, and the cost of being caught is far higher than the extra money would have been. Negotiating before there's a real offer on the table, or getting heated over a message instead of a conversation, tends to leave a poor impression just as the working relationship is meant to begin. Stay courteous throughout, because the person you're negotiating with is about to become your colleague, and they will remember how you handled the awkward part.
Money is awkward for everyone
Nobody enjoys this conversation, and the people who are paid fairly haven't found some secret confidence, they simply did the awkward thing once, prepared, and then did it again with a little less dread. If you'd like help finding your range, shaping your words, or rehearsing before the real call, JADE Consult is glad to sit down with you well before the phone rings. Do not let the cost of living kill you when you could have earned more.
— Samuel Nii Adotei Allotey (the_kurios_poet)