Got my first real offer, and every negotiation guide out there assumes you're sitting on a competing one. I'm not. It's this or keep searching, and they can probably tell. Is there any leverage at all when you can't say "well, company X offered me more"? Looking for a script that works from a weak position, because the vague "know your worth" advice isn't cutting it.
You don't need a competing offer to negotiate — you need market data. Pull comp for the role and location (levels.fyi, Glassdoor) and anchor on that: "based on what I'm seeing for this role, I was hoping for X." Asking politely almost never loses the offer, and a "no" just leaves you exactly where you started.
If the base is genuinely fixed, negotiate everything else, signing bonus, start date, extra PTO, an early review. And get the number in writing over email so you can think, never accept on the phone in the moment.
You have more leverage than you think even without a competing offer. 'I'm really excited, and based on my research for this role I was hoping for X, is there any flexibility?' works more often than you'd expect. They budget for a counter.
