Do we have the right to negotiate for salary?

About a week ago I saw this question pop up on Yahoo Answers and thought I could answer it.

I got a job offer. They gave me the lowest range on the pay scale and said they can't do anything about it. They didn't give me the chance to negotiate. Is this fair?

I wasn't the first to respond and the answers from those who did were shocking.

Of course it is fair. You have the option of declining the offer and find a job somewhere else.
Why you think life is fair should be addressed.

and this...

yep it's fair, do you want the job or not? if you don't there's probably 100 others who would take the job today.

In their defense, of course it's fair for an employer to imply that they don't want to negotiate the offer.  But check out my response to see how I approached the situation with a slightly skewed perspective:

Salary is ALWAYS negotiable. How you negotiate, however, is in your hands. Sure, you can simply ask for more money but you'll get the answer you got back. Here's what you do:

If the offer is in writing already and doesn't have an exploding date, just sit on it for a few days. When they call you because they haven't heard from you, say you're excited about the offer but you're waiting for other offers to come in to compare. They don't know whether you have other offers coming in or not but there's a threat that they might lose you. What that will do is force them to set an exploding date for your offer because they don't want to lose you and they want to pressure you to accept. This is fine, and really what you want.

From here you say that you're excited about the opportunity, but times are tough and if you can get a higher offer you have to give yourself that option. They'll likely understand that. Even if they're hardcore about it and say something like "take it or leave it" you can then ask again for more money. Say something like "X amount will get me to YES and I will accept the offer today." I've done this exact thing and it works. Just don't be outrageous with the amount you're asking in addition to what they offered. 5% - 7% is a good rule of thumb.

That is negotiating. There's one golden rule in recruiting that employers don't want you to know: It's cheaper for them to hire you at a higher rate than they offered than it is for them to continue to look for candidates. You have that golden rule on your side. Good luck!

This (obviously) got the Best Answer rating from the questioner.  The moral of the story is don't listen to people who are negative and say something can't be done.  You can negotiate salary and sweeten your own offer without hurting your chance of getting the job.

For FREE sample salary negotiation letters, just fill out the form below with the subject "Right" and we'll send them to you right away.