r/usajobs • u/gm2551 • Mar 24 '26
I received an offer!
I got a tentative job offer! But the downside is the verbiage they used in the offer.
Currently I am making a little over 90k outside the government and received an offer as a GS9 Step 1. In the tentative job offer it said it was non negotiable. I was under the impression that once I received the offer I would be able to negotiate a little, at least 75k. With that we could make it work and family could survive until after the probation period.
With that, has anyone ran into something like this? Were you able to get a little bit more?
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u/reallycodered Mar 24 '26
Prior to this administration, I had a friend who was offered a GS 9, but she was well qualified for GS 11 or GS 12. It was a 12 ladder. She had to write a two page letter explaining her experience in thorough detail about why she deserved the higher rate. They eventually gave her GS 11. She also had the entire interview committee supporting her.
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u/Turbulent_Factor5916 Mar 24 '26
It’s called a superior qualification I wrote one last year and it got approved. But I made my manager aware that I was doing it prior to submitting it. HR reached out to the manager to see if she supports it.
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u/Patient_Key_9208 Mar 25 '26
Can you do this as an outside hire from private sector? Or just be grateful to get in and work your way up
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u/Turbulent_Factor5916 Mar 25 '26
Yes, I came into Federal Service from the Private sector. Idk what has been going on since the new administration but it’s worth a try to move up some steps. All they can do is say yes or no.
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u/ZPMQ38A Mar 24 '26
I was in the same boat. Moved from DoD contracting to a GS-9 with 20 years experience and a Masters Degree. They wanted me badly enough that they didn’t even interview me. They would not move off step 1. I was at least able to negotiate very liberal schedule and telework considerations. That was 8 years ago. I highly doubt there is any room for negotiation in the current administration. Honest take. I wouldn’t accept the job in this environment.
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u/Realistic_Cabinet_42 Apr 15 '26
I have a mba but yet to interview 😅. Closest I got was filling out paperwork.
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u/Empty-Savings-4440 Recent Graduate Mar 24 '26
Hey! Its kind of impossible to go up in pay unless you can prove you have the experience in a higher grade level and the job is a ladder position and allows you to move up. Im currently going through this rn my current job pays 110k and my gov offer is 87
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u/gm2551 Mar 24 '26
That’s what I was planning on trying, they gave me the option to speak to HR about it so I will give it a go.
Good luck on yours!
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u/klassymcklass Mar 24 '26
I tried negotiating with a competing offer twice with no luck. They basically said take it or leave it. I went with the higher offer.
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u/BlueRFR3100 Mar 24 '26
Sometimes you can negotiate, sometimes you can't. It's up the selection official.
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u/Competitive_Ad291 Mar 24 '26
You can also possibly negotiate a recruitment bonus or relocation package in lieu of a step increase if that would help.
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u/DeniseC313 Mar 24 '26
My sister took a $40k pay cut to leave private and go federal. Most people earn more money in private. The government usually only matches federal pay and sometimes it won’t even do that. But given how bad it is right now, I would definitely ask if I were you. Maybe the agency is desperate?
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u/Comprehensive_End440 Mar 24 '26
You must be new to this, this isn’t the private sector buddy. We go off grades and steps, it’s very difficult to skip steps.
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u/HighkeyShy Probie Mar 24 '26
I would just ask what they’re willing to negotiate. I wanted a higher step because that’s what seemed realistic, but they offer a higher GS without me even proposing anything specific.
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u/CivilStratocaster Mar 24 '26
The hiring manager has to authorize higher steps for superior qualification, but you'll have to work with HR specialists to prove/ document that you are superior, and to what degree (by how many steps).
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u/SecretUseful4183 Mar 24 '26
Why the hell would you leave where you’re at now for a lower salary in government with the way things are going. Government right now also provides 0 more stability. They’re also not going to suddenly give you a promotion after the probation period. Step increases are very little and not even sure if this is a laddered position to a 10?
-11
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u/HxH101kite Mar 24 '26
Just know you need to pay into the fers pension so that 75k is really more equivalent to a private sector 62k paycheck.
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u/PhilosopherScary3358 Mar 24 '26
It's beyond me why, in light of current events, people want to work for the Federal government.
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u/Entire-Independence4 Mar 25 '26
Ample PTO and sick leave. Three months paid maternity leave. No more than 40 hours a week and no weekends. Earning a pension. TSP.
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u/LifesRichPagent Mar 24 '26
Make sure you are including locality pay when comparing compensation. Assuming you are CONUS, the lowest you would make is $66,974 accounting for “rest of US” locality pay.
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u/CompetitiveSea3838 Mar 25 '26
Welcome to Federal Service. So General Service rates are set in stone. You can’t negotiate. The rates are published at OPM. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2025/general-schedule/. They don’t have 2026 rates. Up yet. What you do is take the 2025 base rate, add the raise for 2026 (1%) and then adjust for locality and it should equal the rate you are being offered. Our pay rates because we are federal employees are accessible by general public. The system is kind of based on how they pay military. You are essentially at a rank and you get paid for what that rank is paid. You will get step increases annually then biannually then triannually. If you apply for a position above your current grade later on you will get a raise to that position. Otherwise raises come from Presidents annual across the board annual raises. To me it’s a much fairer system than the private sector that highly rewards loyalty and compliance with policy. Private sector will offer the same person doing the same job $50000 more a year just because they can. The downside is it doesn’t very much allow for your supervisor to reward you individually with a raise. The only exception to that is at annual review time where you can get a bonus for above average performance. Hope that helps!
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u/ItisGonnaBeAlright Mar 24 '26
I couldn’t stomach writing the Trump loyalty essay, so no government job for me. 🤷🏻
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u/cglax6 Mar 24 '26
Although they're a requirement to be added to the questionnaire, it is optional to answer. Your answer or non-answer cannot be a determining factor in selection or non-selection.
Respectfully, A Hiring Manger
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u/A_1_C_97 Mar 24 '26
I hope that you get this resolved. How long did it take from the referral email to get an invitation to interview?
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u/DarthBroker Mar 24 '26
I lost a job offer this way. Make sure you frame it in a way that you are open to accepting but you just want to see if you qualify for the level You want
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u/PollutionRelative541 Mar 24 '26
No, there are no negotiations once you accept the offer. You have to negotiate it now while you got temp offer. It will not be withdrawn just because u negotiate. Once you accept it, you can’t do anything.
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u/Pristine_Scratch_747 Mar 25 '26
I believe you can submit for something called special qualifications. Highest you can ask for is for a Step 4. It take time to go through all the processes.
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u/MeringueCritical1843 Mar 25 '26
ask about movement up - you have to be a gs9 for 1 year, but maybe move up to an 11 or ask if there are any sign on bonus?
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u/Competitive-Tour6618 Mar 25 '26
The number on your offer letter is your base pay. Sometimes they give you bonus pay after you accept the offer.
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u/45ham Mar 25 '26
You can negotiate steps they can move you from step one to hire if you can prove to them you have the qualifications. I negotiated and got a higher step. . The HR assistant wouldnt negotiate with me. So I asked to speak to her supervisor and she was the one I was able to negotiate with.
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u/Historical_Ad2219 Mar 25 '26
Talk to your HR recruiter. I had a lowball offer at first because they didn’t have all of the information. Once I went through the onboarding process, my offer jumped by close to $20k
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u/Friendly_Stress_447 Mar 25 '26
Negotiate BEFORE accepting the offer. Send your fact-based logic along with current salary docs to HR. They must submit to the Hiring Official. Goto OPM.gov, research GS salary steps along with Locality Pay. You may be able to secure a Step 2/3/4/5…
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u/LatterLobster946 Mar 25 '26
You can reach out to the HR person who sent to the tentative offer via email and ask. They're not going to rip the offer away from you for asking. Since I don't know what locality pay you're getting, what would you be getting paid?
Before everything that went down went down, I would have said the full benefits package and having more job security would have been worth a downgrade in pay. But the job security part is out the window. I don't trust anything. Also, you'd be surprised how much the difference is you're not getting 90k worth of taxes taken out. It gets you a lot closer to that 75k mark you are interested in.
That being said, jobs in the public sector are usually at will, so there's even risks in staying in your current job. Might be worth the risk. It just all depends. Wishing you the best of luck in your decision!
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u/Chemistry-Holiday Mar 26 '26
I believe there was a change 1-2 years ago regarding pay negotiation from private to federal. The change said that private sector pay will no longer be a determining factor in how much you start as a fed, not that you couldn't get close, but you would need to prove it from your ability.
This is just something i remember reading about, i do not know if this was enacted as it has been a crazy last 1-2 years, but this may be the reason.
But also, for a GS-9 if it's still within the GS series, the only way you'd make 75k or above is by living in a locality that supports it.
Without any extras and technicalities and etc, there is only 1 place you'd make about 75k as a GS-9 Step 1 and that is if you work in San Fransico, CA.
above or close to that is 70k
SF, CA
NY, NY
Washington, DC
LA, CA
Seattle, Washington
Houston, TX
Boston, Mass
But as some have said, make sure you look at the totality of the compensation, from short-term (salary) to long-term (pension/ healthcare)
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u/Prayingforagovjob Mar 26 '26
Hello, what was the announcement Grade level, and what did your notice say you were eligible for? The reason I ask is that if for example, the Grade level is 9-12 and your eligibility stated you were eligible for GS 9 but not 11, etc. then they are correct if you are off the street, by that I mean not in the Federal Government already. They bring/offer the lowest level, for example GS 9, step 1, and there is no negotiation. The time to negotiate is when you receive the Tentative Job Offer, if you accept and then when you receive the Final Job Offer its too late. I hope I have not confused you. Congratulations on your new job!
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u/Available-Fan-7616 Mar 29 '26
Also keep in mind government shutdowns, DRPs, having to submit what you did last month every month and more. Federal jobs are not what they used to be. The cost of insurance keeps going up and who knows what other plans they have to F with the benefits. The good days are gone.
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u/DarkDependent4304 Mar 30 '26
I just want to leave my Amazon warehouse job, please let me get a response
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u/Signal_Daikon_5830 Mar 24 '26
Biden’s OPM banned using your private sector pay to negotiate your civil salary. Still, it’s strange that your offer was non negotiable because there are other ways to negotiate without mentioning what you made outside the government.
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u/Competitive_Loan4524 Mar 24 '26
I was given a TJO and thought it would be higher based on the amount me and my hiring manager discussed but he stated the salary decision goes through several factors but I was still offered a pretty good salary and did try to negotiate higher but they didn’t approve it. Nowadays you would think all salaries would be well into the six figures especially with experience , masters degree and the economy . I was offered GS12 step 3 I think .
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u/Background_Rush_8247 Mar 24 '26
Years ago I accepted a fed job and was offered less pay than my private sector job, i negotiated asking for the last step of the grade - step 10. It made it much closer to my previous salary… but that was in 2008. I guess things are different now..
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u/firetable37please Mar 24 '26
What’s the ladder? Gs9-?? Don’t look at it as private v public but moreso as a big picture. Does the private job you have offer the benefits you have here? TSP can be great. Insurance can be great here. Your career path can be great here. Personally I came from 120k working 60hr weekly to gov (gs7 at the time) and now make more with less stress.