Many professionals don’t just struggle to negotiate, they in fact, enter the conversation with a figure that may already undervalue them.
That matters in Nigeria, where salary discussions can be uncomfortable, pay information is often difficult to verify, and the fear of losing a job opportunity can make accepting an offer feel safer than questioning it.
Research from Nigeria and international studies gives us a useful way to explore why this happens without pretending that every professional, employer or negotiation behaves the same way.
You can be qualified for the job, capable of doing the work and still walk into a salary conversation asking for less than the role may be worth. The problem is not always a lack of competence. Sometimes, it is how we learn to value our own work.
Imagine two professionals interviewing for similar roles.
Both have relevant qualifications. Both have years of experience. Both can demonstrate results.
The recruiter asks each of them the same question: “What are your salary expectations?”
The first professional has researched the market, considered the responsibilities and prepared a defensible range.
The second thinks about the bills waiting at home, how desperately they need the job and whether asking for too much might ruin the opportunity. They name a figure they believe the employer will find acceptable.
The employer now has two different starting points.
The first candidate has opened a conversation about the value of the role. The second may have unintentionally made it easier for the employer to offer less.
This is how salary negotiations can go wrong before negotiations have even begun.
1. We confuse being grateful for a job with being worth less
For someone who has been unemployed, underpaid or struggling to meet financial obligations, a job offer can feel like relief.
The instinct is understandable: secure the opportunity first; worry about the money later.
But gratitude and compensation answer different questions.
Gratitude is about appreciating an opportunity. Compensation is about the responsibilities an employer expects you to carry, the skills required and the contribution you are expected to make.
You can appreciate an employer’s offer without assuming it is the best offer available.
In difficult economic conditions, professionals may also have less freedom to reject a poor offer. That is a real constraint, not simply a confidence problem. Sometimes accepting what is available is the rational decision.
The mistake is not accepting an offer you need. It is assuming that the first offer automatically represents your full market value.
2. We research the company more than we research our own market value
Candidates can spend hours studying an organisation before an interview. They learn its history, products, leadership and competitors. They prepare impressive answers to questions about what they can contribute.
Yet some arrive at the salary question with little evidence about what comparable roles pay.
Without that information, the number they choose may be based on their current salary, a friend’s earnings, personal expenses or what they think sounds reasonable.
None of these is necessarily a reliable measure of the job’s value.
A stronger approach is to investigate:
- Comparable roles: What are similar positions paying in the same industry and location?
- Scope: Is this a routine execution role or one involving team leadership, budgets, strategy and business accountability?
- Experience: What specialist knowledge, leadership experience or measurable results can you demonstrate?
- Total compensation: What do the pension, health insurance, bonuses, allowances, leave, flexibility and other benefits actually add?
- Employer context: What can you reasonably establish about the organisation’s compensation structure and budget?
Salary websites and online vacancies can be useful starting points, but their figures may be outdated, self-reported or based on roles that are not truly comparable. Speak to trusted peers and recruiters where possible, and use multiple sources rather than treating one figure as the truth.
Your personal financial needs determine what you can afford to accept. Market evidence helps you assess what you can reasonably ask for. Those are related, but different, calculations.
3. Fear makes us negotiate against ourselves
Sometimes the employer has not rejected the candidate’s expectations. The candidate has rejected them on the employer’s behalf.
A person considers asking for ₦1 million a month, imagines the recruiter finding that figure outrageous and reduces the request to ₦700,000 before anyone has objected.
Perhaps the lower figure is justified by market evidence. Perhaps it is not. The point is that fear, rather than information, has made the decision.
This anxiety is not imaginary. Candidates may worry about appearing difficult, losing an offer or being judged for asking for more.
But research offers a useful counterpoint. A 2024 Harvard Business Review article examined seven studies on salary and benefit negotiations. The researchers found that job seekers’ fears about losing offers through negotiation were often greater than the actual risk suggested by their findings. This does not mean an employer can never withdraw an offer, or that every workplace welcomes negotiation. It does mean that fear alone is not a sound reason to assume that asking professionally will destroy an opportunity.
The better question is not, “What if they think I am asking for too much?”
It is, “Can I explain why this figure is reasonable, and am I prepared to hear their response?”
4. We mistake modesty for professionalism
Many professionals are comfortable describing what they do but less comfortable explaining why it matters.
They say they manage social media, lead a team, oversee communications, develop campaigns or coordinate operations. They describe activities rather than the value those activities create.
Compare these two approaches:
“I have eight years of communications experience, so I am looking for a competitive salary.”
And:
“My experience includes strategic communications, senior stakeholder engagement and campaigns tied to measurable business objectives. Given the scope of this role and the results I can bring, I would like to discuss compensation within the range of ₦X to ₦Y.”
The second statement is more persuasive because it connects experience to the requirements of the job.
This is not an argument for exaggerating achievements or claiming responsibility for results you did not deliver. It is an argument for presenting your contribution clearly.
If you reduced costs, explain the reduction. If you grew revenue, show what you can substantiate. If you led people, managed risk, improved processes or protected the organisation’s reputation, explain the significance of that work.
A salary conversation is not the moment to hide your strongest evidence behind false modesty.
5. Your current salary can become an invisible ceiling
One of the most persistent traps is using your present salary as the primary reference point for your next one.
Suppose a professional earns ₦400,000 monthly and is offered a role with substantially greater responsibility. If the conversation focuses only on their current earnings and a percentage increase, the resulting figure may not reflect the demands of the new position.
A better assessment starts with the new role.
What is the job worth in the market? What responsibilities have been added? What skills are required? What is the employer’s approved range?
Your existing salary is part of your employment history. It is not definitive proof of your market value.
This distinction matters in Nigeria, where a candidate may be moving from a smaller organisation to a larger one, changing sectors or stepping into a more senior position. A previous employer’s pay structure may have little relationship to what the new role should command.
There is also relevant Nigerian evidence that the issue extends beyond individual confidence. A 2024 paper in AEA Papers and Proceedings, using data from Nigeria’s largest online job portal, found differences in salary offers across industries depending on the gender composition of their applicant pools. The study also documented changes in those patterns during Nigeria’s 2016 recession. Its findings concern job offers and industry-level patterns, not proof that every woman or every applicant is underpaid. But they underline that compensation outcomes are shaped by labour-market conditions, not merit alone.
6. We focus on the monthly figure and forget the entire deal
A salary offer is important, but it is not always the whole compensation package.
Consider two hypothetical offers:
Offer A
₦900,000
Higher monthly salary, limited benefits and substantial out-of-pocket work expenses.
Offer B
₦800,000
Lower monthly salary, but stronger benefits and fewer work-related expenses.
Illustrative scenario only. Neither offer is automatically better; the actual benefits, conditions and costs must be assessed.
A good negotiation considers the full package: fixed pay, variable pay, benefits, working arrangements, travel requirements, performance expectations and opportunities for progression.
If the employer cannot increase the base salary, there may be room to discuss a sign-on payment, a performance bonus, additional leave, flexibility, professional development or a written salary review after an agreed period.
These alternatives are not substitutes for a fair salary in every case. They are options to assess when the headline figure is constrained.
7. We ask without preparing to explain the number
There is a difference between asking for more money and making a reasoned case for better compensation.
Before a negotiation, establish three figures for yourself:
- Your target: the compensation you would be pleased to secure.
- Your defensible range: the range supported by market information, the role’s scope and your experience.
- Your minimum acceptable package: the least you can reasonably accept after considering your finances, alternatives and the job’s full terms.
These are private decision-making tools, not figures you must disclose to the employer.
Then prepare a concise explanation of your expectations. Keep the emphasis on the role, relevant evidence and the value you can contribute, rather than simply listing your expenses or declaring that you deserve more.
A possible response:
Thank you for the offer. I am very interested in the opportunity. Having considered the responsibilities of the role, the experience I bring and the compensation range I understand to be appropriate for this level, I was hoping we could discuss a salary closer to ₦X. Is there flexibility in the approved range?
The amount you insert should come from your research, not an arbitrary desire to sound ambitious.
And if the recruiter asks for your expectations before disclosing a range, it is reasonable to ask whether they can share the budgeted range for the position. If you must give a figure, provide a considered range and explain what it depends on.
8. The employer is negotiating too and the playing field may not be equal
Salary discussions do not happen between two parties with identical information or bargaining power.
An employer may know the approved salary band, its budget and what comparable employees earn. A candidate may know only the job description and what they have managed to learn from the market.
The employer may also have multiple candidates to consider, while the candidate may have been searching for months.
That imbalance helps explain why advice such as “just ask for more” is incomplete. Negotiation skill matters, but so do access to information, alternative opportunities, transparency and the ability to walk away.
A study published in 2024 in Labour Economics, based on data from more than 15,000 students before they entered the labour market, found that women reported lower expected wages and that these expectations were related to their expected asking and reservation wages. This is evidence about wage expectations before labour-market entry, not a universal explanation for the behaviour of experienced professionals. Still, it highlights how expectations formed early can influence later pay decisions.
Employers also have a role to play. Clearer salary bands, transparent criteria for determining offers and consistent compensation practices can reduce the uncertainty candidates face.
A fairer negotiation culture should not depend on every employee becoming an exceptional negotiator just to receive reasonable compensation.
What professionals can do before the next salary conversation
Research before naming a figure.
Compare similar jobs, responsibilities, industries and locations. Treat salary estimates as evidence to evaluate, not unquestionable facts.
Document your contribution.
Prepare specific, verifiable examples of results, leadership, expertise, savings, growth or improved performance.
Practise saying the number aloud.
Rehearse your opening statement, likely questions and response if the employer says the budget is fixed.
Assess the whole offer.
Compare compensation, responsibilities, benefits, work conditions and realistic alternatives before deciding.
Get the final terms in writing.
Confirm the agreed salary, benefits, bonus conditions, review dates and other important terms before relying on a verbal understanding.
The real lesson: confidence is useful, but evidence is better
Professionals should not be encouraged to demand the highest possible salary regardless of the circumstances. An inflated request without evidence can weaken credibility, and some employers genuinely cannot move beyond an approved range.
The goal is not to become aggressive. It is to become informed, prepared and clear about the value you bring and the terms under which you are willing to work.
Sometimes, the best decision is to negotiate. Sometimes, it is to accept an offer because the opportunity meets your immediate needs. Sometimes, it is to decline because the terms do not make sense.
The important thing is to make that decision consciously, rather than letting fear choose the number for you.
Your first salary expectation can become the starting point for a much longer compensation journey. It deserves more thought than a number chosen simply because you hope the employer will say yes.
The Lion Take:
Never confuse the amount you need with the value of the work you do. Understand both before you negotiate.
The Big Question: Have you ever accepted a salary offer without negotiating and, looking back, was it because the offer was fair or because you were afraid to ask for more?
