Salary guides for job seekers
These salary guides are for job seekers who are about to accept an offer or compare two. They show how to negotiate pay with confidence and how to read an Indian CTC offer to see what you will actually take home, with worked examples and a calculator.
Negotiate and compare offers
- How to Negotiate Salary: Scripts, Steps and Examples: A step-by-step guide to negotiating a job offer in the US: how to research a range, what to say, sample scripts and what to do when they say no.
- CTC vs In-Hand Salary: Worked Breakdown (India): What CTC includes, why in-hand pay is lower, and worked 12 LPA and 24 LPA breakdowns under the new tax regime, with stated assumptions and dates.
Jobs data, explained monthly
- Jobs Data Explained: October 2026: The latest US and India labour-market releases in plain language, with release dates and links to the official sources.
- India Minimum Wages: How They Work: Legal minimum wages in India, how basic pay and VDA work, the April/October revisions, and the central-sphere rates from the official order.
Tools, templates and terms
- CTC to in-hand salary calculator: turn a yearly CTC into an estimated monthly in-hand figure.
- Counter Offer Email Template: 5 Samples to Copy: Copy-ready counter offer emails for base pay, signing bonus, remote work and deadline extensions, with notes on what to change and what to leave out.
- Salary Expectations Interview Answer: What to Say: How to answer "what are your salary expectations" in a screen or interview, with scripts for deflecting, giving a range and handling salary history.
- What Is CTC (Cost to Company)? Definition and Example: CTC, cost to company, is the total annual amount an Indian employer spends on an employee. Why it is not your monthly take-home pay.
- What Is In-Hand Salary? Definition and Example: In-hand salary is the amount that reaches your bank account each month after deductions such as employee PF and tax. See how it differs from CTC.
- What Is LPA (Lakh per Annum)? Definition and Example: LPA stands for lakh per annum, a yearly amount where one lakh is 1,00,000 rupees. How it relates to CTC, with an example.
- What Is Counter Offer? Definition and Example: A counter offer is a new pay or role proposal, made by your employer to keep you after you resign or in negotiation of a new offer. With an example.
Raises, research and total pay
- How to Ask for a Raise: Steps, Script and Email: How to ask for a raise at work: when to ask, how to build your case, what to say, a ready email and what to do if the answer is no.
- How to Research Salary: Official Sources for US Pay: How to find reliable pay data for a US role using government sources, how to read ranges and medians, and what to do when data is thin or outdated.
- Total Compensation: Compare Job Offers Beyond Salary: How to compare job offers by total compensation: base pay, bonus, equity, benefits, leave and costs, with a comparison table you can fill in.
- Hourly to Annual Salary: How to Convert Pay: How to convert hourly pay to annual, monthly and weekly pay with simple formulas, a worked example and notes on unpaid time off, overtime and taxes.
India pay guides
- PF and Gratuity Explained for Salaried Employees in India: How provident fund (PF) and gratuity work in India: employee and employer PF, UAN, withdrawal and transfer, the gratuity formula and who is eligible.
- Variable Pay in India: How It Works and What to Ask: What variable pay means in an Indian CTC, how it is paid, why it may not be guaranteed, and the questions to ask before you accept an offer.
- Salary Hike Negotiation in India: What to Say and Ask: How to negotiate a salary hike when changing jobs or at appraisal in India: research, CTC components, scripts and the questions to ask HR.
Official pay pages by occupation
- Software Engineer Salary in the US: Official BLS Pay Data: What the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports for software developer pay in the US, how to read the wage range, what it leaves out, and how to negotiate.
- Registered Nurse Salary by State: Official BLS Data: What the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports for registered nurse pay, how pay differs by industry, and how to look up your own state's figure.
- Software Engineer Salary in Bangalore: Read the Offer: How software engineer pay is structured in India, from CTC and in-hand pay to ESOPs, and the questions to ask about an offer in Bengaluru.
Reading your pay in India
- Salary Slip Explained: Components and Deductions (India): How to read an Indian salary slip: earnings, deductions, employer contributions, net pay, CTC link and what to check each month.
Related hubs
By LiveRec Editorial. Read our editorial standards.