[saden1]

Originally Posted by jsarno

In terms of professionalism, that is debatable. The company is likely smaller and is offering what they can afford. Kind of like in football when the Redskins go against the Cardinals for a free agent. The Cardinals will offer what they can, but in the end, the Redskins will throw their pocket change (millions on millions) to make the deal work.
I would come up with a figure in my mind of what I would need, and counter offer them. I did this exact thing with my current company and earned me an extra 5k a year. They will always offer what they want, then you need to tell them what you want, sometimes you meet in the middle, sometimes they agree right away...but negotiation is always a good thing.

Or are we not that bad yet?