If the potential hirer's budget can't pay as much as you are worth (based on your current level or the market), does it make sense to negotiate based on having more flexibility in working hours?

One other aspect I can think of is you can see if you can negotiate for a confirmation bonus. perhaps the company is unwilling to pay you what you asked for upfront because they are no confident in your skillset. so try to negotiate for the salary you want upon confirmation. say you want $5k but they only offer you $4.5k. say you will use the probation period to show your capabilities and if they pass your probation, they can raise it back to $5k. personally, i've never tried so not sure if it will work but i've heard of such industry practice.

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best of luck!

I would say it depends on your role, industry and the work culture there.

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Realistically, even if you could successfully negotiate for flexibility, is this something that is sustainable? For example, if you say you want to work from home 2 days a week but everyone else goes to the office everyday, could your manager end up asking you to go in everyday because they want you to attend meetings with your colleagues in person (this actually happened to my friend)?

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Or if you ask for clearer hours e.g. 5pm sharp knock off everyday, would the actual workload even match this or would they say yes knowing that your work will end up making you have to OT anyway?

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Just throwing out some considerations for you to take into account here, I don't think it's a bad idea though because you should at least try to ask for what you want if they can't provide the salary you are looking for.

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Not sure if you've also considered the following options apart from flexible work (which they may or may not agree to also, but worth finding out more about):

• Signing Bonus - some companies offer this to meet your desired number for the first year at least
• Commuting or Health/Lifestyle Stipend - some people negotiate a transportation allowance or for the company to cover health check ups, gym membership etc. if these are not already offered but part of your lifestyle, it could be a good way to make up for the lower salary while still helping to cover costs
• Additional leave days - if I'm not wrong I think this is more common than negotiating for flexibility (which is a bit trickier and more vague?), simple - more leave, more time to take a break but of course different companies may have different policies on this

Will follow up if I think of anything else but I think you can probably find other similar alternative suggestions online as well. You could also throw the question back to the hiring manager/recruiter to find out what cards they have up their sleeve -- for e.g. can say something like "this salary is much lower than I expected, however I am really interested in the role and joining your team -- if the salary amount is not something that you can review, are there any other forms of compensation or arrangements you can offer besides the salary itself that could make it easier for me to say yes to this offer?"

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Hope this helps!