Can I still negotiate the salary after a job offer?

Yes — and it is often your strongest negotiating moment. The employer has already decided on you and does not want to lose you. Research on negotiation behaviour shows: most employers expect negotiation and have built 5–15% flexibility into the initial offer. Approach: react gratefully, ask for 2–3 days to consider, prepare your counter-argument (market value from Entgeltatlas Q027, concrete results, specific qualifications). The Entgelttransparenzgesetz gives you as an employee the right to information about salary structures — useful as entry-level knowledge. Objection: in small companies and with collective agreement salaries, the margin can genuinely be zero — then switch to benefits.