re: Job negotiations: salary vs vacation

Some companies won't negotiate vacation as it's a visible sign of compensation.

I had left one job where I had 20 days of vacation to another company which would only give 15 days. You had to have 10 years of service before getting 20. I tried my hardest and they wouldn't budge even one day. They agreed to salary and bonus requirements of my first counter offer without much fuss so money wasn't an issue.

In the end, I got the company to increase my salary 1-2 weeks of pay. I could then take off a week unpaid and it would work out about the same. Though I never did do that, which worked out to an extra 2% raise.