Guys. I am so nervous. ...
The lesson here is always have options, so that you can negotiate from a position of strength. If you have only one job offer, everything is scary and uncertain if you negotiate it too hard. But if you have a panoply of offers to choose from, you can take risks without fear because you have so many plays open to you.
How often does that realistically happen though? Obviously I'd prefer to have multiple offers but that's not where I'm at.
While having multiple offers at once is great, it's not typical.
But you have *two* options. You can stay or go. You are in the position of strength.
It's not personal. Some companies just have stricter leave policies. Large corporations and small. Some start everyone at 2 weeks vacation + Sick + holiday, and make you wait 5 years for the next week. But many times these companies have 401k match, good health care benefits, and higher pay.
I would, for example, be willing to lose vacation/ PTO if the salary bump made up for it. Because, if allowed, I'd happily take a week without pay.
The other thing that I can't tell is how old you are. It does matter - many companies reward longevity.
In my 20s, I was in the military, so I had paid leave of 30 days a year.
Next job, I started at 4 weeks paid leave (so I lost 2 weeks).
Next job, I started at 2 weeks.
(sick/holidays not counted)
I worked my way up in job #3 to 19 days (almost 4 weeks), plus 5 sick and 9 holiday.
Changed jobs and dropped to 15 days + sick + holiday.
Now I'm up to 20 days + 5 sick and 9 holiday. This is the cap.
My own company starts you at 10 to 15 days PTO (plus sick and holiday) depending on the # of years of experience that you have.
<5 is 10
5 to 10 is 12
>10 is 15
You earn an extra day a year, up to the cap.
If they cannot come up on vacation, or enough salary to make up for it, then I'd pass. And keep looking.