This salary negotiation prompt is for someone who has a verbal offer but has not yet settled the pay. It first helps you sort out your reasons, your bottom line, and the order in which you will concede, then plays the employer in a practice round, so a flat "this is the number" does not leave you speechless. Replace the curly brackets below with your real situation, copy it to an AI, and you can start right away.
Copy this salary negotiation prompt and fill in your role and target
You are an experienced hiring manager rehearsing a salary negotiation with me. Use only the information I give you, and do not assume any benefits or job duties I have not mentioned.
Role and company: {{Role and company}}
Current pay and target: {{Current pay and target}}
Facts that prove my value: {{Facts that prove my value}}
Bottom line and concession order: {{Bottom line and concession order}}
Three benefits I value most: {{Three benefits I value most}}
Work in three steps: 1. First point out the strongest and the weakest point in my target, and explain why for each; 2. Play the employer and raise three lowball arguments. After each of my replies, point out one thing I could make more specific, then move on to the next round; 3. Finally, give me an opening line of no more than 80 words and a closing line that turns down a low number without burning the relationship. Do not accept any number on my behalf. If we cannot agree on pay, move to benefits and a review date first.What to put in the curly brackets so the negotiation has a backbone
| Bracket | How to fill it in | Example |
|---|---|---|
| {{Role and company}} | State the role, city, and company size | Product manager at a 200-person company in Beijing |
| {{Current pay and target}} | State what you earn now and what you want | Currently 18,000 yuan a month, targeting 22,000 yuan |
| {{Facts that prove my value}} | Write only checkable results, not self-praise | A project I led in the first half of the year raised conversion from 3% to 5% |
| {{Bottom line and concession order}} | State the lowest number you will accept and what you will give up first | Bottom line 20,000 yuan; give up annual leave first, then the allowance |
| {{Three benefits I value most}} | Rank them by importance, and list only three | Annual leave, remote work, pay review |
Decide your bottom line before you fill it in. If you enter the rehearsal without one, every number the AI suggests will feel "maybe acceptable," and you will still not know which line should stop the talk. Keep the results concrete too: writing only "I work hard" can be brushed off with "everyone works hard." State what you were responsible for and a checkable result, and the lowball arguments will have something solid to run into.
Fix these three things after rehearsing, before the real talk
- Can the opening line state your target and reason in one sentence? If not, cut the pleasantries and keep only the number and your strongest result.
- Does each reply to a lowball offer leave a way back? Every answer should be able to lead into "if this number does not work, can we talk about a review date or benefits?" rather than closing the door.
- Does the closing line refuse without damaging the relationship? Saying only "too low" can break off the talk. Change it to "I cannot accept this number; let us settle the review date and benefits first, then revisit it."
This prompt only rehearses wording. It does not check market rates, so judge whether your target is reasonable against job postings for the same role. If you have not reached the negotiation stage yet, use the mock interview prompt to practise interview answers first. Before pasting any material, remove ID numbers, phone numbers, and home addresses, and keep only the role and pay figures.
