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Salary negotiation prep, before the offer lands and the clock starts.

Most negotiation guidance is read after the offer arrives — which is the worst time to read it. The pre-offer prep companion is for the days before the offer, when there is still time to prepare a target, a counter, and the language to deliver both. The companion walks you through three things. First, the target — what range is reasonable for this role, in this market, given your background. Second, the script — how to receive the offer, how to ask for time, and how to deliver the counter. Third, the common counters from the employer side — "this is our final offer," "the budget is set," "we cannot match that" — and how to respond without losing the offer. Negotiation has good outcomes and bad outcomes, and no honest tool can guarantee the good ones. What this tool can do is make sure you do not give up money on the table because you were caught flat-footed at the moment the offer arrived.

How it works

Three steps, start to finish.

  1. 01

    You set the target range

    Using public market data, your background, and the constraints you know — like a hard floor based on runway. The companion will press if your range looks low for the role and explain when a stretch number is reasonable.

  2. 02

    You build the script

    The opening line when the offer arrives. The line that buys you time without sounding ungrateful. The counter, with the number, with the rationale. Each line is in your voice, drafted with the companion.

  3. 03

    You rehearse the common counters

    "This is our final offer." "The budget is set." "We have other candidates." Each one has a real response that does not blow up the offer. The companion runs through them so the first time you hear them is not the live call.

What makes it different

Why this is not the generic version.

  • Pre-offer, not post-offer. The work happens before the clock starts. By the time the offer arrives, the script and the counter already exist.
  • No false promises. Negotiation has bad outcomes too. The companion is honest about when a counter is risky and when a number is unlikely to move.
  • Handles the employer's counters. Most prep skips this. The most common moments where candidates lose the negotiation are the employer's three or four standard pushbacks — and they are all rehearsable.

Product visual

Target, script, and the counters you should not be hearing for the first time live.

Questions

Common questions

Will negotiation always increase the offer?

No, and any tool that promises that is selling. Some offers will move meaningfully. Some will move a small amount. A few are genuinely fixed and the negotiation conversation only confirms it. The honest read is that preparing well shifts your expected outcome upward — not that every individual case ends with more money. The companion will tell you when a counter is high-confidence and when it is risky.

What if I am worried about losing the offer entirely?

That fear is common and almost always larger than the actual risk. Standard, professional counters at reasonable numbers very rarely cause an offer to be rescinded — employers expect them. Where offers get withdrawn is around very large jumps, aggressive deadlines, or tone that reads as adversarial. The companion drafts language that stays inside the safe envelope while still doing the negotiation work.

Does it cover total compensation, not just salary?

Yes. Base salary is one variable, and for many roles it is not the most flexible one. Sign-on bonuses, equity grants, vesting schedules, PTO, remote flexibility, and start date are often easier to move. The companion helps you build a target across the full package and prioritise the levers most likely to give. The script accounts for negotiating non-salary components without losing the room.

What if the employer asks for a number first?

The companion has language for that exact moment — how to deflect early, how to give a range when deflecting fails, and how to position the range so it does not anchor you below your target. Sharing a number first is generally worse for the candidate, and the script protects against it without making you sound evasive. If you are forced to share, the range you share is one you have already pressure-tested.

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