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Help users navigate the end-to-end negotiation process for product and engineering roles, from initial recruiter calls to evaluating startup equity and final offer signing.
Passed 22 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 17 of 22 without it.
and 5 more in the full report
5 fixed17 passed either way0 still failing0 broke
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
One of 5 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
I just received an offer for a Staff PM role, but the base cash salary seems below market while the equity package is quite large. I specialize in a technical AI domain and want to make sure I'm not taking a hit on base pay. Could you help me evaluate this offer package, provide a breakdown of how to value my domain expertise against standard job levels, and outline how to address potential low leveling feedback with the hiring team?
| Checked | Without skill | With skill |
|---|---|---|
| Advises conducting negotiation conversations over the phone rather than via email. | Missed | Passed |
| Explains that individual contributor domain experts can achieve pay parity with management levels. | Missed | Passed |
| Recommends requesting interviewer feedback to address leveling misconceptions prior to countering. | Missed | Passed |
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
Master the art of benchmarking, intelligence gathering, and collaborative negotiation to maximize your total rewards.
Help the user with negotiating tech compensation using insights from 1 guests and posts across Lenny's Podcast and Newsletter.
From "The 10 commandments of salary negotiation": "Every recruiter worth their salt will ask about your salary expectations when you first start interviewing. Do not — I repeat, do not — give them a number. What to do instead: Ask for the range they’re budgeted for the role."
Start the negotiation during initial interviews by asking for the budgeted salary band instead of providing your own expectations.
From "How much product managers make in the U.S., Europe, and Canada": "At Tesla, Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple, Meta, Google, and Netflix (the Magnificent 7), the starting base salary for a (non-APM) PM is $136,000, $156,000, $158,000, $158,000, $167,000, $199,000, and $343,000, respectively. Netflix and Tesla are low on equity, while Meta, Google, and Nvidia are quite high."
Identify if a company uses a high-cash model like Netflix or a high-equity model like Google to tailor your negotiation requests.
From "How much product managers make in the U.S., Europe, and Canada": "The biggest salary jump happens going from L4 to L5 and M3 to M4. And then from VP to CPO."
Identify the 'jump' levels in standard frameworks, such as reaching L5 Senior, where you have the most leverage for a significant pay increase.
From "How much do U.S. product managers really make?": "You shouldn’t have to rise into management in order to increase your compensation. You’re equally or just as valuable not as a manager [but] as a domain expert. And that’s step one, understand that you’re really, really, really valuable as an IC."
Use level-specific data to prove that your value as a specialized domain expert is equivalent to that of a manager when requesting higher base pay.
From "The 10 commandments of salary negotiation": "Initial offer comes in low: The team may have felt that you have a lot of “room for growth.” In this case, my advice is to dig deeper and ask the interviewer to share feedback from folks who met you to fix any misconceptions before you ever negotiate."
Understand where an initial offer sits within the company's internal salary band to determine if you should push for a higher starting point or address performance feedback.
test cases passed, vs 17 / 22 without
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