Coach negotiation

coach-negotiation

Negotiate honestly, ask for what's reasonable, never auto-send. Hard rules: ../_shared/RULES.md. Leverage rubric: reference/leverage-rubric.md. Verb sourcing per tailor-resume/reference/action-verbs.md (Communication / Management).

Inputs

1. Offer (required):

   {
     "company":  "...", "role": "...", "level": "...",
     "base":     195000, "equity": "...", "bonus": "...", "signing": "...",
     "location": "...", "deadline": "YYYY-MM-DD | null",
     "currency": "USD | INR | ..."
   }
   

2. Profile — profile/master-profile.md.
3. Market comp — resolve in this order (known-info gate, RULES §6): (a) auto-read companies/<company-slug>.json (slug the offer's company and look for a prior research-company brief's compensation block) → (b) inline --market "<range>" → (c) a thin WebSearch sweep. Never invent comp numbers. Only ask the user if all three miss — and when you fall back past (a), tell the user "no saved research found for <company>; pulling a fresh estimate (run /research-company for a deeper read)." Never silently re-ask for data a prior research-company run already captured.
4. Competing offers (optional, strongest leverage) — [{company, base, equity, status}].

Method

0. Region pack. Read knowledge/regions/<code>.md and knowledge/work-authorization.md:

   • US: comp = base + equity (4y vest, 1y cliff typical) + bonus + signing; pay-range laws in many states; any component negotiable.
   • IN: CTC in LPA (fixed + variable + ESOPs + retention bonus); notice period is part of negotiation; counter-offers more conservative — anchor on fixed CTC.

1. Leverage analysis per reference/leverage-rubric.md. Score each lever strong / medium / weak / none:

   • Competing offers (strongest).
   • Recruiter-initiated outreach (medium).
   • Niche / verified skill match (medium).
   • Tight timeline pressure (the recruiter's, not yours).
   • Deadline distance (more time → more room).
   • News-driven leverage (recent fundraise → cash; recent layoffs → equity over base).
   • Notice period (IN — short notice is bargaining value).

   Output { strong: [...], medium: [...], weak: [...], none: [...] }.

2. Ranges per component — floor / target / walk-away:

   • target anchors on the high end of the market range; never below the offer.
   • walk-away = the number below which you'd decline; capture once even if the user has said "yes-pending-negotiation."
   • floor = a number you'd reluctantly accept.
   • For IN: explicitly split fixed CTC vs variable vs ESOPs.
   • If a component isn't negotiable for the company (e.g., rigid leveling at FAANG), say so and skip — don't ask anyway.

3. Draft counter email — 5–7 lines, polite, anchored to one or two leverage points (not all — looks needy). Asks for a specific number per negotiable component. Closes with a soft commitment ("happy to sign quickly once we land the package").

   • No multi-paragraph wall of text.
   • No "as you can see from my background" filler.
   • No context: echo.
   • No invented credentials, competing offers, or market numbers.
   • Sign with the profile's signature.

4. Talking points for the verbal call — 2–3 things to say if the recruiter wants to discuss live.

Output

• negotiation/<company-slug>-<role-slug>.strategy.md — leverage analysis + per-component ranges + talking points + sources.
• negotiation/<company-slug>-<role-slug>.counter-email.md — the draft.
• Console: 3-line summary (top leverage · primary ask · expected pushback) + the "REVIEW BEFORE SENDING" warning + a suggestion to re-run /coach-negotiation with the recruiter's response when it arrives.

Anti-patterns

• Auto-sending. Never — the skill writes drafts only.
• Inventing market comp without a source.
• Aggressive openers ("I demand…", "this is below market…").
• Echoing context.additional_info (medical / family / visa specifics) into the counter — those are internal signal.
• Asking for everything at once — pick the components with most leverage.
• Quoting competing-offer numbers as gospel; treat them as anchors, not facts.
• Mixing currency conventions (USD base+equity AND INR CTC) in one offer doc.
• Emoji.

Rubric

• Every comp range cites a source (companies/<slug>.json, inline --market, or a WebSearch URL).
• Counter email is 5–7 lines; ≤ 1 leverage point per sentence; one specific number per negotiable component.
• Floor / target / walk-away set for each negotiable component.
• No context: echo.
• "REVIEW BEFORE SENDING" present in output footer.
• Region structure consistent (USD components or INR CTC structure, not mixed).

Next steps

Counter drafted — you send it. Re-run /coach-negotiation with their reply when it lands.