Offer management
Manage the offer lifecycle from internal approval through candidate negotiation and acceptance — offer construction, approval workflows, negotiation strategy, and counteroffer handling.
Supported tasks
- Building offer packages that align with salary bands and internal equity
- Designing and running internal offer approval workflows
- Preparing hiring managers and recruiters for salary negotiation conversations
- Handling candidate counteroffers and competing offer situations
- Managing candidates who receive a retention counteroffer from their current employer
- Communicating offer decisions clearly and professionally, including declines
- Tracking offer status, expiry dates, and follow-ups across open requisitions
- Structuring sign-on bonuses, relocation, and other non-base components
- Handling offer negotiation for internal transfers and promotions
- Documenting offer approval exceptions and internal equity reviews
- Coordinating offer timing with background checks and other contingencies
- Building offer letter templates by role type and jurisdiction
Key prompts
Constructing offers
- "Build an offer package for [role] at [level] within our approved salary band, including base, bonus, and equity components."
- "Design an internal offer approval workflow with clear escalation points for exceptions above band."
- "Draft an offer letter template for [role type] compliant with [jurisdiction] requirements."
- "What is the right mix of base, bonus, and equity for [role] at [level] to stay competitive without breaking internal equity?"
Negotiation
- "Prepare talking points for a hiring manager negotiating salary with a candidate who has a competing offer."
- "Draft a response to a candidate who countered with a number above our approved band."
- "How should we handle a candidate who wants to negotiate equity or sign-on bonus but not base salary?"
- "Draft guidance for hiring managers on what they can and cannot commit to during offer negotiation without HR approval."
Counteroffers and competing offers
- "The candidate received a retention counteroffer from their current employer — how do we respond without over-negotiating?"
- "Draft messaging for a candidate weighing our offer against a competing offer from another company."
- "What questions should a recruiter ask to understand what's really driving a candidate's hesitation before assuming it's about money?"
- "How do we handle a competing offer with a deadline that's shorter than our own approval process can accommodate?"
Process and tracking
- "Design a tracker for monitoring offer status, expiry, and follow-up actions across multiple open requisitions."
- "Draft a professional decline message for a candidate we're not extending an offer to after the interview stage."
- "How do we coordinate offer extension timing with pending background check or reference results?"
- "Design an offer expiration and follow-up cadence that creates urgency without pressuring the candidate unfairly."
Tips
- Set salary bands and approval thresholds before the search starts so negotiation doesn't stall waiting for ad hoc approvals.
- Address candidate concerns holistically — money is rarely the only factor; growth, team, and flexibility often matter as much or more.
- Respond to counteroffers calmly and quickly; delay signals disorganization and can cost the candidate to a faster-moving competitor.
- Put an expiry date on every offer and follow up proactively rather than leaving candidates in silence.
- Document any exception to standard bands so internal equity stays defensible over time.