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Research a fair salary before you negotiate

A sensible salary range for your role and area based on public sources, and a calm script for asking for it.

CareersBeginner20 minAI assistant
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When to use it

Before an offer conversation or pay review

Step by step

  1. Gather real salary data

    Look up advertised salaries for similar roles on job sites, plus any public salary surveys for your field and area. Note five to ten examples.

  2. Ask the AI to make sense of it

    Paste what you found into your AI assistant with this prompt. If it can search the web, ask it to add sources too.

    Prompt to copyI'm a [job title] with [years] years' experience in [location], working in [sector]. Here are salary figures I've found for similar roles: [paste with sources]. Work out a realistic range (low, typical, high) and explain what pushes someone towards the top, such as specific skills, responsibilities or certifications. List the sources you used and how reliable each is. Then write a short, polite script for asking for [amount] in an offer conversation, plus answers to 'what are your salary expectations?' and 'that's above our budget'.
  3. Check the sources

    Open any sources the AI mentions to confirm the figures are current and relevant to your area.

  4. Practise the conversation

    Ask the AI to play the hiring manager and push back, so you can practise staying calm and clear.

What you get

Range for Payroll Administrator, 3 years, Leeds: £25k to £31k, typical £27.5k. Higher end: payroll qualification, multi-site experience. Script: 'Thank you for the offer. Based on my research and my experience running payroll for 200 staff, I was hoping for £29,500. Is there flexibility?'

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