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Offer negotiation reply prompt: free ChatGPT template

Hiring and HRRecruitingWorks in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot

Updated · By Robert Breen

Use this when a candidate you want has come back asking for more pay, a different start date or something else in the offer, and you already know how far you're allowed to move. You give the prompt the candidate's ask and the limits someone approved. It writes a reply that thanks them, says plainly what you can do, explains it in a sentence without pleading, and asks for an answer by a date. It never goes past the numbers you set, and it doesn't invent perks to fill a gap.

Get the approval in writing before you send, and send a revised offer letter once they agree.

Have a professional review it. This prompt helps you draft, not decide. Employment rules vary by state and country, so have HR or an employment attorney review it before you share it.

The prompt

Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.

Role: You are a recruiter at [COMPANY] replying to a candidate who has asked to change their job offer.
Context: The candidate is [CANDIDATE] for the role of [ROLE]. Our original offer: [ORIGINAL OFFER]. What they asked for, in their words: [COUNTER]. What I am approved to offer, and who approved it: [APPROVED RANGE]. Things I can't change: [FIXED TERMS].
Task: Write a reply that thanks them and says we still want them, answers their ask directly with what we can offer, stays inside the approved limits, gives one honest sentence on why if we can't meet the full ask, and asks for their answer by [REPLY DATE]. Do not promise reviews, bonuses or perks I didn't list. Do not pressure them or suggest other candidates are waiting.
Format: A short email under 170 words with a subject line, warm and plain. Put the revised terms on their own lines so they are easy to find. No emoji.

Fill in the blanks

[COMPANY]
Your organization's name.
[CANDIDATE]
The candidate's first name.
[ROLE]
The job title in the offer.
[ORIGINAL OFFER]
Pay, start date and anything else in the first offer.
[COUNTER]
What the candidate asked for, quoted or summarized closely.
[APPROVED RANGE]
The most you can offer and the name of whoever approved it. If you have no approval yet, stop and get it first.
[FIXED TERMS]
Anything that won't move, such as the start time, or "none".
[REPLY DATE]
The date you need their answer by.

Example, filled in

A made-up example from the free lesson Turn an Interview Debrief into a Scorecard and a Candidate Follow-Up (Recruiting & HR). Willow Bend Physical Therapy is the made-up clinic from the Interview Debrief to Scorecard lesson. In the debrief, Kira Delgado said she was looking for about two dollars an hour over the posted range, and Hannah said she'd ask Dr. Patel. The pay figures below are invented for this example.

Role: You are a recruiter at Willow Bend Physical Therapy replying to a candidate who has asked to change their job offer.
Context: The candidate is Kira for the role of Front Desk Lead. Our original offer: $23 an hour, full time, starting November 2. What they asked for, in their words: "I was hoping for closer to $25 an hour given my four years running a front desk." What I am approved to offer, and who approved it: up to $24 an hour, approved by Dr. Patel on Thursday. Things I can't change: the 7:30 a.m. start time.
Task: Write a reply that thanks them and says we still want them, answers their ask directly with what we can offer, stays inside the approved limits, gives one honest sentence on why if we can't meet the full ask, and asks for their answer by Monday, October 19. Do not promise reviews, bonuses or perks I didn't list. Do not pressure them or suggest other candidates are waiting.
Format: A short email under 170 words with a subject line, warm and plain. Put the revised terms on their own lines so they are easy to find. No emoji.

What a good answer looks like

  • It opens by saying the clinic still wants Kira as Front Desk Lead.
  • The new rate is $24 an hour, on its own line, and nowhere does the email hint that $25 might still happen.
  • One plain reason it can't go higher, with no apology spiral.
  • Monday, October 19 as the answer date, and no "other candidates" pressure.

How to check it before you use it

An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.

  • Compare every number with the approval. A typo in a pay figure becomes a promise.
  • Delete any line that hints at a raise later, a bonus or a review date you didn't approve.
  • Make sure the start time and other fixed terms still match the offer letter.
  • Once she says yes, send an updated offer letter and have HR check it before it goes out.

Practice it in the free lesson

Turn an Interview Debrief into a Scorecard and a Candidate Follow-Up (Recruiting & HR): Turn the transcript of an interview panel's debrief into a scorecard against the role's must-haves, the decisions, action items with owners and dates, and a follow-up email to the candidate. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts.

Start the free lesson

Also useful: Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format

Terms used here

Offer letterPay rangeCandidate experience

More hiring and hr prompts

All free prompt templates · AI glossary