Salary Negotiation
How Salary Negotiation works
You tell it about the role, what you earn and the offer. An AI HR person calls you with a hidden budget and real tactics, and the offer on screen moves only when you give it a reason. Here is how the HR decides, how the call runs, how your report scores you, and what it costs.
- A free 5-minute round
- The budget is set in code, not by the AI
- In your browser, nothing to install
5min
free round with the Friendly recruiter
7
HR people to practise with, from easy to hard
6
regions, each with its own pay parts and norms
7
skills rated out of 5 in every report
01 · Before the call
About two minutes of setup.
Pick your region and your situation: you have an offer, or the HR will ask what you expect before making one. Then tell it about the role and the company, what you earn now and the raise you want. It works out your target and your walk-away number from your current pay, so you never do the maths.
- Your current pay as a full breakup, or only the total
- The offer typed in, told to you by the HR, or read from your offer letter (PDF or photo)
- A raise to aim for (20, 30 or 40%) and a floor to walk away below (10, 15 or 20%)
- Optional, to make it more realistic: another offer, your notice period and buyout cost, and what you'd point to
Your offer letter is not kept. The figures are read into the fields so you can check and edit them; the file itself is not stored.
02 · The HR
Seven people you might negotiate with.
Each HR has a style and a set of tactics. Pick one, let it pick the HR a company like yours would use, or leave it as a surprise you find out in your report.
Friendly recruiter
Warm and encouraging. Has genuine room and gives it when you ask with a reason. The free round is always with this HR.
By-the-book HR
Polite and policy-driven. Says the band is fixed; more flexible on one-time and non-cash parts of the offer.
Busy hiring manager
Short on time and wants to close today. Anchors low, mentions other candidates, gives little.
Startup founder
Cash is tight, so it pushes equity and the mission instead of salary. Flexible on remote work.
Inexperienced HR
New to the job, with lots of room. Gives in quickly; the trap is asking for too little and stopping early.
Realistic for my company, or Surprise me
Realistic picks the HR from your company type and region. Surprise me picks one at random and names it in your report, as in real life.
The budget is hidden, and fixed before the call.
Before the call starts, the HR gets a brief you never see: the most it can give on each part of the offer. That limit is enforced in code, so no argument, tone or clever wording takes the HR past it. Within it, a part only moves when you give a reason, and each move is logged. Good reasons and a steady tone build goodwill; ultimatums, rudeness and repeating the same ask without a new reason cost it.
Tactics you may meet
- A low first number
- "The band is fixed"
- Hike policy
- A deadline
- Other candidates
- Asking your current pay
- Silence
- Perks instead of cash
- Equity instead of salary
- "Let me check with my manager"
- A last small ask
03 · On the call
The offer moves on screen as you talk.
The HR calls you by voice and goes through the offer. A live offer card shows every part, and changes the moment the HR concedes something. You speak your case, and you can also put numbers on the table yourself.
Counter-offer panel
Type the number you want for any part of the offer and send it. The HR answers it by voice.
"Let me check with my manager"
The HR can put you on hold for about 30 seconds, as real ones do, then come back with a revised position.
One coach hint
Stuck on what to say? You get one hint per call, on the call or while you're on hold.
Your decision
When the HR makes a final offer: Accept, Ask for time, Counter once more, or Decline.
It ends in writing, as real negotiations do. After the call you write the email you would send the HR to confirm the terms. A checklist ticks as you cover each point, and your report grades it.
04 · The report
What you won, and what you left on the table.
The numbers come from the call itself, not from the AI's opinion: how far the offer moved from the first number, and how much of the HR's hidden room you captured. Then seven skills, each with a score out of 5 and the reason for it, taken from what you actually said.
- The moments that mattered, with a stronger line you could have used
- Feedback on your follow-up email
- What to practise next, and which HR to try
- The HR named, if you chose Surprise me
68% of the roomFrom a first offer of 17.0 L, the HR could have gone to 20.6 L. You got 19.45 L, with a 1.3 L joining bonus.
Rules the scores follow
- A skill with no evidence in what you said can't score above 2.
- An ultimatum or a rude remark caps tone at 2.
- Taking the first offer without asking for anything caps anchoring at 1 and making the case at 2.
- A missing follow-up email, or one that leaves out the agreed terms, caps closing at 2.
05 · What it costs
Start free. Pick any HR with a credit.
Both end in the same full report.
5 minutes · free
- With the Friendly recruiter
- One free round per account
- The same report as a paid call
10 minutes · 1 credit
- Any of the seven HR options
- Taken when the call starts, once per call
- Given back if the call fails on our side in the first minute
Credits are shared with Resume Rebuilding, Job Match and Mock Interview, so one pack covers the resume, the interview and the offer. Packs start at ₹149 for 2 credits. See pricing.
FAQ
Questions about Salary Negotiation.
Is the HR a real person?
No. It is an AI HR person that speaks and listens in real time, with a hidden budget and tactics picked for its style. It is practice: nothing you say reaches an employer.
Will the HR give me whatever I ask for?
No. Its limit on each part of the offer is set before the call and enforced in code, so nothing takes it past that. Asking with good reasons moves the offer towards the limit; asking without reasons, or with an ultimatum, usually doesn't.
Do I need an offer to practise?
No. Choose "HR will ask my expectation" and the HR opens by asking what you earn now and what you expect, the way most job-switch conversations in India start. Practising a raise at your current job, or a counter-offer when you resign, is coming later.
Which countries does it cover?
India, the United States, the United Kingdom, the UAE and the Gulf, Germany and Europe, plus a general pack. Each has its own currency, pay parts and norms, so an India call talks about CTC, HRA and the joining bonus, and a US call about base pay, sign-on bonus and RSUs.
What does the free round include?
Five minutes with the Friendly recruiter, and the same full report a paid call gets. There is one free round per account.
What happens to my offer letter?
The figures are read into the offer fields so you can check and edit them. The file itself is not kept.
Can it tell me what to ask for?
It works out your target and your walk-away number from your current pay and the raise you pick, and during the call you can ask for one coach hint. Afterwards, your report shows a stronger line for the moments that mattered.
Where do my practice calls go?
Your calls and their reports are saved to your account and listed under Your practice calls on the setup page, so you can read them again or try the same scenario with a harder HR. See our Privacy Policy for how we handle your data.
Rehearse it before the real call.
Five minutes, free, with the Friendly recruiter. Your report shows what you won and what you left on the table.