Salary Negotiation
Market research, compensation benchmarking, BATNA, total comp analysis, and offer evaluation
Install
$ agentstack add skill-cosmicstack-labs-mercury-agent-skills-salary-negotiation ✓ scanned · ✓ verified — works with Claude Code, Cursor, and more.
Security review
✓ PassedNo issues found. Passed automated security review. · v0.1.0 How review works →
- ✓ Prompt-injection patterns
- ✓ Secret / credential exfiltration
- ✓ Dangerous shell & filesystem operations
- ✓ Untrusted network calls
- ✓ Known-malicious package signatures
What it can access
- ✓ Network access No
- ✓ Filesystem access No
- ✓ Shell / process execution No
- ✓ Environment & secrets No
- ✓ Dynamic code execution No
From automated source analysis of v0.1.0. “Used” means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it’s unsafe.
About
Salary Negotiation
Negotiate compensation effectively and professionally.
Preparation
Market Research
- Levels.fyi: Tech compensation by level and company
- Glassdoor: Company-specific ranges
- Blind: Anonymous peer data
- Otta: Startup salary benchmarks
Know Your Numbers
- Target: Ideal offer (stretch)
- Acceptable: Minimum you'd sign
- Walk away: Below this, you decline
BATNA (Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement)
Your strongest leverage is having another offer. If you don't:
- What's your current comp trajectory?
- How much runway do you have?
- What's the opportunity cost of waiting?
Negotiation Scripts
When they ask "What are you targeting?"
"Based on my research (levels.fyi, other offers) and experience in [area], I'm targeting a total compensation of [target]. I'm flexible based on the overall package — equity, benefits, and growth opportunities all factor in."
When they give the first offer
"Thank you for sharing this. I'm excited about the role and team. Based on my research and experience, I was hoping for something closer to [number]. Is there flexibility in the offer?"
Total Compensation Breakdown
| Component | What to Evaluate | |-----------|------------------| | Base Salary | Guaranteed cash | | Equity | Type (RSU/options), vesting schedule, dilution | | Bonus | Target %, structure, historical payout | | Benefits | Healthcare, 401k match, remote stipend | | Perks | Learning budget, equipment, travel |
Key Rules
- Always negotiate — even if the offer is good
- Never give the first number
- Negotiate on value, not need
- Be professional and gracious
- Get everything in writing
Source & license
This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.
- Author: cosmicstack-labs
- Source: cosmicstack-labs/mercury-agent-skills
- License: MIT
- Homepage: https://skills.mercuryagent.sh
Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.
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Versions
- v0.1.0 Imported from the upstream source.