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Split a quarterly supply budget by headcount with interns
Practice: Giving the right context. About 5 minutes.
About this exercise
You're splitting the $1,800 quarterly supply budget across three teams by headcount, where interns count as half a person. Write exactly 3 numbered lines, one per team, each as Team: staff + interns x 0.5 = units x $per unit = $X, then one unnumbered last line: Total: $1,800. Plain text, under 70 words.
Common mistakes when you ask AI for this
- Not giving the intern rule. The AI counts interns as full people and gives $90 per person. Try: Add: "Interns count as half."
- Not asking to see the work. Team leads will argue with a bare number. Try: Add a line to copy: "1. Sales: 8 + 2 x 0.5 = 9 units x $100 = $900"
- Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it. Try: Cap each line: "each line under 14 words."
- Forgetting where it goes. AI loves markdown tables and bold, which show up as clutter in an email to team leads. Try: Add: "Plain text, no bold, headings or tables."
What a strong prompt includes
- Gives the intern rule
- Splits by headcount
- Asks to show the math
- Sets a word limit
- Asks for plain text
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