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Compare two job offers side by side without a verdict

Practice: Asking for a format you can use. About 5 minutes.

About this exercise

You have two job offers and will decide with your partner on Sunday. You want a phone-friendly comparison: a first line with each offer's first-year pay (base plus signing bonus), then exactly 4 numbered points that each compare both offers, under 120 words, plain text. No recommendation: you'll decide yourselves. Watch for a correction and a rumor in your notes. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

  • Asking "which should I take?". The AI happily picks a winner for you, even though it doesn't know what matters most to you and your partner. Try: Add: "Don't recommend either offer. Just compare them."
  • Missing the corrected bonus. The offer letter says $5,000 in bold numbers. The AI often uses it and misses the HR correction below. Try: Add: "Use the corrected Lakeview bonus from the HR email."
  • Getting a long table or essay. AI defaults to a big markdown table or a pros-and-cons list for each offer, hard to read on a phone. Try: Be exact: "Exactly 4 numbered points, each comparing both offers on one topic. Plain text."
  • Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting. Ask for "under 120 words" and it often lands well over. Try: Cap each part instead, like "each line under 15 words," so the total lands near 95.
  • Treating a rumor as news. The AI may repeat the Reddit layoff post as a real risk factor. Try: Add: "Use only the offer facts. Leave out the Reddit rumor or call it unconfirmed."

What a strong prompt includes

  • Says how many points
  • Asks for first-year pay first
  • Asks for no recommendation
  • Handles the correction or rumor
  • Asks for plain text

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