How to Draft an Offer Letter from a Comp Band
Offer-letter prompts fail by completing the package. They invent a start date, an equity grant, a bonus target, a sign-on, and a "standard" PTO policy. A candidate forwards it. You now have a document that looks like a promise. The job is a draft from the band and notes you actually have, labeled not legal advice, with NO_DATA where the package is still open.
The matching generator is the Offer Letter Draft from a Comp Band (Not Legal Advice) prompt. Browse related cards in the PromptDig library (Browse more prompts). When a filled run survives, share the version you actually use (Share a prompt).
Band, role, and facts only. No market-data theater.
Paste company context, the role, level, location or remote policy, the approved band, and any numbers compensation already signed. Notes can hold the recruiter recap: manager name if allowed, reporting line, contingencies (background check, work authorization) that you actually use.
The source map quotes Metrics for cash and Notes for everything else. If the band is 145-165 and the offer is 152, write 152 because you typed it. If you only have the band, the draft should show the band or a blank for the exact number, not a midpoint the model prefers.
Do not paste Glassdoor, Levels, or a "market 60th percentile." Those are not Inputs. Do not invent a peer company's grant size to justify yours.
Not legal advice, and equity stays off the page until it is real
Put a not-advice banner on the output. This is an HR operations draft. Counsel, or your HRIS template owner, still owns the real letter.
Do not invent:
- Share counts, strike, or percent-of-company
- Bonus percent if Metrics are silent
- Sign-on, relocation, or visa sponsorship
- PTO days, holidays, or "unlimited" language
- At-will vs contract, non-compete, or garden leave
- Benefits waiting periods
- Start date and response deadline
If Notes say "equity TBD, refresh not discussed," the letter draft must not include an option paragraph. A placeholder headed NO_DATA is better than a fake 0.08 percent.
De-identify candidate emails and salary history if those leaked into the paste. Banned words: guaranteed promotion, best offer, #1 place to work. Compensation promises not in Inputs stay out.
Draft, gaps, and the questions still owned by Comp and Legal
The main deliverable is a letter draft: greeting, role, manager if named, location, cash from Metrics, other components only if present, contingencies from Notes, next steps without fake dates, closing. Parallel NO_DATA list. Risks: jurisdiction, overtime classification, union, and immigration if those appear in Notes without policy text.
Next questions, owners unassigned unless you named Comp, Legal, or the hiring manager: exact start, equity paperwork, bonus plan document, relocation, equipment. Gaps: missing entity name, missing state, missing FLSA class, missing template version. Version-lock the HRIS if you named it. Otherwise unknown.
Do not format this as a signed PDF. It is a draft for a human to drop into the real template.
A worked pass: cash yes, folklore no
Band 145-165, approved cash 152, location remote-US, equity TBD, start date unknown. The draft states role, 152, remote-US, and a not-advice banner. Equity is a heading with NO_DATA, not 0.15 percent and a four-year vest you copied from a blog. PTO is omitted. The response deadline is omitted. Background check stays if Notes named it.
If the recruiter recap said "bonus discussed, number not approved," bonus is NO_DATA, not 10 percent. Do not add a sign-on to "stay competitive."
Next questions, unassigned: equity paperwork, start date, entity name, state addendum. The human drops the surviving paragraphs into the real template. Nothing in this card is a signed offer.
Fill the card, then run
Paste the band, the exact cash number if you have one, and only the extras Comp already approved. Leave equity blank if it is still TBD.
Company, entity, role, level, location: [Context]
Recruiter / hiring notes (paste): [Notes]
Approved numbers only (cash, band, extras): [Metrics]
Audience (candidate, internal approvers): [Audience]
Tone: [Tone]
Legal / compliance notes: [Compliance]
Start date, equity, bonus, PTO if approved (else omit): [Package]
Words I must not use: [Banned]
An offer letter is a promise with a letterhead. The generator should leave holes, not fill them with market folklore. When a run keeps equity in NO_DATA, share that filled card with Comp. That is the draft you can actually send to counsel.