The scenario
In new-offer mode, the AI presents an offer with a modest base salary offset by a commission on furniture and fixture sourcing that the firm frames as the real upside. You have to decide whether to push on the base itself or negotiate the commission structure, and hold that position once the firm counters that most designers earn well above base once sourcing income is included.
Internal-raise mode instead has you asking a principal for a base increase after bringing in a client relationship that's grown the firm's project pipeline, where the response leans on your existing sourcing income as a reason the base doesn't need to move.
What gets covered
New-offer mode covers negotiating a base salary against a sourcing commission structure, including pushing back when too much of an offer's real value sits in commission income that isn't actually guaranteed.
Internal-raise mode covers building a case for a base increase after landing or growing a client relationship, a different conversation than asking with no measurable change in your contribution, since it leans on a specific, demonstrated result.
Scoring
How scoring applies here
The penalty for an abrupt ending matters directly in this session, since a base-plus-commission structure has more than one part to actually negotiate, and stopping once the base number lands leaves the commission terms unaddressed. Closing deliberately, restating what was agreed on both the base and the commission structure, scores better than trailing off once the first figure gets answered.
Communication is scored alongside that closing behavior, checking whether the real priority, guaranteed base over commission upside, or the reverse, got stated clearly.
Frequently asked questions
Does the practice offer include a sourcing commission, not just base pay?
Yes. New-offer mode can be framed around a base-plus-commission structure, closer to how a lot of interior design compensation actually works.
Can I practice building a case for a raise after landing a client?
Yes, through internal-raise mode, which is built for exactly this kind of result-based compensation conversation.
Will the AI accept whatever number I open with?
No. It responds the way a real principal would, with pushback and counterarguments, so holding a position takes genuine back-and-forth rather than a single exchange.
What happens if I settle the base but never discuss the commission structure?
The session may end with that part of the structure unaddressed, and that costs points under the same scoring system used across every Intervieux interview.
Does the session distinguish base salary from sourcing commission as separate levers?
Yes. New-offer mode treats them separately, since a firm reluctant to move on base pay may still have room to adjust the commission structure.
Can I practice a raise conversation with no client win to point to yet?
Internal-raise mode works best with a specific result to lean on, but running it regardless is still useful practice for holding a position under pushback.
Related pages
Practice negotiating an interior design offer
Work through a base-plus-commission structure or a client-driven raise out loud, before that conversation happens with a real principal.