The prompt
Score 10 of 10, Excellent
Use it when You want your employer to pay for a course or certification and need a request that sets out the cost and the time against the benefit to your work.
- {{manager}}
- {{course}}
- {{course_details}}
- {{role_and_work}}
- {{team_benefit}}
- {{sharing_plan}}
- {{timing}}
- {{policy}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
Write a request to {{manager}} asking the company to pay for {{course}}, so that they can approve it quickly, or take it to whoever holds the budget, with the cost, the time and the benefit to my work in front of them. About the course (provider, cost, length, format, dates, any exam): {{course_details}} My role, and the work it would help with, with current examples: {{role_and_work}} How it would help the team, not just me: {{team_benefit}} How I will share what I learn: {{sharing_plan}} Timing (budget cycle, course deadlines): {{timing}} Our training policy or budget rules, if any: """ {{policy}} """ Produce: 1. The request email, under 250 words, with a subject line. In this order: what I am asking for, in one sentence, with the cost and the time; why it matters for my current work, with one or two real examples; how the team benefits and how I will share what I learn; how the time would work (work hours, my own time or a mix); what I am asking them to do, and by when. 2. A fallback I could offer if the full amount is not possible, such as part funding, a cheaper option or a later date, built from the details I gave. 3. Answers to up to four likely objections, two sentences each. 4. Points to check in the policy before I accept, such as whether I would have to repay the cost if I leave within a set time. The tone should be confident and practical, like a business case rather than a favor. For example, a benefit line could read: "The course covers the reporting tool we adopt next quarter, so I could build the team's dashboards instead of waiting for the analytics team." That example shows the form only. Do not overstate the benefit, invent a return on investment, or hint that I might leave if the answer is no. Use only the cost and details I gave. If no policy is given, add a question to ask HR about training funding and any repayment terms. If the course details are missing the cost or the time needed, write [ADD: cost or time] rather than estimating.
Variables
- {{manager}}
- Who you are asking, for example "my manager" or "the head of the department".
- {{course}}
- The course or certification, for example "a project management certification".
- {{course_details}}
- Provider, cost, length, format, dates and any exam.
- {{role_and_work}}
- Your role and the current work the course would help with, with examples.
- {{team_benefit}}
- How the team would benefit, for example "we could stop paying an outside consultant for this".
- {{sharing_plan}}
- How you will pass on what you learn, for example "a lunch session and a shared checklist".
- {{timing}}
- Budget cycle and course deadlines, for example "budgets are set in October; enrollment closes September 30".
- {{policy}}
- Your training or education policy, pasted, or "none that I know of".
Why it works
- What good looks like. The request reads as a business case, with the cost and time set against current work, which is what a budget holder needs to say yes.
- What to avoid. No invented return on investment and no hint of leaving, both of which make a reasonable request feel like pressure.
- If unsure. Missing costs become [ADD] placeholders, and without a policy the plan adds a question about repayment terms before you accept.