Having two offers at once is rare and powerful. It changes a salary conversation from "please give me more" to "here is what the market is paying me." But it is easy to overplay and blow up both. Here is how to use a competing offer to get a better deal without bluffing or burning a bridge.
Get both offers as real as possible first
Leverage only works if it is true. A vague "I think I could get more elsewhere" is not leverage, it is a bluff a recruiter will call. A written offer with a number, title, and start date is leverage.
Do not start negotiating with Company A until you have something concrete from Company B. If your second option is still two interviews away, you do not yet have a competing offer, you have a hope.
Decide what you actually want
Before you talk numbers, know your real goal. Are you trying to get more money from your preferred company? Or are you genuinely willing to take either one and just want the higher figure? These lead to very different conversations.
If you have a clear favorite, you are negotiating to make that one work. If you are truly neutral, you have more room to push. Be honest with yourself, because the recruiter will read your answers either way.
How to actually raise it
Keep it factual and unemotional. The script that works:
- Lead with genuine enthusiasm for the role you want. "I am excited about this and would like to make it work."
- State the competing offer plainly. "I have another offer at [figure / level]."
- Make a specific ask. "If you can get closer to that on base, I am ready to sign."
Give them a real number and a clear path to yes. Vague pressure makes people defensive. A specific, signable ask makes it easy to say yes.
Do not bluff and do not threaten
Never invent an offer. Recruiters talk to each other, sometimes literally know the other company's bands, and a bluff that gets called destroys your credibility for the rest of the process. If they ask for proof and you have none, you have lost more than the raise.
Keep the tone collaborative, not adversarial. You are not threatening to leave, you are sharing information that helps both sides land on a fair number. The moment it feels like a hostage situation, you have lost goodwill you will need later.
Be ready for any answer
They might match it. They might partially move. They might say no and hold firm. Decide in advance what you do in each case, because you may have to answer on the spot. If you got the competing offer largely to extract a raise from your current employer, know that accepting a counter-offer carries its own risks worth weighing.
If you are early in this process and still assembling applications, getting your materials sharp matters first. Postulit can build a strong CV from your LinkedIn profile so you reach the offer stage in the first place.
The takeaway
A competing offer is leverage only when it is real, specific, and used calmly. Get both offers concrete, decide what you want, lead with enthusiasm, state the number, make a clear ask, and never bluff. Done right, you raise your pay without losing a thing.