Leveraging an employment offer from another company to get a raise….bad idea
Over the years I have heard some pretty creative ways of getting a raise. Some of the more creative approaches have been showing their employer written compensatory information that illustrates average salary for similarly educated and experienced individuals. Another method was to quantify their value to the company in a spreadsheet.
I actually saw a spreadsheet in excel with very nicely done charts and graphs detailing the amount of money they saved over their tenure, it was brilliant and very convincing. Unfortunately, that creativity is not often utilized. A more common tactic I’ve seen is threatening to leave by way of another offer. This tactic in my experience, can be very detrimental in the long run for a myriad of reasons. In this posting, I want to share some general thoughts on leveraging another offer to get a raise and how it can really come back to haunt you.
I want to get a raise!
I remember speaking to a candidate once about why he was looking, he was very blunt and remarked. “I want more money”. 
Ok, that’s reasonable, have you spoken with your current company about the prospect of a raise? He paused and responded, no, I was told by a friend that I should go in with an offer from another company and then request a raise or I would leave. I understood where he was coming from, he felt that using another company to quantify his value to his current employer provided him credibility in seeking a raise. The problem with that approach is threefold, number one it only considers what your current employer can you do for you now and not the future. Two, if your value is based on having to threaten your current employer, you’ve got bigger problems right around the corner. Finally, you might burn a bridge with the other company you are using to leverage their offer for your raise, if they find out.
That raise is going to cost you
So, your company decides they can’t lose you and counteroffer with a better salary and maybe they throw in some perks, mission accomplished. Not so fast, what about opportunities down the road, like promotions. Companies have a remarkably good memory when their hands are forced. When you go right into threatening them with leaving because you have another job offer this might discourage them from considering you for a promotion in the future. They might feel they can’t risk giving you that responsibility or making that investment if you are so willing to walk. Another thing to consider is that companies that are reluctant to give raises will most likely continue to NOT give raises in the future. Do you want to have to threaten your employer with leaving every time you want a raise? The best way is to approach your manager and discuss it with them. If they are unwilling to compromise in any way on compensation then at that point it is best to consider your options. One thing I always ask candidates when making a decision to leave is, do you like what you do and do you like the company. If those answers are yes, then sometimes money isn’t everything.
Its a small world after all.....
Remember that company you used to get your new raise? Well in most industries, especially in the engineering world, it is a small world. 
Like most people, the engineers that took time to interview you and probably genuinely liked you will probably not be pleased to learn they were part of your ploy to get a raise at your current job. I have seen this happen first hand with a candidate that had burned a bridge with another company due to leveraging an offer. The engineer after the interview mentioned that one of the team members looked familiar. When I contacted the manager about feedback he filled me in on “why that team member looked familiar”. The team member was previously an engineering manager who had offered this person a job. He found out through the grapevine that this person was dishonest with him and was just interviewing to get more money from his current employer. Long story short that interview blew up like a Tsar bomb.
Threats don’t make for good relationships
If you had to threaten your current employer for a promotion or salary increase, do you really think they value you? Maybe it was an oversight, most likely it wasn’t, and they are going to remember that you “forced their hand” in giving in to your demands. 
The problem now becomes the well is contaminated, your chance of promotion dramatically decreases, your level of scrutiny increases and unbeknownst to you, your employer might be looking for your replacement. When the company needs to make layoffs, who do you think will be on the top of the chopping block list, you know who.
Another page that is related to this posting is Counter Offers “some food for thought on WHY companies do them and WHY not to consider them”
