If you are willing to entertain offers from other companies, it is your
personal obligation to inform these companies of your initial offer as quickly as
possible. You may have only one or two others that are even in the running.
If so, restrict these multiple offer tactics to them.
Contact the person within the company who would be your hiring manager.
Let that person know that you have received a competitive offer and tell the
manager which company made the offer. The reason for giving out the
company name is that you usually will not have to disclose the dollar amount,
since most industry insiders have at least a general idea what others in the field
are paying. Don't be surprised if the manager suddenly backs off, because they
may realize that their company cannot match the other company's wage/benefit
package or other perks. If you have scored your initial hit with an industry
leader such as P&G in Consumer Products, Boeing in Aeronautical
Engineering, Microsoft in Software, or another
market leader, you may find it difficult to draw a second offer, except, perhaps, from won of the other wanna-be-giants.
The true giants are tough to beat. It takes time to put together a competitive offer and some of second-tier
companies may be just as willing to back away as to put up a fight. If this happens and you
have a true preference for the other company, let them know in very direct
terms that you are still more interested in them than the company that made the
initial offer. Bigger is not always better.
You will find that once the first offer comes in, it is often quite easy to
generate others. If you have done an
excellent job of developing yourself
differentially from your competition,
employers will know they have to react
quickly to sway you to their side.
You may have the uncommon luxury of
choosing who you want to work for. While
others are scratching and begging for an
offer--any offer--you actually have the
difficult (?) decision of deciding which
company you like best. Keep all the
negotiations open and honest. You will find
that honesty is not only "the best policy," but
also your greatest competitive advantage. If
one company comes up $2,000 short of what
you would accept, discuss it with the
appropriate party. The company would much
rather shoot at a specific target. For more specifics on negotiating your offer,
see the "Successful Job Offer Negotiation" Section.
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You will find that once the first offer comes in, it is often quite easy to
generate others. If you have done an
excellent job of developing yourself
differentially from your competition,
employers will know they have to react
quickly to sway you to their side.
