A Worker Who Lied About A Competing Offer To Negotiate A Better Salary Asks How To 'Maneuver' The Situation When They Ask To See The Offer
“A nonchalant slip in the conversation is one thing. Making up a job offer with a logo ... is straight-up forgery.”
insta_photos / Shutterstock If you’ve entered the job market lately, searching for your next position, chances are you can relate to the desperation many candidates have expressed on the “Anti Work” subReddit. From “horror stories” about interviews to underwhelming job offers, it’s not the exciting and motivating place it once was.
For one Reddit worker who recently posted to the forum after a strenuous job search, the possibility that she might lose her only job offer became unnervingly real. “I lied about a competing offer to get a higher salary,” she admitted in her post. “Now, they’re asking to see the offer.”
The worker was asked to send her competing offer letter to a potential employer after ‘lying’ in hopes of negotiating a better salary.
“I’m at the negotiating stage of the recruitment process,” she started. “I mentioned that I have a higher offer from another company that I’m still considering. Even though there was no other offer.”
Despite the challenges the job market has posed, she’s still hoping to meet her needs with this current company — using the made-up offer to advocate for a higher salary and better benefits package that she feels she both deserves and is entitled to.
“Since this was discussed during a call, the HR person asked me to email the concern to her so she could send it up to her manager,” she continued. "But then she also asked me to attach the other offer so that they could counter it. Plus, include the name of the other company if I am OK with it."
Of course, being that there was no other offer letter to send, as they’d requested, she wasn’t sure how to frame her follow-up email. Would there be consequences for lying to this potential employer? Would it be possible or legal to send a competing salary and package, even though it didn’t exist?
Desperate for advice, she looked to Redditors — “I’m not sure how to maneuver this situation. A nonchalant slip in conversation is one thing; making up a job offer with a logo and made-up signatures/names is a straight-up forgery."
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Commenters recommended the woman not send a 'forgery,' and instead express discomfort with sending the offer letter.
Recruiters are under pressure to deliver a quality candidate to their teams, so they’re almost always going to ask the questions you don’t want to hear. To the luck of this woman, she’s not under any kind of obligation to send a real offer letter back.
"The answer in itself is simple — 'I'm sorry, I'm not comfortable sharing the exact offer.' You could give privacy or whatever as a reason, but I would personally stay away from giving any reason at all," one commenter advised.
"Having said that, I myself would also give the outline of the (non-existing) offer. Base salary, bonuses, benefits," they added. "Don't make it too complicated. Point out the things that matter for you, if it is health insurance or just a high base salary, that's up to you."
While there’s debate in employment discourse about the ethicality of “lying” about competing offers, some professional career coaches urge candidates to do so, admitting “desirability” often leads to quicker offers, better compensation, and more intriguing benefits packages. However, there are lingering consequences for candidates who misuse the tactic or take advantage of “fake offers” in the process.
During the interview process, using this tactic can be relatively safe and straightforward. You’re not obligated to provide any offer letters or company information to HR, even when they urge you to.
However, there are unfortunate cases of current employees using “competing offers” to get better raises that ultimately led to legal action and termination over “distrust.” Of course, forgery of offer letters and company logos is illegal, so experts urge candidates to avoid that altogether.
At the end of the day, using this tactic could result in losing a potential job offer if the employer believes there’s suspicious activity. But, it could also help to increase your desirability to a company during the negotiation process. While it might not be “ethical,” there are success stories that make it a desirable tactic.
“A competing offer could be a way to speed up their interview process, just to get you an offer before you make any decisions,” recruiter @envisioninclusion suggested on TikTok, adding that it can also encourage higher salary offers. “But, that being said, if a company is on the fence about you, a competing offer can hurt your chances of landing the job … sometimes they might call your bluff.”
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories.