When a candidate has another offer, clarify their decision timeline and the questions that matter to them. Give an accurate account of your opportunity, resolve what you can, and communicate your own constraints honestly.
Do not invent urgency, demand confidential offer documents, or disparage another employer to influence the decision.
Ask what is useful to know
Invite the candidate to share the timing and the aspects of the decision they want to discuss. They do not need to disclose another company's private terms to receive clear information about yours.
Useful questions include: “What remains unclear about our role?” and “What information would help you compare the opportunities?”
Avoid treating the existence of another offer as a negotiation tactic by default.
Separate the open questions
| Question type | Appropriate response |
|---|---|
| Role scope | Confirm responsibilities and decision rights |
| Team or manager | Arrange a relevant conversation |
| Working conditions | State the approved arrangement |
| Compensation | Explain the approved package and any review process |
| Company uncertainty | Share permitted, accurate context and acknowledge limits |
| Timing | State when your team can make a decision |
Do not promise a change before the appropriate person approves it.
Focus on the candidate's priorities
Illustrative conversation: A fictional candidate is choosing between a role with deeper technical specialization and one with broader product ownership. The hiring manager explains the actual work and access to support, rather than arguing that breadth is inherently better.
A clear comparison may lead the candidate to choose the other role. That is preferable to securing agreement through an inaccurate description.
Use deadlines carefully
If there is a genuine business reason for a decision date, explain it. Consider reasonable requests for time where the company can accommodate them.
Do not label a deadline as immovable if it is an arbitrary persuasion device. If a delay changes hiring plans, state that fact without threats.
Keep changes in writing
If the company approves a revised package or role condition, update the appropriate documents and summarize what changed. Make sure everyone communicating with the candidate uses the same version.
Avoid a stream of informal promises from different team members.
Close the conversation respectfully
Ask whether the candidate has the information needed to decide and explain the next step. If they decline, acknowledge the decision and keep any future contact within their preferences.
Use the offer decision brief to organize confirmed terms and the motivation conversation guide to understand priorities earlier in the process.
If one of the offers is a founding engineering role, how to evaluate a founding engineer offer sets out what to compare.