Three interviews deep, your hiring manager is excited, you're drafting the offer, and the candidate casually mentions: "By the way, I have another offer I'm considering." Cool. Cool cool cool. Don't panic. Here's what you actually do.

First, Breathe and Get Information

Your instinct might be to immediately counter-offer or match. Resist. Ask questions first.

"Congratulations on the other offer. Can you share what's attractive about it?" You need to understand what you're competing against. Is it money? Title? Flexibility? Company prestige? You can't strategize blind.

"What's your timeline for deciding?" Critical information. If they need to decide tomorrow, you're in scramble mode. If they have a week, you have time to present a compelling case.

Figure Out If They're Genuinely Torn

Some candidates use competing offers as leverage. Others are genuinely struggling to decide. The difference matters.

Signs they're actually interested in you: they brought up the other offer early, they're asking detailed questions about your role, they're engaging in discussion about trade-offs.

Signs they're using you for leverage: vague details about the other offer, focused only on compensation, resistant to discussing non-monetary factors.

Don't Immediately Throw Money at It

Knee-jerk salary increases rarely solve the underlying issue. If they want the other job more, an extra $5K won't change that. If they want YOUR job more, money might not even be the deciding factor.

Instead: "Let's talk about what matters most to you in your next role." Then actually listen. If they value remote work and you're requiring in-office, more money won't fix that disconnect.

Present Your Strengths Clearly

This is your chance to articulate why your opportunity is better. Not defensively, strategically.

"Here's what makes this role unique..." Focus on what they've expressed interest in during interviews. Growth potential, team culture, project ownership, whatever resonated with them specifically.

If you genuinely can't compete on certain factors (they're offering $20K more and you don't have budget), acknowledge it. "We can't match that salary, but here's what we CAN offer that they might not." Honesty beats desperation.

Know When to Walk Away

If they're clearly using you as a negotiating chip with their preferred company, stop playing. "It sounds like the other offer is a better fit. We'd love to work with you, but only if you're genuinely excited about this opportunity."

Sometimes this actually works. Candidates respect the boundary and realize they were being manipulative. Sometimes they take the other job. Either outcome is better than being strung along.

The Counter-Offer Play

If you DO decide to increase compensation or improve terms, make it contingent: "We're willing to go to $X because we think you're exceptional. But I need to know you're seriously considering us, not just gathering data points."

Never counter-offer out of panic. Counter-offer because you genuinely believe they're worth it AND they're genuinely interested.

Timeline Management

If they have another offer with a deadline, work with your hiring team to expedite. "Let me see if we can get you an offer by [date] so you have both options to compare fairly."

But don't compromise your vetting process just to compete with timeline. Rushing a bad hire because you were afraid to lose them is worse than losing them.

The Follow-Up

After the conversation: "I appreciate you being transparent about the other offer. We're excited about the possibility of you joining our team. Let me know what other information would be helpful as you make your decision."

Then give them space. Badgering doesn't work. Candidates need time to process.

Real Talk

You will lose candidates to other offers. That's the game. Your job isn't to win every time, it's to compete effectively when you have a genuinely good opportunity to offer.

If you're regularly losing candidates at offer stage, the problem isn't individual negotiations - it's your comp structure, your process speed, or the roles themselves.

But in the moment, when a candidate drops the other-offer bomb? Stay calm, gather information, make a strategic decision, and don't let panic drive the bus.

Good luck. You've got this. And if you don't? There are other candidates. Always.