The Competing Offer Scenario
It’s one of the most stressful moments in any hiring process: you’ve identified your first-choice candidate, invested weeks in assessment and interviews, and you’re ready to make an offer—only to learn they’ve just received a competing proposal from another employer.
This scenario is increasingly common in competitive talent markets, particularly within marketing, creative and PR disciplines. Candidates with in-demand skills are often progressing through multiple processes simultaneously, and the employer who hesitates at the final hurdle frequently loses out.
The question is not whether this will happen, but how you’ll respond when it does.
Why Hesitation Costs You the Candidate
When a candidate tells you they have another offer, they’re usually giving you between 24 and 48 hours to make a decision. Some employers treat this as pressure tactics or attempt to slow the process down by asking the candidate to wait while they ‘discuss internally’ or ‘finalise the package.’
This approach rarely works. Hesitation signals uncertainty, and uncertainty makes the competing offer—often already confirmed and clear—look like the safer choice. Candidates interpret delay as a lack of conviction, and they move on.
The employers who secure first-choice candidates in competitive situations are the ones who act decisively.
If You Want Them: Move Immediately
If this candidate is genuinely your first choice, your response should be swift and unambiguous:
- Confirm your offer immediately, in writing if possible, with full details of salary, benefits, start date and any flexibility you can provide.
- Make the candidate feel actively wanted—reiterate why you’re excited to have them join, what they’ll be working on, and the impact they’ll make.
- Be clear and specific. Vague promises to ‘come back to you soon’ will lose you the candidate.
- If there’s a genuine commercial reason you need a few hours—sign-off from a director, for example—communicate that transparently and give a hard deadline.
Speed and clarity signal confidence. They also show respect for the candidate’s position and make your offer feel like the right choice, not the risky one.
If You’re Unsure: Step Aside Gracefully
Not every competing-offer scenario should end with you matching or exceeding the other proposal. If you’re hesitating because you’re not certain this candidate is the right fit, or because the salary expectation feels uncomfortably high, that hesitation is valuable data.
In these situations, the professional response is to step aside quickly and graciously. Thank the candidate for their time, wish them well, and move on to your second-choice candidate or reopen the search.
Trying to keep a candidate warm while you ‘think about it’ is rarely fair to them or productive for you. It prolongs uncertainty, damages your employer brand, and often results in the candidate accepting the other offer anyway—leaving you back at square one, but several days behind.
Anticipate the Pressure Point Before It Happens
The best way to handle a competing offer is to reduce the likelihood of being caught off guard by one. That means:
- Running a tight, respectful process with clear timelines and minimal delays between stages.
- Being transparent about your salary range and package early, so candidates can self-select and you can compete on realistic terms.
- Understanding what other employers in your market are offering, and ensuring your proposition is competitive before you reach offer stage.
- Asking candidates openly where else they’re interviewing—not to pressure them, but to gauge timing and manage your own decision-making.
We work with employers to stress-test their proposition, timeline and offer strategy before candidates enter final stages elsewhere. Every candidate we introduce has been spoken to and assessed, and we provide honest market advice on what it takes to win in a competitive hiring environment.
Final Thought
When your first-choice candidate has another offer, you have a narrow window to act. Speed, clarity and confidence win. Hesitation and delay lose. Know which candidate you want, know what you’re prepared to offer, and be ready to move decisively when the moment comes.