If the offer isn't real, be prepared for the company to tell you to take the other offer if you want the money (or potentially just pull the offer on you).
However, if you have two offers for $X, if you tell at one company that the other offer is for $1.25X, and they tell you to take the other offer... you still have that option, and you haven't lost anything (you have to reject one of those offers anyway).
That's the gamble, correct.
If you're slaving in interviews and only have one offer, I can see why the offer is compelling. In this current market, I totally get it. But just a couple short years ago, the parent poster's approach was probably sound.
> The second offer does not have to be real
Lol people explicitly directly ask to see offer letters. Bluffing like this is a great way to actually have the negotiations end prematurely because you're found to be operating in bad faith.
> explicitly directly ask to see offer letters.
and you tell them that the company do not want their offer to be revealed due to confidentiality reasons. The first employer would need to take your word for it. And if they deem you lying, they can always stand hard on their offer, and risk losing the candidate.
Oh well? If the employer is negotiation hard enough that one feels the need to make up another offer, a deal wasn't going to be reached anyway.
The second offer does not have to be real. If it's real, what's the point of negotiating with the first company?
If you are not willing to work for $X, simply saying that you want $1.25X won't work, but mentioning a hypothetical competitive offer might. If it doesn't, well, you weren't going to take the job (for $X) in either case anyway.