Why You Shouldn’t Apply for a New Job Just to Force a Counteroffer

In a competitive job market, it’s understandable that some professionals might consider using a job offer as leverage to secure a better salary or position. After all, if your employer values you, surely they will step in to keep you?

However, applying for a new role with no real intention of leaving, purely to spark a counteroffer, is a short-sighted and risky approach. Here’s why.

1. It Damages Trust
When an employer makes a counteroffer, it is more than just a financial gesture. It signals trust and a willingness to invest in you. If that offer has only been prompted by the threat of resignation, the working relationship can quickly become strained. Most employers will recognise the tactic, and once trust is lost, it is difficult to rebuild.

2. Counteroffers Rarely Solve the Real Issue
While pay might be the tipping point, it is rarely the only reason people start job hunting. Whether it is lack of progression, workplace culture, workload pressure or leadership concerns, a pay rise alone will not resolve the underlying problem. In fact, many professionals who accept counteroffers end up leaving within six to twelve months for the same reasons that prompted their initial search.

3. It Can Damage Your Reputation
Word travels fast, particularly in close-knit industries. If it becomes known that you are using offers as leverage without serious intent to leave, it could harm your reputation with employers, recruiters and peers. Future opportunities may become harder to access if you are viewed as someone who negotiates in bad faith.

4. It Wastes Everyone’s Time
Interviewing takes time and effort for all involved – candidates, recruiters and employers. If you are only interviewing to gain an offer for negotiation, that time is taken away from candidates who genuinely want the role and from hiring teams who are looking to fill a real need.

5. You Might Miss the Right Opportunity
If you are only applying for roles as a bargaining tool, you are unlikely to engage with the process fully or objectively. This means you may overlook a role that could genuinely be a better long-term fit. Making career decisions based on tactics rather than goals rarely leads to meaningful progress.

6. What If the Counteroffer Never Comes?
Perhaps the most significant risk is that your employer might not make a counteroffer at all. You may then find yourself committed to a role or company you never truly wanted to join. At best, that leads to disappointment and frustration. At worst, it can derail your career progression altogether. Applying for roles without serious intent puts you in a weak position if things don’t go to plan.

What to Do Instead
If you feel underpaid or undervalued, speak to your employer openly and professionally. Set out the reasons why you believe a review is due, supported by evidence of your performance and market rates. Employers respect honesty and clarity far more than pressure or threats.

In Summary
Using a job offer as leverage might deliver a short-term win, but it often carries long-term consequences. Careers are built on trust, clarity and alignment – not brinkmanship.

If you are ready to move on, do it for the right reasons. If you are not, back yourself to have the right conversations where you are. You will thank yourself later.nk yourself later.