# Academia: standard practice to use outside offer as leverage? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 28, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academia-standard-practice-to-use-outside-offer-as-leverage/732845 "2015-09-28T16:32:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academia-standard-practice-to-use-outside-offer-as-leverage/732845/21 "2015-09-30T18:51:51Z")
Academia is different. Above you is a department chair who often wants to pay you more, the upper administration doesn’t want to. One time I got an outside offer for a position I was ambivalent about, but it was a significant raise (about 20%, IIRC) and the chair got the admin to match it. I was prepared to go though, even though it meant moving to another state. The next time I got an outside offer (unsolicited, I might add) I wasn’t interested at all. I took the letter to my chair and told him I had no intention of accepting it and he told me that that didn’t matter. He could use it as a lever to get me a raise. And did. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academia-standard-practice-to-use-outside-offer-as-leverage/732845/22 "2015-09-30T19:50:01Z")
As I said in the other thread, academia does not work like the rest of the world. Often, the only way to get a significant raise is to leverage an outside offer. And you don’ need to be prepared to take it (at least if you are tenured). If I get an offer, and my Uni won’t match it, and I decide to stay anyway, what are they going to do to me? Nothing. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academia-standard-practice-to-use-outside-offer-as-leverage/732845/23 "2015-09-30T21:42:05Z")
If you demand more but stay even if you don’t get it, you will never be able to try to use that kind of leverage again. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academia-standard-practice-to-use-outside-offer-as-leverage/732845/24 "2015-10-01T01:26:04Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > If you demand more but stay even if you don’t get it, you will never be able to try to use that kind of leverage again. Rubbish. If you’re good (strong research, high impact publications and lots of grant dollars) you can do it time and time again. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academia-standard-practice-to-use-outside-offer-as-leverage/732845/25 "2015-10-01T01:46:25Z")
> [@mozchron](#): > > Rubbish. If you’re good (strong research, high impact publications and lots of grant dollars) you can do it time and time again. Missed the edit window. Deans and Department chairs come and go. Circumstances and situations change. Just because you decide to stay this time doesn’t mean you won’t decide to go next time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/academia-standard-practice-to-use-outside-offer-as-leverage/732845.md?page=1)