When You Can’t Match the Offer

A rite of passage every engineering leader eventually faces

Sooner or later, it happens.

One of your strongest engineers walks in with an offer that looks like it escaped from another financial universe. Bigger salary. Better title. Sometimes both. Occasionally double or triple what you can reasonably propose.

For first-time engineering leaders, this hits like cold water.
It feels personal.
Like failure.
Like you “lo…