eastrunner

I hear this is common practice, has anyone done it? although the 'potential' move is to a not so desirable city within the gulf?

ER

uk_grenada

reddiva

Pre 2009 counter offers used to be popular and due to this we lost many candidates
This week and last week In order to secure more money at their current company 2 of my candidates showed their employer their offer letters. It didn't work for them as they refused to increase their salaries and said if you want to leave then go
It all depends on how much your employer wants you to stay. As the other posters said i would remove all the company info

weasel decentral

People have done it to me,in the sense of here's a better offer I'm off if you don't match it. My feeling is that if it was such a great offer you'd be handing in your resignation not giving me a chance to better it, so I don't give counter offers.
uk_grenada is right, you may hint at it so it's in employers' mind come bonus or increment time but the direct approach means you have to be prepared for your bluff to be called, or even if you get a counter offer they are already starting to source your replacement.

Millhouse

I would always seek to remove such a person and I would certainly not negotiate against a threat.

omega7

The OP is probably referring to a real (current) case whereby you have a job in a nice GCC location e.g. Dubai, and you get an attractive offer for a not so nice GCC location e.g. Doha or even worse, Saudi.

There are two options:

1) the offer is not really one you would take, then you say nothing and life goes on, or
2) the offer is good and everything else being equal you will take it, unless your employer makes a move. So, on the understanding that in all cases you have an offer which you are willing to take, then i would talk about it with my current employer (no need to show any details). I think the key here is ensure that this offer is not seen as a blackmail, and for this a friendly chat with your employer is needed (depending of course on your relationship with your boss) e.g. saying that you are pressured financially and although you don't want to leave, there is a good offer on the table and you would like to know what you may expect from your current employer in the next year or so.

If your current employer offers you a better deal, you could stay. If not, then you take the offer. I think the key is to be willing, once you have this discussion with your employer, to walk out of the door if he doesnt offer anything extra (concrete). It'd be really bad if you told him about the offer, only for you to stay without your employer giving you anything.

There are of course many different options and scenarios. I just wrote a generic one, from my own experience.