# "We'd love to keep you"

## This week's cartoon

![Cartoon: on the left, an employee with a white face and glasses sits at a horizontal desk, a gold cuff on his wrist chained and locked to the desk. Beside him a grinning manager faces the reader holding a thin MATCHED envelope. On the right a narrow staircase is blocked by a gold kid safety gate; at the top a closed office door bears a gold star. Manager says, "We'd love to keep you."](../../img/cartoons/we-matched.jpg)

> _They matched the number. They closed the door._

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### Script

**Situation:** You have an outside offer on the table. Your manager comes back with a match, warm praise, and a plea to stay. The number closes most of the cash gap. Nothing is said about level, scope, or what happens to your path once you decline the outside seat.

> "I appreciate you moving so quickly on the number, and I want to be clear about what would make staying the better deal. The outside offer includes a level move and a clear scope. If I stay, can we put the same things in writing here? A level or title change, the scope I would own, and a review date in the next two quarters where we check both. A cash match alone keeps me in the same seat with a higher floor. I need the path to move as well, or the outside offer is still the stronger deal for me."

**Why it works:** It thanks them for the match so you do not sound greedy, then names the three things a counteroffer usually skips. Level, scope, and a dated check. Cash without those three is a retention payment, not a career move. If they cannot put any of it in writing, you have your answer while the outside offer is still live. Take the number only if the door behind you actually opens.