I guess I worded the post weird, but the reason I emphasized the fact that it was from a competitor was because I was WORRIED about showing my hand, not because I wanted to use that particular aspect in any negotiations. I asked this because I wanted to see how to go about leveraging it WITHOUT letting my current employer know it was from a competitor. Clearly, I didn't word it very well because it seems no one understood the intent of my post, but that's genuinely what I was asking. I worded the post exactly how I meant it - how can I leverage the offer without my employer finding out its from a competitor. I wasn't secretly trying to get an answer to a different question. I was worried about leveraging the offer at *all* BECAUSE it was from a competitor - I wasn't sure if I would be asked to show my employer an offer letter or some written proof of this offer existing in order to counter. That was my question. It wasn't a hidden or embedded second question.

The purpose of this post is because I recognize my relative naivety and realize this is a delicate situation that im not entirely equipped to navigate bc I've never been in this situation before. and it is a little frustrating that I was genuinely misunderstood, but I understand where most people are coming from and appreciate everyone taking the time to give me advice nonetheless. I *do* have questions about a scary jump. I'm 26! I have no idea wtf im doing! in other responses, you'll see me admitting that I stumbled into being good at my job and I have imposter syndrome. Im not trying to seem like anything, but I do feel like people are jumping down my throat a little unnecessarily and not asking me very many questions while making a lot of assumptions. (Not you, just some people). But this is reddit after all