<prompt> Human: I M,22 currently work in digital marketing for a large company. I currently make 53kyear working 40 hours a week. I have been the company for 1.5 years and was promoted after 7months. Our team has recently experienced a lot of attrition leaving me as the most senior person in my position. After the last employee left my bosses sat my down and expressed how much they valued me and didnt want to lose me and they would try to keep me if someone reached out with a job offer. I started researching positions I am qualified for and found they pay between 55-65k and would be a step up the career ladder from my current position. I started sending out applications planning on only bringing up leaving my current company if I had an offer on the table. I was contacted by a large fast growing tech company that I felt had been a stretch to apply for but they really liked my resume. During the initial phone screen I made the mistake of answering the question of my current salary and expected salary. 55k 65k respectively. The recruiter didnt seem phased and said that shouldnt be an issue. After passing the phone screen I was set up with an in person interview. As it turns out the manager I would be interviewing with worked for my current company several years ago. This is where I messed up. I asked a co-worker I thought was a good friend if they knew the interviewer as they worked for my current company at the same time. They didnt recall the person but did look them up on LinkedIn and saw their current position. I went through the in person interview yesterday and it went well. I will have a final interview with the companies CMO in 2 weeks. Today I was called into my bosses office and he let me know someone had told him I was looking for a new job. I was honest and told him I had my eyes open for any opportunities and that it was primarily a money concern and that I enjoyed my current position. He said he would talk to the director about a raise for me and asked what I was looking for I told him 65k. Later today I was called into the directors office and we talked about what I was looking for and he asked me what I needed to stay and I also told him 65k. He expressed that would be a large raise but he would see what he could do. I am worried that I have a target on my back now and that they will keep me around long enough to finish current projects and then try to find a cheaper replacement. If I get an official offer from the company I am interviewing with it would have significantly more upward mobility than my current company but I would also be working 50 hours a week most likely. Not sure how to leverage the two companies offers for the best personal gain. I am also still putting myself through undergrad out of pocket. Any advice is appreciated.  <response>: Advice is to chill. As a manager this isnt a concern. Anyone who thinks their team isnt looking when things are bad and people are being let go is either deluded or doesnt care enough to bother thinking about it. Id probably give you something like work for 3-6 months or to the next pay raise cycle and Ill go to bat for you, basically to buy time at a lower rate than what you want. Delay delay. Until you quit or its a reasonable bump. 