Dealing With Counter Offers

Resigning from your job and accepting a new job offer are not decisions to be taken lightly.

It’s likely you have taken lots of things into consideration before handing in your letter of resignation, so how could you possibly be bought back so easily by a counter-offer?

It may be easy to forget why you were leaving when you’re offered a nice boost to your salary but, no matter what the counter-offer is, it’s unlikely that the underlying issues for your original job dissatisfaction won’t be resolved.

Here's a few reasons why you'd be absolutely mad to accept a counter-offer from the employer you were so set on leaving.

The reasons why you wanted to leave in the first place won't have gone away

You decided to leave your job for a reason. Unless your reason for leaving was solely the pay, it’s unlikely that your motives for looking for a new role have gone away. In fact, the problems that you had may even worsen after your managers and colleagues find out you have been bought back. The likelihood is that you’ll be looking for a new role again in no time at all, and this time you may not be in as good a position to land the new job you’re after.

Your loyalty will be questioned

If you do accept the counter-offer, your existing boss may still question your loyalty. It gives the impression that your relationship with the company is based entirely upon your salary. Not only were you going to leave, showing that you were unhappy in your role, but also you have shown that you’re a ‘flight risk’ even though you’ve been “bought back”.

Working relationships may sour when your colleagues find out that you’ve been given a pay rise after threatening to resign. Some people may view this as unfair or even as a form of blackmail.

Is this the type of company you want to work for?

If it takes a resignation for your company to offer a pay rise or a promotion, then you have to ask the question, is this the type of company you really want to work for? It will often be the case that it’s easier for your company to keep you with a counter-offer than replace you. Don’t be overly flattered by their buy-back proposition, as the cost of replacing you can be more than giving out a pay rise.

It could hinder your chances of promotion or pay rise

In buying you back with their counter-offer, your employer has probably just given you the promotion or the pay rise that you deserved anyway. This means that any chance of progressing through the business has moved even further into the future than before the counter-offer was accepted.

It damages your reputation with other companies

Another company has invested their time, money and faith in you through the selection process and decided that you’re the right person for their role, so losing you to a counter-offer isn’t something they will take lightly.

Ultimately, accepting a counter-offer will probably be a short-term fix for a long-term problem which is why we would always advise against accepting one. Take a step back from the situation and reflect on why you left in the first place and what you’re looking for in your career, don’t make any decisions that you may come to regret!

Whether you're a candidate looking for a new role or a business looking for new candidates, We're Here To Help! Why not get in touch and see just what we can do for you today?