Quitting a job is never easy. Career changes are tough
enough and the anxieties of leaving a comfortable job, friends
and environment for an unknown opportunity can easily cloud
anyone's judgment. But what should you do when your current
employer "muddles the waters" even more by asking
you to stay.
A counteroffer is an inducement from your current employer
to get you to stay after you've announced your intentions
to accept another job elsewhere. And, in recent years, counteroffers
have practically become the norm.
If you are considering a counteroffer, remain focused on
your primary objectives. Why were you looking for another
job to begin with? If an employee is happy with their current
job and/or salary, they're usually not paving the road with
resumés. So, oftentimes a counteroffer that promises more
money never really remedies the real reasons for wanting
to move on in the first place.
Apart from a short-term bandage on the problem, nothing
will change within the company and when the dust settles
you can find yourself back in the same old rut. Recruiters
report that more than 80% of those who accept counteroffers
leave, begin looking for another job, or are "let go"
within six to twelve months after announcing their intentions.
Counteroffers are certainly flattering and make an employee
question their initial decision to leave. But oftentimes
they are merely stall tactics used by bosses and companies
to alleviate an upheaval a departing employee can cause.
High turnover also brings a boss's management skills into
question. His reaction is to do what's necessary until he's
better prepared to replace you.
What kind of company do you work for if you have to threaten
to resign before they pay you what you're worth?
The things they'll say:
"You can't leave, the department really needs you."
"We were just about to give you a raise"
"I didn't know you were unhappy. Why didn't you come
to me sooner? What can we do to make things better?"
Again, stay focused on your decision and your opportunities.
You need to ask yourself: What kind of company do you work
for if you have to threaten to resign before they pay you
what you're worth?
Where did the money for the counteroffer come from? Is
it your next raise or promotion just given early? Are future
opportunities limited now? Will you have to threaten to
leave again for another raise or promotion?
You've demonstrated your unhappiness and will be viewed
as having committed blackmail in order to get a raise. Your
loyalty will also be questioned come promotion time.
Well managed companies rarely make counteroffers since
they view their employment policies as fair and equitable.
If you do consider being "brought back", obtain
the details of the offer in writing, as well as a one-year
"no-cut" contract from the employer. If they refuse,
as two-thirds of counteroffering employers do, your decision
to leave is made.
Look at your current job and the new position as if you
were unemployed, then make your decision based on which
holds the most real potential. It's probably the new job
or you wouldn't have accepted it in the first place.
