In this article we are going to discuss the counter offer and share our thoughts, based on our experience, on why accepting a counter offer is really not in the best interest of your career.
Let’s start by looking at the reason you started looking for a new role in the first place. There are obviously many reasons why someone looks to move, it could be feeling undervalued, lack of career progression opportunity or lack of development opportunities. Whatever the reason you have to ask yourself “will this counter offer change any of the underlying issues I have with my current employer?”
However, if the move is purely money motivated the best thing for you to do is have a conversation with your employer to see if it can be resolved before you even start looking for a new role.
Accepting a counter offer purely based on money can make the relationship between you and your employer awkward moving forward. Your employer will no doubt feel you have backed them into a corner rather than having an honest and open conversation about your salary expectations. Yes, you have secured a pay increase, but should you really have to go through the whole job search and recruitment process to get this? No doubt your employer will be unimpressed, your reputation could be tarnished and the trust between you and your manager fractured.
Statistics show that when a counter offer is accepted, the employee usually stays for a 6 month period and then moves on. So, you have to be honest with yourself and make the right career choice that offers long term opportunity and success rather than short term gains that paper over the cracks.
We spoke to James Turner, who is a Director at Navartis with over 15 years of Recruitment experience and heads up our Power sector, he commented: “My advice is to always be respectful, honest and open with your current employer and give them the opportunity in advance to address your concerns, especially if this involves pay and conditions. However, if you have secured a new opportunity that seems the right fit then accepting a counter offer in my experience is often a quick fix that people often regret months down the line.”
We hope this article has given you some food for thought. Trust your instinct on why you wanted to move in the first place, accept the new role and move into a business that clearly wants you to be part of their team and future journey.
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