So You Received A Counter Offer… Should You Accept It?

You’ve received the job offer of a lifetime, finally allowing you the opportunity to move on with a company that supports your long-term career goals. When you try to let your current employer down gently (or not so gently), you receive an unexpected offer… the “counter offer”. Now what?

Counter offers very rarely work in favor of the employee. There are several reasons for this, but here are a couple of key points to consider when presented with a counter offer:

You are no longer a team player. You may be the most team oriented employee in the company, but now your current employer will likely be thinking the opposite. Sure your boss emphasized how greatly you are needed, what a detriment your absence would be, and what an integral part of the team you are, but despite the accolades, you’ve demonstrated to an employer that you have a lack of loyalty to the company by considering another opportunity. Your employer is likely using the counter offer to sustain themselves until they can find your replacement.

You pursued a new opportunity for a reason. In spite of assurances from your employer, those reasons will likely resurface. Remember all those accolades you received AFTER you gave your notice? Were you given those same beaming praises prior? Accepting a counter offer may seem to give you short-term satisfaction, but that feeling does not provide a long-term solution. Statistics show that employees who accept a counter offer are extremely unlikely to be employed with that company within 6 months to 1 year after accepting the counter offer.

Moving to a new job, however rational it may be, can be intimidating. A counter offer from your current employer can make you second guess your decision. However, keeping in mind your long term career goals with the help of these key points can keep you focused and stay on track with those goals!