Counter Offer
A new position has been offered to you after you reworked your CV, scoured job boards, and practised multiple interview scenarios. You're euphoric and envisioning a bright future at your new employer. Everything has been completed. Right? But what if that isn't the situation?
An enticing offerfrom your current employer may convince you to reconsider your decision to leave. What's your final decision?
Aside from the fact that there is no "one size fits all" answer when it comes to counter-offers, there are a few things you should keep in mind when evaluating your next move.
Feeling Undervalued?
You may have sought a new position because you felt undervalued, but if you're worth the higher salary and added responsibilities, why did it take you giving notice to realise this?
An employer may not be interested in hearing about all of your long-term career goals if they are only willing to pay what you're worth when you're ready to leave the company. It's also important to keep in mind that finding a replacement for you could cost anywhere from £3,000 to £10,000 in fees and time/resources.
Short Term Fix
A counter offer may only provide a short-term fix to larger problems at your current employer, unless you were solely looking for new opportunities because of a higher salary.
However, even though a higher salary counter-offer can be enticing, you must take some time to really understand whether the extra pay is worth a temporary sweep of problems like work-life balance, role duties and responsibilities.
Most people who accept a counter-offer for salary reasons are dissatisfied again a few months later, in our experience at least.
Employer Trust
One of the problems with a counter-offer is the employee to employer trust issues that arise post acceptance. Once you’ve demonstrated to your company you are willing to leave them, you may notice a change in your team/leaders behaviour within the first few weeks/months as they question your loyalty, which you will need to win back.
Consider Offer Details
As mentioned before, there is no one size fits all approach to the counter-offer. If your decision is purely based on the role duties, but you love the company, shifting to a new role internally is worth consideration.
If your current company is willing to offer you a more-fitting role internally, and you’ve worked hard to build relationships and processes in your current company, this can sometimes be a good option for your career.
Don’t Burn Bridges
If you decide not to stick with your current employer, use the opportunity to thank them for the offerand your time at the company, but reaffirm your decision to leave.
It’s not a wise move to burn bridges at this point, don’t start listing all the problems in your role/company, you never know if you may end up working with previous managers and leaders in the future.
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