How to deal with a counter offer

1. Should I stay or should I go .

If you hand in your resignation and your employer responds with a counter offer to entice you to stay, make sure you spend some time thinking back to what made you seek a new role in the first place. A counter offer may take many forms, including an increase in salary, additional benefits, a promotion, flexible working or improvements in the working environment. Make sure the counter offer you receive truly satisfies your main motivations for wanting to leave and turning down the new role you have been offered, otherwise the likelihood is you will be looking for a new job again in a few months time.

2. Motives and Trust – Why Now?

When candidates receive a counter offer, it may take them by surprise. Whilst weighing up the pros and con’s of accepting the counter offer you have received, make sure you also think about your current employers motivations and intentions for wanting you to stay. Will the fact you have resigned in the first place make your employer question your loyalty and why did it take you resigning for them to address the issues you had? Give careful consideration to whether accepting the counter offer is in your best interest or theirs!

3. Get a different perspective.

If you find yourself torn over proceeding with the new role you have been offered, or accepting a counter offer from your current employer we recommend you talk it through with a third party. This will hopefully enable you to strip out the emotions involved in your decision making and give you an alternative perspective, on the pro’s and con’s of each option. This coud also help you make the right decision for your long term career plans.

4. Avoid Burning Bridges.

Whether you decide to accept the counter offer or take the new role you have been offered, ensure that you handle your current employer and prospective employer professionally. It is important to protect your credibility and reputation, as you never know how things will work out in the future.

5. Always look at the bigger picture.

In the short term accepting a counter off based on a significant increase in your salary might suit your circumstances, but do ensure you give consideration to how this increase compares to the wider market. If you decide to stay with your current employer, give some thought to your longer-term plans and ambitions as you could make an external move in the future challenging, if your remuneration does not accurately reflect your value in the market.

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