COUNTEROFFERS
Deciding to leave your job in pursuit of another, more challenging or potentially rewarding position is a very important and often very emotional decision. After doing all the work that goes into assessing your current job, deciding to leave and interviewing with multiple suitors, you are faced with telling your current employer that you are leaving. In effect telling him that you have found something better than he had to offer you. In many situations your current employer does not believe he is in a position to lose you or is taken by surprise by your announcement. In these situations, you may often be presented with some form of counteroffer.
A counteroffer is an offer, either real or implied, from a current employer, put forth to you in an attempt to keep you from leaving. Counteroffers are typically made upon giving notice or upon an employer being made aware that you may be looking for other work.
There are essentially two types of counteroffers. The first is a genuine reaction to your notice with concrete material and intangible substance, which might include, more money, a new title or more attractive working conditions. The second and more common counteroffer is the emotional and desperate empty promise made by an employer who has been caught off guard by a valuable asset who has decided to leave.
This first type of counteroffer is very rare. The reason that this type of offer is very rare is that in a healthy working relationship, these variables are regularly discussed between productive employees and competent management. These are not issues that are swept under the rug and ignored until both parties reach an impasse. Another reason for the surprise reaction could be a working environment in which the employee and boss simply have no control over the future of their destinies and are simply numbers in the grand scheme.
The second type of counteroffer is an unfortunate circumstance for the employer for sure. It need not be an unfortunate circumstance for you. In the event that you have gone all the way to turning in your notice and then your boss suggests he cannot live without you, you need to ask yourself how things got this far before you got your bosses attention. There are very few employers that will make substantial changes for any individual employee. In addition when you give notice you have basically informed your current employer that your loyalties have shifted elsewhere.
If you consider accepting a counteroffer you should be advised of potential consequences:
- The vast majority of people who accept counteroffers are back on the job market within 6 months
- The next time you take time off for a doctor’s appointment or some legitimate reason, your intentions will be questioned.
- It is likely that for the next visible and challenging project that comes along, you will be last on the list for consideration.
- A $20,000 per year raise isn’t $20,000 if you only get it for 3 months.
- The next time your company needs to lay people off, you will probably find yourself near the top of the list.
- 3 Months after you accept the counteroffer you will probably find that all the reasons you wanted to leave in the first place are still nagging at you.
- Promotions will become that much more elusive.
If you have taken the time to perform your job at the highest level possible, reached out to your employer to discuss the challenges and opportunities that exist for you internally and then gone to the lengths necessary to secure another position anyway????
Then you should probably accept your new position enthusiastically and don’t look back.
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