Counter Offer - What to consider?

Ever resigned from a job only for your Company to panic and present you with a very attractive offer to stay? Yes - a very appealing thought in principle…clearly, they value you!!

Or do they? What you may not realize is that you may be putting yourself and your career on shaky ground. While the initial idea of accepting a counter offer from your employer could seem very attractive- this may come back to bite you later on and could actually be counter- productive to your career.

The stats are there and back up what we continue to see working with candidates who report being more unhappy in their roles after they accept these offers. Why? There are many reasons - here are a few things to consider before you stay:

1.       These offers are a temporary fix - the reason you decided to look for a new role will not magically disappear. What were the reasons for looking in the first place

a.       Were there limited growth opportunities available?

b.       Had you become unaligned with the values of the Company?

c.       Were you looking for a pay rise?

It is likely that these niggles will remain and you may be looking for another job just a few months later?

2.       Often your company will look to recoup these costs down the road by not offering you an increase or promotion in coming months and years

3.       You may lose trust and credibility with your employer - once they know that you put enough effort into finding a new job that you received an offer, the working relationship could be damaged, one way or another.

4.       You may burn bridges with the recruiter and the company who made you another offer- it is unlikely that they will consider you for future roles because they do not trust your motivations for wanting to move positions.

While accepting a counter offer is not always a bad thing, consider very carefully your reason for wanting to make a career move to begin with. Make a list of pros and cons and try to take a long-term view of your career, even if staying may seem like the ‘easier’ option.

We want to hear from you! Have you ever considered accepting or accepted a counter offer and what was your experience?

contact@4crecruitment.co.za or www.4crecruitment.co.za