Are Counter Offers Worth It for the Employee?

Summary: If an employer gave you an offer after you told them you wanted to leave, would you take it? Be careful before accepting an offer like this from an employer.

Top 10 Reasons You Shouldn't Take a Counter Offer





What would you do if you went to turn in your resignation and your employer asked you what it would take to make you stay? Would you consider staying at your present job for more money, a promotion, or other benefits? Keep in mind, counter offers are generally not successful. No matter what the company says when making the offer, the person who stays will always be questioned in terms of loyalty. He/she is no longer considered to be a team player and will usually be the first to go if cutbacks occur.

Here are 10 of the top reasons why you should consider refusing a counteroffer:

1. The same circumstances that now cause you to consider a change will repeat themselves in the future, even if you accept a counteroffer.
2. There can be a strong impact on your sense of pride. You could end up feeling like you've been bought.
3. You have made your employer aware that you are unhappy. From this day on, your loyalty will always be in question.
4. What type of company do you work for if you have to threaten to resign before they give you fair market value for your skills?
5. Your company knows that you will probably leave and is likely to begin looking for your replacement, immediately.
6. When promotion time comes around, your employer will remember who was loyal and who wasn't.
7. Once the word gets out, the relationship that you enjoy with your co-workers will never be the same. You will forever be the defector who was brought back.
8. Where is the money for the counter offer coming from? Is it just an advance on a raise you would have received anyway?
9. When times get tough, your employer will begin the cutbacks with you.
10. Statistics show that 85 percent of those who accept a counter offer end up leaving - voluntarily or involuntarily within a year.

Although buyback offers can be tempting, take care not to be swayed. Career changes are tough as it is, and anxieties about leaving a comfortable job and having to prove yourself in a new place can be daunting. Just because the new position is a little scary doesn't mean it's not a positive move. When trying to determine which opportunity holds the most real potential, look at your current job and the new position as if you were unemployed. It is most likely the new one, or you wouldn't have looked for it in the first place.