Do I Accept the Counteroffer?

Well, it's perfect isn't it? You are not happy with your paycheck and start a discreet job search. After a few interviews, you land a job that pays you much better than your current job. You go to your manager to hand in your resignation, and he offers to increase your pay in order to retain you. But, should you accept his counteroffer?

Most career counselors advise against accepting a counteroffer. They say that if you are not happy at your job, more money will not change the situation. Further, this may just lead to breaking the bond of trust between you and your manager and he will never be able to trust to stay with the company for the long term. This lack of trust may severely limit your chances of growth at your current company, and unless you show striking achievements, your pay and designation will not improve much in the long run. There is also a chance that since you manager now expects you to jump ship at the first opportunity of a better pay, he may start looking for your replacement and train him to do your job. In such a case, you will ultimately have to leave the job, but not on your terms; this time round it will be on your employer's terms and not to your advantage.

Moreover, most recruitment experts state that the chances of an employee leaving the job six months after accepting a counteroffer to stays are pretty high. This is because the primary reasons for your looking out for another job and deciding to quit in the first place may not be addressed adequately. And, if these issues continue to remain, it is only a matter of time that the sheen of the extra money will fade and you will be dissatisfied with the job again.



Also, if and when your coworkers get to know about the counteroffer and your acceptance of this offer, they may get envious of you and start talking behind your back about how unfair it is for you to get a raise just because you handed in your notice. This is healthy neither for you nor for your company.

Instead when you realize that you are unhappy with your job, talk to your manager about it. Tell him the reasons for your dissatisfaction and see if there are ways in which you can improve your work environment. Managers usually appreciate such frank conversations and get reassured that you are interested in keeping your job and improving your skill-set in order to grow. Such a proactive approach to solving your problems will ensure that your manager guides you better and helps you resolve the issues in a mature and fruitful manner.

If however even this does not help and the issues that make you unhappy remain, start looking for alternatives but don't jump at the first opportunity that you get. Evaluate all your options carefully and accept only the offer that you are truly happy to receive and that you would not want to give up for any counteroffer that your current employer may make.