Counter Offer
Handing in your resignation is, without a doubt, a daunting task. You have to be ready for anything, especially a counter offer. Do not forget that your boss probably knows what buttons to press to keep you around.
Be extremely cautious of any counter offer from your current employer; accepting one could be a big mistake. For the most part, accepting a counter offer from your current employer is career suicide. Statistics show that 72% of people who accept a counter offer leave their employer within one year.
Here are some points to consider before accepting a counter offer:
- You should not have to threaten to quit to get a raise or promotion
- If you stay, your loyalty will always be questioned
- The organisation is probably making you an offer in order to buy time while they search for your replacement
- After the excitement of a raise or promotion wears off, the issues that motivated you to search for a new job will still remain
- You will not be as focused on your work as you were before
- The organisation is looking out for its best interests, and not yours
- Your employer will remember your resignation when the time comes to promote or cutback members of the team
- If a salary increase is offered, where is the money coming from? Maybe you are being given your next raise in advance
- Your relationship with co-workers may never be the same. You could be seen as an outsider
Organisations can use many tactics to try to entice you. They may offer you a raise, a promotion, or promises of better conditions. They may even bring in the CEO to make you feel special.
Accepting a counter offer will have an impact on your current position, as well as an impact on the new company offering you a job. The hiring organisation has invested time and money recruiting you. Consider what that organisation will think when you take back your promise to join them. Your career will take many turns, and you never know how a decision today will affect you in the future.
In order to avoid these scenarios, your resignation letter should clearly and politely communicate your intent and leave no room for discussion. Do not look back once you make up your mind to leave.