Receiving a counter offer can feel flattering. After all, it’s reassuring to know your employer values your contribution. Before making a decision, though, it’s worth taking a step back and asking yourself one simple question.
Why did you decide to look for another job in the first place?
If your only reason for leaving was salary, then perhaps a counter offer genuinely solves the problem. More often than not, however, people decide to move because of a combination of factors. They may be looking for greater responsibility, better career progression, more interesting projects, improved management or simply a fresh challenge.
A salary increase doesn’t automatically address those issues.
It’s also worth considering timing. If your employer was able to improve your package after you resigned, it’s reasonable to wonder why those conversations only started once you had accepted another role elsewhere.
Every situation is different, and there are certainly occasions where accepting a counter offer is the right decision. The important thing is to make the decision for the right reasons rather than in the emotion of the moment.
As recruiters, our role isn’t to tell candidates what they should do. It’s to help them think through the options carefully and understand the long-term implications of each choice.
At ASL Technical, we’ve spoken to many engineers facing this decision over the years. The candidates who make the best choices are usually those who remember why they started looking in the first place and focus on where they want their career to be in two or three years’ time, not simply next month.
Final Thought
A counter offer may change your salary overnight, but only you can decide whether it changes the reasons you wanted to leave.
Photo by Sebastian Herrmann on Unsplash
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