The damage of the Counter Job Offer
Is there any situation where a counter job offer is in fact a good thing to do? Can It ever be offered in the spirit of fair opportunity? Is it as damaging as everyone says?
57% of staff accept a counter offer. That’s no small number of actively job seeking individuals. It’s also a lot of very unhappy employers who have had what they thought was a new employee pull the plug at the 11th hour.
But in the spirit of fairness it’s obvious why they are accepted. You know the systems and the customers, you know the rhythm of work, you’ve all come through the pandemic and survived and grown. It’s hard to leave that behind. It’s confusing, and conflicting, to quit.
How is a counter offer directly damaging to your career?
It’s worth exploring why exactly accepting a counter job offer is damaging to your career path: after all, it seems like a good deal at the time, and you (more than likely) have either a promotion or a pay rise in your back pocket.
Let's take a look at the more long term damaging impacts of a counter offer:
Broken Trust and No Way Back
- You and your employer have crossed a line that you cannot return back over, and unfortunately accepting a counter offer signals your willingness to U turn on a major career decision that did not, until the 11th hour, involve them.
- The implicit trust between you and employer has been broken, and that generally ushers in a period of time where your working relationship will degrade. The relationship built has been, although not destroyed, tarnished.
- This is why up to 80% of staff who have accepted a counter offer go on to quit within 6 months. The cards have been dealt and there’s no way back.
Stuck in the Mud
- For whatever reason you took to change jobs, you have to ask yourself post-counter offer acceptance - will anything really change? At the end of the day if a counter offer was made because your employer cannot afford to replace you, that signals they’re keeping you around as a cost saving exercise. That doesn’t scream valued relationship.
- In this regard it is always wise to remember why you were leaving in the first place - hone in on that energy and emotion and remember the reasons for why this new role was so enticing. .
Job Acceptance Hack! Damaged Network
- The recruitment world is smaller than you think!
- To accept a job, and renege at the last minute, is incredibly poor form, unprofessional and screams of lack of commitment. You never know when that recruiter, or company, may cross paths with you in the future and having burned those bridges doesn’t do well for your industry standing.
First In First Out...but you’re Top
- Loyalty is hard earned and easily lost, and when you infer that you’re happy leaving your company, when issues arise you may be at the top of the list. We can’t speak for all employers of course, but put your feet in your bosses shoes and you’d feel the same: if your employee was willing to leave, what’s actually keeping them here beyond the next paycheck?
Everything from your job security to your network relationship is potentially under threat by accepting a counter offer. Don’t be confused by the inflated income.