In recruitment, we try as hard as we can to secure the best package for our candidates, which doesn’t necessarily mean the highest salary. A great package could consist of salary, bonuses, flexibility, lifestyle benefits, healthcare etc. Every now and then though, a candidate will entertain a counter-offer from their existing employer after handing in their resignation.

While this can be frustrating for a recruiter, given how much work goes in to get a candidate to offer and acceptance stage; accepting a counter-offer can be detrimental to the candidate also. Before you dismiss this statement as just the musings of a recruiter, hear me out…

The biggest problem with counter offers is that they are usually formulated by taking an existing offer and modifying it with some ‘killer feature’, usually monetary but not always. Here are a few real-world scenarios (and scenarios I have been through with candidates) to consider and why taking a counter-offer can be counter-productive:

Candidates that are leaving for a bump up in salary are often lured back in by their current employer with an even higher salary. “We’ll match what they are offering and some”.

Sounds great right? What could go wrong? Well… sometimes people forget their long-term goals and what this could mean for them down the track and more often than not it doesn’t work out how they hoped.

We have had this situation in the past and six months later we may get a call from the candidate to say they have been made redundant.

The employer has done so much to keep that person that they haven’t really thought about the long-term ramifications of paying someone way over market rate. This can then make it hard for a candidate

Jane Doe is leaving to take a step up in her career. A promotion. She has been offered a great role with a nice little pay-rise too. When she goes in to resign, her employer realises how amazing she is and that they should have offered her a promotion month’s before. So, they offer her a promotion on the spot.

Jane Doe stays in said role and six months later realises the new role isn’t what was promised. Jane now regrets not taking what could have been her favourite job to date in favour of “well I know the company so I might as well stay”. Jane is also then back to square one and has to start the (sometimes) long hunt for a new role all over again.

John Doe is working 60 hours a week and decides to leave for a better work/ life balance and less hours. When he goes in to resign and explains why, his employer tells him they promise to get him a junior person in to support him so he doesn’t have to work such crazy hours.

John stays. And waits patiently for the junior role to be signed off by Finance.

Can you guess what happens next? It’s now three months later and John still hasn’t been given the green light to recruit.

And yep…you guessed it…John is still working 60 hours a week.

Not cool right? Poor John just turned down the role that would have allowed him to spend an extra 20 hours a week with his family and friends.

Now you might think these scenarios are made up but in my almost 9 years in recruitment I have been through all of these scenarios with candidates and some. There are heaps more examples I could give but this is online and you’ve probably already lost interest.

IF…you are still reading. Thank you.

One more thing I want to raise is accepting counter-offers can cause a lack of trust. You’ve resigned once, what’s stopping you from doing it again. Can an employer ever really trust an employee that’s already resigned?

To finish up, and I truly mean this from the bottom of my heart, THINK SERIOUSLY BEFORE ACCEPTING A COUNTER OFFER. Sometimes accepting a counter-offer will be the best decision you ever made but unfortunately, it’s often not. Or it’s short lived and you are back to square one.

Make sure whatever decision you do make works for you…both short-term and long. Accepting a $10k pay-rise or a knee-jerk promotion could just cost you that dream role with the $50k pay-rise in the next few years.

Happy (job) hunting…