As a professional recruiter I see people get all the way to “Offer Stage” with companies only to turn the offer down. This is BAD, BAD, BAD practice for many reasons and I am a firm believer that it is 100% avoidable when working with a great recruiter!
I believe that there are many reasons that people ultimately give for turning down an offer after one has been made, but the most popular is the “Counter Offer”.
The top 2 most common forms of the counter offer are the “Financial Raise” counter and the “Emotional” counter offer from the current employer at the resignation stage.
Below I’ll discuss 10 very important reasons why accepting a counter offer is a bad idea:
1. After resigning, you have made your employer aware that you were looking for another job opportunity and being unhappy. Your loyalty for your current company will now be in question.
2. When promotion/raise time comes around, your employer will remember who is loyal and who is not.
3. When making difficult decisions about cut-backs, your current employer may begin with those that are deemed less loyal.
4. Making you a counter-offer is an insult to your intelligence and a blow to your personal pride. Is there really a price tag attached to you? You can be bought at the last minute?
5. Where was the extra money for a counter-offer at during your last performance review? Most companies have strict wage/salary guidelines and may be simply giving your next raise early or buying time to hire someone in your place.
6. The same circumstances that now cause you to consider making a change almost always reoccur within the next 6 – 12 months.
7. Statistics show that if you accept a counter-offer, the probability of voluntarily leaving in six months or being let go within one year are extremely high.
8. Once the word gets out that you have resigned but then accepted a counter offer because the money offered was good, the relationship with your co-workers will never be the same. Research shows that peer group acceptance seriously takes a drop when counter-offers have been accepted.
9. You should not be working for a company that needs to be threatened first before they give you what you are worth.
10. Accepting counter-offers after already accepting another position burns bridges with other companies, your recruiter, and ultimately shows all three parties that you can be bought.
You see there are a variety of reasons not to accept a counter-offer, after all you should trust your perceptions. You made a decision, stick to it.
