5 Counter-Offer Traps: Why Accepting Could Harm Your Career

Did you ever wonder why so many companies attempt counter-offers? Have you ever wondered what the statistics say about counter-offers? Have you ever been offered a counter-offer and wondered if you made the right decision to leave? Well wonder no more…

Many recent surveys, including employee associations, human resource associations, and career counselors have done the investigating and math for you. Depending on what you do and where you live you are 75-80% likely to leave a role, when you have accepted a counter-offer for that role, within 6-12 months. There are many reasons why this occurs, and here are just a few:

1. The trust is gone – meaning that you will have to work very hard not to be thought of as a liability moving forward after returning to a role for a few more bucks. Expect some micromanaging and a tight leash on confidential business items.
2. You also start wondering why they only gave you a raise when you had a gun to their head.
3. You didn’t leave just for the the money – All of those issues that drove you into the arms of another do not just disappear because your current boss whispers something different in your ear to get you to sign.
4. Your employer will minimize their risk by training someone to replace you and encouraging you to exit on their terms. It might be through some kind of constructive dismissal, or adding on loads of menial tasks or adding additional mentoring and training to yourworkload, while still expecting your regular work to get done on time and as well as before; after all, they are paying you more, right…?
5. Your peers and your managers hold some resentment towards you because they believe that you just took their raises, bonuses, new hires with your counter-offer.

Not only that, but word gets around that offers were made and turned down and that does double damage to your career by showing two employers where your integrity lies, and what ultimately drives your decisions. My advice, make sure before you make the first decision, and hold to your integrity when it comes time to not making the second.