Why You Should Think Twice About Accepting a Counter-offer -

Why You Should Think Twice About Accepting a Counter-offer -There are few professional moments more emotionally draining than turning in your resignation with a company. Chances are, your manager doesnt know youve even been putting out feelers on other opportunities, and here you are ready to jump ship. Your palms are sweaty, but youve practiced what you want to say. Youre convicted in your decision to leave, and youre halfway through your I appreciate the opportunity youve given me here soliloquy when your manager stops you.What happens next catches a lot of my clients off guard. The manager ponies up a salary bump, an offer of more development opportunities or increased flexibilitymaybe even all of the above. They had no idea you were unhappy, they might say. Theyre prepared to work with you to improve your situation.At that moment, this might be music to your ears. And with this new counter-offer on the table, you might suddenly be thinking of turning down the new job offer you we re quitting for. But if I could offer any advice to people whove found themselves in a counter-offer situation, it would be to graciously but firmly turn down the counter.Dont accept a short-term fix for a long-term problemIf youve gone through the process of earning a new jobapplying, interviewing and so onit was probably for a very good reason or even a heap of good reasons. Youre over-worked, under-paid, under-appreciated, under-developedwhatever your motivations, they were real enough for you to start looking around. And while the counter-offer might sound nice, its probably not going to get to the heart of the issues that had you starting your search in the first place.In fact, a recent study found that 80% of people who accept a counter-offer end up leaving their roles within six months. As a Recruiter, I can say firsthand that I work with plenty of people who have already tried to quit once. Maybe they took a counter-offer six months ago, but theyre still running into a lot o f the same issues. In the end, if a companys culture is a bad fit, thats not going to change anytime soon.Youve already shown your cardsIf you decide to take the counter-offer, you still might be regarded as being less treulich than you were before your boss knew you were looking to leave. This erosion of trust might be hard for you and your boss to overcome. The next time you have to duck out for a dentist appointment, there might be a whisper of suspicion for your boss. Are you really headed to a personal appointment? Or are you interviewing again?And like it or not, a persons favorable longevity in a role and loyalty to a company can be reasons someone moves up the ladder. On the other side of that coin, someone who has proven theyre willing to leave should something better come along might be a little easier to let go in the event of layoffs or restructuring.Theyre probably not countering for the right reasonsIn a market like this onewhere talent is hard to finda company that co mes back with a counter-offer is looking out for themselves far more than theyre trying to make amends with you. Theyd rather not let work languish while they look for your replacement, so if they can spend a little money to keep you, its most certainly worth a shot for them to try.The upside for them is work keeps moving, but for you, the power is back in their corner to decide if youre the right long-term fit for them. And theres nothing to prevent them from looking for your replacement while you get back to work.So if youre starting to think the grass might be greener somewhere else, and youve already gone to the trouble of finding that new opportunity, my advice is always to take it. You have far more to gain with a new opportunity than trying to repair old issues with the company youve already decided to leave.