The Real Cost of a Counter Offer: 10 Reasons to Say NO!

An employer may use this strategy to keep you because you put him in a spot with no other alternative. He now has to sacrifice loss of productivity or immediately search for a new candidate, hire, & train that new person...which takes time. As tempting as it may be, accepting a counter offer doesn't always finish up in a "happily ever after" scenario.

You give a two-week resignation letter from your current position & your employer makes a "counter offer" to keep you from leaving.

Even in case you do stay, you have already proven that you'd leave, so the company may have reservations about investing anymore time or funds in to your career growth, or they may get rid of you altogether one time they find anyone to replace you.

You need to think two times about accepting counter offers since the enchantment of it all may be short-lived & you risk damaging your reputation & being labelled as "disloyal." Additionally, your colleagues may resent you because you got a raise when you were "disloyal" to the company by leaving, & they didn't receive a raise when they were "loyal" to the company by staying.

Reason 1: In case you take the counter offer now, does this mean you'll be passed up for a raise later? Is the company giving you your raise earlier than you would have normally received it?

So, are counter offers productive? Ought to you take the offer & hope all goes well? Following are "10 lovely reasons" that explain why accepting a counter offer can cost you more in the long run.

Reason 2: How do you feel knowing that you accepted a counter offer? Do you feel as though you were bought?

Reason 3: How do you feel about going to such extreme measures to get recognized for the worth you offer? You need to ask yourself what type of employer you work for that he/she never provided you with what you are worth in the first place.

Reason 4: Your employer may start looking for a new worker now that you have shown an interest in leaving the company.

Reason 5: Now your company/employer knows you are not happy at work. From here on out, your loyalty will always be in query.

Reason 6: If a promotion comes up later, your boss will keep in mind who was loyal & who was not.

Reason 7: If budget cuts lead to layoffs, you may be the first on the list to go.

Reason 8: Even in case you choose to stay at your current position, statistics show that you'll probably be let go within year, or you'll get fed up & leave within 6 months.

Reason 9: When your colleagues start to listen to tales about your situation, chances are your relationship with them won't ever be the same.

Dave Dart is the Managing Partner of the Morisey-Dart Group, an executive recruitment firm that makes a speciality of recruiting for Managed Print Services, Managed IT Services, Document Management Solutions, Health Information Management (HIM), Health Information Systems (HIS), Banking & Financial Services, & Legal industries.

Reason 10: Funds is a band-aid...chances are the issues that moved you to resign in the first place are still present. After time passes, you'll be right back where you started--"unhappy!"

Posted in: Careers Employment