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Counter Offers: Why You Shouldn't Accept
One When You've Put Your Notice - David Kant

If you are a hiring manager or recruiter, this is useful information in helping you to convert candidates at the sensitive post offer acceptance stage in ensuring they show up on their first day.

If you are a candidate about to put your notice in and change jobs, this is especially for you.

The competition for talent continues to tighten, and a key factor the hiring manager and candidate never seem to see coming until it arrives is the counter offer. As a recruiter, when asking a candidate how many other opportunities he is considering aside from my client’s, I know the answer is always at least one, that of his current employer.

Having coached candidates for the last decade in their transition from their current employer to onboarding with my client, when it comes to considering a counter offer, all candidates watching this video please take my advice – DO NOT DO IT!

But of course, this is your decision, and since knowledge is power, I’d like to give you the top 5 reasons why accepting a counter offer and staying with your current employer after having put your notice in is a bad idea.

Reason #1: Trust Broken

Imagine breaking up with your significant other and in the process, they plead and convince you to reconsider so you agree and continue the relationship. It may not be as dramatic in the professional world, but this is essentially what is happening. And as a result, your employer knows you are looking and not loyal at this point, therefore, trust is broken, and the relationship is never the same.

Reason #2: Your Employer may be Buying themselves Time

Most candidates leave with a 2-week notice, leaving the employer with 2 weeks to replace you, a job that takes most companies 3-6 months, if not longer. It’s cheaper for them to pay a premium to keep you and keep the role filled while taking their time to search for your replacement. This way, they are not under pressure and long-term are saving money compared to having the role vacant. How can you be sure this isn’t happening to you?

Reason #3: They Don’t Appreciate You

It took you quitting for your employer to realize you were unhappy and not being paid at market value. If that’s you, are you really in the right relationship?

Reason #4: You are only Putting a Band-Aid on the Problem

For most candidates, their reasons for looking elsewhere and seeing if the grass is greener on the other side is due to non-monetary reasons, or at the least are not exclusively due to money.

Common examples include: burnout due to a long commute, inability to work remotely or have a flexible schedule, got a new boss they are not getting along with or who micromanages them, didn’t receive a commission or bonus they felt they deserved or the commission/bonus plan was changed for the worse, the company is downsizing and laying people off, the company lost their funding or lost a major contract, a new leadership team came in or a Private Equity or Venture Capital acquisition came in and changed the structure to a tighter, more corporate one, the reasons go on.

Your reasons for leaving were likely not resolved, just temporarily tolerated due to more money, and history shows that most candidates leave within 6-12 months on the outside as, although your tolerance increased due to the raise, the same frustrations remain.

Reason #5: It’s the Right Thing to Do

Whatever your reason for leaving is, be it over a raise or promotion or other, sit down with your boss and HR, let them know and see if you can work it out. If you’re in the right relationship, they will appreciate you for voicing your concerns and either give it to you or outline a path of how you can get there and under what timeline. If after doing this you decide it’s still not sufficient or there’s simply greener pastures elsewhere, stick to your decision, accept that other offer, put your notice in, and don’t look back. Thank me later.

I hope this was helpful to you, and I look forward to sharing more on my next video.

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