A Balanced View on Counter Offers

If you have received a counter offer recently, there’s a good chance you’ve earned it. Well done! 🎉🥳 [Cue the raised eyebrows]

I’ve noticed a lot of negativity about counter offers on LinkedIn lately. Most of it comes from those who’ve been burned by them, which makes for a pretty one-sided view.

As someone who wears multiple hats – a business owner who appreciates responsible high performing people, a hiring manager who hires for my own team, a recruiter who looks for quality hires for my clients, and a human who likes (most😜) people and can see the perspective of her candidates, I am a person who has seen this from all angles – I think I can offer a balanced take on this topic.

Why Counter Offers Aren’t Inherently Bad

Finding great candidates who will make a significant impact on business is tough, trust me, we do this for a living. If you have been offered a counter offer, it probably means:

• • You’re doing a good job and your company doesn’t want to lose you

• • You’re performing well enough that they’re willing to invest more in you

That’s a solid endorsement of your skills and confirmation of the value you bring to the company. This in itself is a really good reference! 

The Current State of Play

Here’s what you need to know:

• • Most candidates don’t take counter offers, even when offered, especially if money isn’t their main reason for leaving, which it usually is not. But doing so when it feels like the right thing for you to do isn’t unethical, despite what the posters say. 

• • There’s nothing stopping a potential new employer from countering the counter. While no company wants to overpay, they all want proof of good performance – which is exactly what a counter offer signals. If this happens, you’re in a great position and the decision is yours.  Weigh up and do what is right for you.  Some companies will not counter a counter, especially if you have already rejected or negotiated their offer with them.

• • People who get counter offers are often top performers in their current roles.

• There’s nothing wrong with wanting fair pay for great work. 

Tackling the Stigma

There’s a lot of debate about accepting counter offers, especially on LinkedIn. Much of the negativity comes from those who lose out when candidates accept counters – recruiters miss out on placements and a lot of time they’ve invested that often goes unpaid, and potential employers lose time and candidates. It’s frustrating, but it’s important to see all sides.

Some warnings about counter offers are valid. Sometimes you might see smaller future raises; or promises are made that are not kept. But that’s not always the case in every situation, and as a performer, and the responsible person who managed to get a counter in the first place, you will often know what’s best for you if you really check in with yourself when that happens.

We do see many candidates who regret taking counters, but its not every single candidate.

Why You Shouldn’t Always Dismiss a Counter Offer

• • Sometimes it takes outside interest for companies to realize what you’re really worth.  Its not for lack of faith in you, they just cant know exactly what’s happening in the market at every minute unless they’re recruiters themselves, specialised in your particular role.  They are likely focused on other things.

• • It’s not realistic to expect your company to proactively adjust your salary to market rates without you speaking up.  There isn’t an exact market rate anyway.  

• • Compensation isn’t an exact science; it can vary between companies and depends on individual performance, company performance, industry, company size and the scope and complexity of your role.  

I’ve been affected by counters from all angles. While some have left a bad taste in my mouth, I’ve celebrated many of them, even when my time was wasted. The difference? How the situation was handled.

How to Handle Counter Offers without burning bridges

If you’re mainly looking to move for a better salary, here’s how to do it without burning bridges:

1. • Talk to your current employer about a raise before job hunting.

• • Be upfront with recruiters about why you’re looking.  That way, they can put you forward for roles where they know they are more likely to win with you, and leave you out of critical processes that either wont meet your financial goals or where the company needs or wants a candidate who is more interested in their mission than financial motivation.  You might not see why this is important but it is – and not focusing on what you want is going to waste as much of your time and energy as it does everyone else’s.

• • If you get an unexpected counter and decide to stay, don’t send a one liner with no explanation and don’t ghost.  Yes, someone will want to call you to try change your mind – give them that 2 minutes even though your mind is made up.  You took many hours from them, 2 minutes for an explanation to make up for your big increase will not harm you, and will leave you on better terms.  Everyone in that process lost except you, so pick up the phone or write a proper email.

• • Keep things transparent throughout the process so that people who are in process with you are doing so of their own accord with all the information.

• • Don’t lie, hide or mislead. If you feel like you need to, you’re looking at the wrong opportunities or working with the wrong people. 

• • Remember, it’s okay to make moves for money. Just be honest about it and be unapologetic

• • Be ready to leave if your company can’t match competitive offers.

• Understand that while money matters, pure money moves usually sacrifice something.  The same way great candidates have more options.  Great roles in great companies also have more candidates, meaning those roles have more people who want to work in them which leaves the hiring team with more choice, and less demands that would otherwise drive asking salaries up.

Keep in mind, sometimes we think we’re worth more than the market agrees, and sometimes companies just can’t afford to counter, even if they want to.

Wrapping Up

If you handle the counter offer process with integrity and professionalism, you can explore new opportunities and make smart career moves without burning important bridges.

I have taken candidates through processes where they have accepted a counter, and then had the same company hire them a few months later when promises weren’t kept at the counter company. 

It is possible to go through a process like this and leave all parties thinking you are still a catch, regardless of whether they got their way or not.