Handling a ‘counter offer’...

Counter offers are more common than you might think. Recruiting quality people can be an expensive and time-consuming process for employers and you might unexpectedly find yourself in a bargaining position.

If your employer tries to persuade you to stay by offering you a pay rise equal to, or above your new job offer you might first want to ask yourself why it took the threat of leaving to bring it about.

Most of us are easily flattered and the offer of more money coupled with colleagues telling you the place won't be the same without you can easily make you forget the reasons why you wanted to leave in the first place.

Dont feel guilty and always try to stand your ground. The fact is, that once you have resigned there is rarely a good reason to change your mind and stay where you are.

You wanted to leave for good reasons. You thought it through and went through the recruitment process successfully. You have a new job to look forward to and if you change your mind now you have three realities to deal with:

Your boss may have question marks in his/her mind about your loyalty once all the fuss is over. After all, you did nearly leave.

You are going to have to let down your would be employer and this might work against you in the future.

Experience shows that the majority of the people who accept counter offers end up leaving within a year anyway. Are things really going to change that much once the dust has settled?

Rather than let things get to this stage make sure you have thought about how to handle a counter offer in advance.

Be certain of your reasons for leaving, discuss it with your friends and family and stick to your decision once it is made.

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