If you are planning on resigning at the end of next month, you should consider the following points and be prepared for a counter-offer:
1. Look at why you considered making a move in the first place. Are those issues going to disappear with the addition of a new title ? Chances are they won’t, and you will be back to square one in six months, but without the new opportunity you currently have.
2. If your firm is suddenly willing to offer extensive revised compensation, then they clearly consider you worth it. Why has it taken your resignation to bring this to the table ?
3. Where is the money for the counter offer coming from ? Chances are there will be no promotion for you next year. It may even impact next year’s bonus.
4. Management may have you now earmarked as unhappy, and your commitment to the firm in the long term will been reassessed. This opinion will not change and will likely affect your future opportunities for promotion within the organisation.
5. We are headed into further tough times. When business lines are asked to cut back, the people with inflated salaries and a perceived lack of commitment will be the first to go.
6. A counter-offer is may be made in order to give management more time to identify your replacement. The following six months will likely be spent in securing your client relationships and portfolios, and you may be asked to leave the company just at the point when you thought you had secured a better position.
In summary, accepting a counter offer is essentially second-guessing yourself and saying that you can be bought. The firm you had agreed to join will not maintain their offer to you, and the firm you stay with will doubt your loyalty.
Considering what a great position you were in before you accepted – moving on from a successful tenure with one firm to a great new opportunity with another – is it really worth it ?
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