Should You Accept a Counter Offer to Stay at Your Current Job?

Conventional wisdom says no, but it's not always on the mark.

If you've found a new job, but your old employer wants to keep you around, it may make you a counter offer. This can put you in a difficult situation. You've probably already gotten used to the idea of moving on, but suddenly, the choice isn't so cut and dry.

Having two companies competing for your services is a good problem to have. But it's also stressful to choose, especially knowing that your decision will have a huge impact on your career and your personal finances. While the traditional advice is that you should never accept a counter offer, it's not a situation with a one-size-fits-all answer.

The arguments against taking a counter offer

The conventional wisdom on counter offers is that accepting one is a bad move. There's no shortage of horror stories about employees who took a counter offer and quickly regretted the decision. Here are the most common reasons why you shouldn't accept a counter offer:

• Your employer may see you as disloyal. Fair or not, there's a chance your employer sees you as someone with one foot out the door going forward.
• It could be difficult to get promoted. If your employer isn't sure you're there to stay, they could be reluctant to give you more responsibilities.
• Future raises might be hard to come by. Just because management was willing to open up the checkbook for a counter offer doesn't mean they'll do that in the future. In fact, they could use that counter offer as an excuse not to give you another raise.
• It may be a short-term move to find your replacement. In a worst-case scenario, your employer could use a counter offer to keep you around temporarily until it finds someone else.
• Pay isn't the only factor to consider. If you were frustrated or dissatisfied with your job, the same problems will still be there, even if you're making more money.

These are all valid points you should think about when weighing a counter offer. Not every employer will react negatively, but plenty of people who accepted counter offers have dealt with these issues.

A bump in pay is nice, especially if your previous employer is now offering more than the new one. However, it's important to think long term. More money in your bank account now doesn't mean much if you're not able to get promotions going forward, or if your employer lets you go in three months after it has had more time to find your replacement.

Every situation, and employer, is different

It wouldn't be fair to mention counter offer horror stories without also talking about the other side of things. There are also employees who accepted counter offers, stayed at their jobs, and have been happy with their decisions. Experiences aren't universally negative.

This isn't the norm, but it can happen. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to help figure out what to do:

• Are there other issues besides pay? Salary is important, but there's more to your career satisfaction than that alone.
• If so, is your employer willing to address them? For example, if you have a long commute, a counter offer may need to include at least some remote work days for it to be worthwhile.
• Does your employer have plans for your career? It may be worth considering a counter offer if your employer has clear plans for your future there, like new roles and responsibilities for you to assume.

Should you accept a counter offer?

In most cases, employees are better off declining a counter offer if they've found a new job. There are definite risks to sticking around after you've said you're going to leave. And if you have several issues, a counter offer probably isn't going to fix all of them.

That being said, only you know your employer and your work environment, and not all counter offers are created equal. If it seems like your employer just wants to throw some money at you to keep you around during a busy period, then it's clearly not in your best interest to stay.

On the other hand, maybe your boss has talked to you, discussed what you're looking for, and came up with a counter offer that you'd be happy with. That type of situation is when accepting a counter offer could make sense.