Should I accept a counter offer?

Picture this: you’ve spent the last few months taking recruiter calls and even going on a few interviews. Next thing you know, you get an offer. After taking a day or two to consider, you cheerily call the recruiter to accept and start planning the logistics of telling your boss. It’s go time. You share the news….and then, an unexpected twist. Your current company gives you a counter offer and pleads with you to stay. What do you do?

Let’s start by acknowledging that it can feel good to feel wanted. You have a new company excited to have you join and your current one trying to keep you. It can also create a confusing and stressful situation.

My advice on whether to decline the counter or take it hinges on one core question: what led you take the job in the first place?

If you were exploring out of genuine curiosity, but are confident you will feel happy, fulfilled, and valued staying with your current company for at least another year, then the counter is worth considering. Interviewing takes up a lot of time and mental space, so you want to be sure you aren’t looking for another job in 4-6 months.

On the other hand, if you were interviewing for any other reason — seeking more responsibility, looking for a higher salary, frustrated with your company’s culture or the relationship with your boss — I would pass. Generally speaking, when counter offers are accepted, that person ends up leaving in less than a year anyway. Why is that? Because the reward to stay (a little more money, a better title) is only satisfying in the short-term and ultimately does not align with their long-term goals. On top of that, accepting a counter can close the door for future opportunities with the company you intended to move to. That’s why weighing short term gains versus long term ones is so important.

There’s a lot of power that comes with having options. And I hope this helps make it a little easier to navigate.

Good luck!