Is it Wrong to Accept an Employment Counter-Offer?

An Anonymous Coward asks: "I was happily working away at a low-paying but otherwise good job I'd had for several months, after taking a huge pay cut when the dot.bomb bubble burst. Then a recruiter contacted me with a very nice potential position - I interviewed and received an offer with a 50% increase in pay, everything else nearly the same. When I received the offer and decided I was interested, I broke the news to my current employer - to my surprise they extended a counter-offer with a matching salary, thereby eliminating my only reason for considering the other job. However, I talked to some friends and checked the web for ideas and realized that there are a *lot* of ppl out there who believe you should never accept a counter-offer. They make some good points, and there are a lot of those pages - but on the web popularity breeds increased popularity, in a self-feeding cycle, so I'm wondering if the numbers are skewed unrealistically. Is it really that rare to do well by accepting a counter-offer? Do Slashdot readers have experience with counter-offers from present employers, positive or negative?"

Comments

Like a counteroffer for a G/F?

[ender_wiggins]

If you chick found another guy, and then you counter offered her, and she accepted, you know that she has been looking, and will continue to look untill she finds someone that you cant compeate with!

Statistics.

[saintlupus]

[From the article:]

* Statistics show that if you accept a counteroffer, the probability of voluntarily leaving in six months or being let go in one year is extremely high.

Well, hey, with rock-solid information like that to go on, I'd be a fool to accept a counteroffer.

After all, if you can't accept vague, unsubstatiated, unaccountable claims on the Internet as gospel, you just can't trust anyone.

--saint

Re:Statistics.

[b_pretender]

After all, if you can't accept vague, unsubstatiated, unaccountable claims on the Internet as gospel, you just can't trust anyone.

At first read, I thought it was rather vague, too. However, upon closer inspection, they use the adjective extremely, thus cleaning up any uncertainties about those extremely high probabilities.

As far as being unsubstatiated or unaccountable claims, perhaps you missed the first word, statistics. Statistics show these claims, thus substatiating them. The statistics are accountable for the probabilities.

Your only job is to justify your salary

[Rupert]

Depending on where you work, how you get more money varies. Some places you have to threaten to quit. Others will give you a raise if you tell them you think you're underpaid (and they agree). Almost no employer will voluntarily increase your pay outside of a scheduled review.

Ignore anyone who tells you that if they valued you they'd be paying you more without you having to quit. That's nonsense. You might love your car, but when you went to the dealer you tried to get the best price you could. Maybe you even threatened to go to a different dealer. Interviewing at other companies is a legitimate tactic in salary negotiations. However, if you don't let your current employer know that salary negotiations are going on, they can get upset.

Re:Take the Counter

[Jucius Maximus]

I expect that many corporate proxy-watchers are now raising their eyebrows because a whole whack of employees are suddenly looking at a site explaining why they should not accept a counter-offer :-)

Re:With the way IT jobs are going...

[reaper20]

Not to mention the (+1, Loyalty) you'll get from your current emplyer

Re:Do Not Accept

[NorthDude]

It is also true of self employed people.

I am, and I also have no loyalty and no feelings.
Just last week, I asked myself 50$/hours to cut my lawn. I was the only one able to do the job at the moment, so I accepted. One month later, I fired myself and hired a kid to do it for 10$/hours.

Slippery Slope

[porkface]

I work in constant fear that I'll be replaced by someone cheaper. That is why I refuse to work for more than minimum wage.

Re:Definitely do not accept, I did this and was la

[global_diffusion]

Definitely do not accept, I did this and was laid

Umm... Exactly why shouldn't I do this, again?

Re:Take the Counter -- NOTHING BUT BIAS

[Exedore]

it's much better to eat a well balanced diet

That's why I was sure to mention cookies as well.

Re:Do Not Accept

[Elm Tree]

That sounds like a clear cut case of age based discrimination, you should sue!

Chris Rock's take on counter-offers

[kyoko21]

I think this is probablly off topic, but thought I would post it just for laughs. Chris Rock once mentioned this in one of his acts.

"Do you know what it means when they pay you minimum wage? It means that if I could pay you LESS I would. BUT it's against the law."

Go for it!

[jazzbotley]

I happened to notice that the "Ten Reasons for not accepting a Counteroffer" were posted by a head hunter (jobs@jobsontheweb.com). Hmm ... sounds suspect to me!!

[Maybe you should go for the counteroffer.]