Should I Stay Or Should I Go? How To Handle A Counter Offer During The Pandemic

Wondering How To Handle A Counter Offer?

Perhaps you find yourself in a position where you have multiple offers to consider. You've received an offer from a new job but aren't sure if it's the right time to transition. Your current job hands you a counter offer. Now is the time to learn how to handle a counter offer! You might find yourself in contract negotiations. Today we are here to help. We will walk you through a scenario and discuss the value and process of how to handle counter offers during pandemic times.

Scenario: The Grass is greener on the other side right?

You are happily employed and you enjoy working at your current company. You get approached by a recruiter and you get intrigued by a position a recruiter has presented you. Maybe the new position offers a financial gain from where you are. Maybe the new position offers the lure of a Management title from where you are as you are currently a Supervisor. You visit the new manufacturing plant, go through 3-4 Zoom calls, phone interviews, and the recruiter checks references. Finally you are presented with an offer. It's pandemic time and the risk of moving to a new company (albeit a new Management title and a bump in pay) seems attractive to you. You hesitantly, tell your friends and family and now you have to deal with the blow-back of telling your existing company that you are going to leave. You resign (hopefully gracefully) and you think the process is done.

Not yet! 4 hours later, you get a call into your boss's office. You find out that the VP of Human Resources is sitting there with your boss. They say how valuable of an employee you really are and offer you a bump in pay, the same management title (as your prospective company) and guarantee that you will get your boss's job in 16 months (due to retirement). What do you do?

Handling The Counter Offer

Believe it or not, this is a very real scenario that happened to me recently. In 2020 and 2021, there has been an increase in the number of counter offers. We always hear about the "War for Talent" especially in the IT industry but keeping and retaining talent at companies is a very real thing. The amount of effort, time and financial contribution a company has to take in recruiting, training and getting an employee up to speed is a costly one. Candidates are weary about jumping to a new corporation especially during pandemic times. It makes sense. How do candidates know that the grass is greener on the other side? A corporation should take as much time as needed to ensure the candidate that the move will be beneficial. Maybe the new prospective employer will create a more profitable environment for the candidate and more opportunities for advancement for the candidate to grow.

Switching jobs and careers is a major life decision. You have to carefully evaluate the new team, culture and the real motivation of why you were initially looking for a change. Will this new employment challenge you more than where you were in your current role? Get to know your colleagues and senior management at the new company before making the jump.

Decision Criteria

Ultimately, you will know when a counter offer suits your needs. Identifying the items that are most valuable to you in the workplace is the most difficult step. Once you've done that, you can compare the new location and your current one under specific criteria. Are you more concerned with work-life balance or is your focus about promotional opportunities. In the above scenario we saw the opportunity for growth so the counter offer may have hit exactly what you needed.

Maybe having a change of scenery is nice. The drive might be longer but at the end, with better advancement opportunities, this career change might make sense. Nobody can tell you what to do. Sometimes you have to trust your gut and take a leap of faith that the new opportunity might open doors that were once closed. If you're looking for additional support or guidance on how to handle a counter offer reach out to our team.

Time to take that chance or opportunity? Contact me today if you're interested in discussing your options for career advancement!