For candidates

Counter-offers: why most people who accept one leave anyway

A pay rise fixes the salary. It rarely fixes the reason you started looking.

Lena Brandt
Consultant

Remember why you started looking

Most people start looking for reasons that have nothing to do with pay: progression, management, the work itself. A counter-offer changes the number and nothing else.

What happens next

Your employer now knows you were ready to leave. That changes the relationship, and many people who accept find themselves looking again within a year.

When it can make sense

If the counter-offer comes with a real change in role or reporting line, in writing, it is worth considering properly.

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