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by Dave Greenbaum

When you hand in your resignation, your employer might ask what they can do to change your mind. They might make you a counter offer, even if you’ve accepted employment elsewhere. Focus on the reason you’re leaving the job before making a decision.

Over at Undercover Recruiter, they have some guidelines for dealing with counter offers. They suggest focusing on new job’s benefits, instead of your current employer’s promises:

It is important when considering a counter offer that you always keep in mind what your reasons were for pursuing a job with another company in the first place. Taking salary aside for a moment the new position could offer:

  • Childcare, healthcare or pension schemes
  • Flexible working hours
  • Freedom to travel on an international basis
  • Greater opportunities for development
  • Project variety
  • Training initiatives

Whatever your reasons are for wanting to leave your current employer it is crucial that you remember what they are and think rationally about what is best for you as an individual, before you respond to a counter offer.

The counter offer might match or even exceed the pay at the new job. If that’s the main reason you’re quitting, consider accepting the counter offer to stay. If the reason you are leaving involves more than salary, you’ll probably still want to resign. The bottom line: prepare for the possibility. Even if it doesn’t come, it’s good to be prepared.

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