Success and Disappointments – Dealing with a counter offer

Susan* got offered a new job. When she told her current boss, Jan*, that she was going to leave, Jan and her manager, Kenan*, asked to meet with her to try to get her to stay. Kenan asked what the salary was for the new job and he said they would match it if she would stay.

She appreciated the counter offer but wasn’t sure she would accept it.

I told Susan to consider some things before she made her decision:

·         What were the real reasons that she was leaving the job? Was it just the money or were there other things? She actually didn’t like Jan and found her difficult to work with. Also, she disagreed with some of the policies and procedures she was told to follow.

·         How did she think that this would affect her future salary? Her current company was known for paying on the lower side. This new salary might make it difficult for her to get raises in the future because they could say that she already got an increase.

·         Another thing to think about is if they were so interested in keeping her there, why had they kept her salary so low. Also, why did they just offer to match it? If they really wanted to keep her, they could have offered her more money.

After considering these issues, Susan decided not to accept the counter offer and went to work for the new company. She was very happy she did. She continued to get good raises there and really enjoyed working for her new manager.

Learning for Susan:

·         Just because a company offers you money to stay doesn’t mean you should.

·         She realized that she was unhappy at the job and while the extra money would help, things wouldn’t change and she would still be unhappy.

Learning for you:

·         If your current company tries to keep you with more money think about why you want to leave – is it just the salary or are you looking for other changes?

I want to help you make more money at work. For more information about the books, online classes and salary strategy sessions I offer, go to www.CareerTipsForWomen.com and go to “Courses & Books”.  I’m Laura Browne, co-author of Increase Your Income: 7 Rules For Women Who Want To Make More Money At Work and a fun fiction book on the same topic, A Salary Cinderella Story (Or How To Make More Money Without A Fairy Godmother).

*Not their real names.

#raise #salary #salarynegotiation #salarynegotiations #money #moneytips