Counteroffers: Should you Stay or Should you Go

Candidate Insights | Career Advice

Receiving a counteroffer can be flattering. Your employer may offer you more money, a promotion, greater flexibility or promises about your future.

Before accepting, however, remember why you started looking for another opportunity.

If your original concerns involved leadership, progression, company culture, workload or feeling undervalued, an increase in salary may not resolve them.

Ask yourself: If there had been no counteroffer, would I still have wanted to leave?

Also consider why the changes being offered now were not available before you resigned.

There are circumstances where accepting a counteroffer can make sense, but the decision should be based on your long-term career—not simply the immediate financial incentive.

PMG Perspective: Write down the reasons you originally considered leaving before comparing the two offers. It can help remove some of the emotion from the decision.