Applying for jobs is stressful, especially if you’re an adult living paycheck to paycheck every month. The possibility of going jobless for even a few weeks can land you in debt—which leads people to stay in jobs that underpay or undervalue them.
The pressure can be challenging to deal with; but if you draw your cards right, keep your chin up, and put your best foot forward, the chances are that you will land the job that will finally fulfil your needs! The only thing left to do is to hand in your notice. Unfortunately, this is where some people fall into a trap: instead of receiving an earful after handing out their notice, many people instead receive a counteroffer.
If this describes your situation, this advice is for you. No matter how attractive the counteroffer is, there is always a setback that you may not have factored in! To emphasize this point, here are four pitfalls of taking a counteroffer:
Your employer has already undervalued you
Offering you a higher pay after handing in your notice means that your employer knows that they’ve been undervaluing you all this time. This essentially means that they are aware of your contributions’ value to the company’s success, but just aren’t willing to reward your efforts with the pay that you deserve.
This is especially true if you’ve already expressed discontent with your current pay or working environment. Your employer only taking action after you handed in your notice means that they never gave your efforts the appreciation you deserve.
Your company may just be stalling to find your replacement
A higher pay offer is not necessarily a sign of appreciation, especially if it was given after you expressed your desire to leave. Employers know the expenses related to hiring and onboarding new talent, which forces them to reevaluate your value. However, if you’re still doing the same job for higher pay, then they are likely only keeping you for the amount of time it takes for them to find a replacement willing to do your job for your original salary.
Higher pay doesn’t change the job
Most of the time, a higher pay offer alone is not enough to convince an employee to look for a new role. Usually, it comes from workplace issues, including not fitting well with co-workers or finding no pleasure in doing their duties.
If this describes you, then accepting a counteroffer is not the best idea. You may have slightly higher pay, but you will still be working the same job and under the same manager. If these factors were among the reasons why you decided to resign in the first place, then you will not enjoy your work any more than you did previously.
Your resignation has already changed the workplace dynamic
If you didn’t enjoy it before, you would probably enjoy working even less after accepting the counteroffer. Prepare to be scrutinized for every sick day, vacation leave, or any event that takes time out of work. Since you’ve already expressed your intent to leave, your employer or manager is already assuming that you’ll probably do it again.
This leaves you out of any chances for promotion, which is likely to induce feelings of discontent, leading you back to the same situation again in a few months.
Conclusion
The search for greener pastures is never easy. With unemployment rates expected to go up, it makes sense to stay employed as much as possible. However, if you’ve already landed a new role and handed in your notice, don’t let your feelings of insecurity lull you into accepting a counteroffer. For reasons stated above and more, taking that counteroffer is almost never a good idea!
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