The inevitable call

The phone rang.?It was a call that I had been expecting for almost seven weeks.?

I had made an offer to a Financial Controller which she had accepted and so she resigned.?Her CFO had told her that she was an important member of their business and that he didn't want her to leave and so offered more money to stay.?I warned the individual never to accept a counter offer.?A counter offer can involve an immediate pay increase, a better job title, promise of more work-life balance or even emotions, "You are vital for our business and we need you."?My advice I give to anyone resigning from a role is to never accept a counter offer under any circumstances.??

The call I received was from someone who deeply regretted making this mistake.?She was initially pleased with a higher monthly pay but then found that she was no longer being invited to key meetings and found herself excluded from certain aspects of decision making.?A month after accepting the counter-offer she wondered why she was excluded from discussions about pay rises.?She was told, "You had your pay rise in October."?She realised that despite earning more money for a few months, she was still unhappy. The reasons she wanted to leave initially, hadn't changed.??

She asked me if the Finance Director role she had been offered was still open.?"No, I replied, another individual has accepted and will start on Tuesday."?This individual had realised that she had lost out on an opportunity and that her influence was significantly reduced in her current role.

Recruiters regularly receive calls from companies asking us to recruit for them on a confidential basis because they have "retained" someone who has told them that they had offers elsewhere. Leaders within businesses do make counter offers to keep people within their businesses until the time is right for the business to replace them.

It was too late for this individual, but my advice is to learn from that mistake:?

If you are unhappy at work, ask to address these issues before telling your employer that you are interviewing elsewhere.?If your employer knows that you have had an offer elsewhere, do not accept a counter-offer ... or your recruiter will be waiting for that inevitable call.