Job offer - counter offer

[nervousnell]

I posted this on the community board but wanted opinions from budget minded people as well since it really is primarily about money.

Yes i'm posting under an alias, something i never understood but now i do!

awhile ago my current company decided to give pay cuts but put the amount cut into variable compensation. the comp plan was based on company sales. last year i did not receive my full comp.

there are pluses and minuses to my job but overall i like what i do and most the people i work with. but with not getting my total comp and my base not having increased at all, they keep increasing the comp plan but it gets harder and harder to meet the goals it gets tough on month to month. We put the comp pay into savings but monthly costs are getting hard to pay with lower base.

I received a new job offer. The base pay would be higher than my current base but lower than the total package if comp is paid. it is basically the same job i do now but a slightly higher title. The job is very similar and the company size is similar. I would travel a lot less at the new job which is actually a negative. I get to travel occassionally to great venues where i am now.

i gave my notice today and the ceo wants me to reconsider. he wants me to give him a number that will make me stay. he is open to a higher base.

i was very excited. but dh is saying i will burn a bridge with the other company. i have not signed their letter but they keep emailing me to get it back asap. i did give a verbal.

am i committed to the new company to go? i want to present my ceo with a much higher base and an option to work from home. but again DH is saying i cannot do that because i already gave a verbal commitment to the new place.

am i truly obligated to just leave? would you atleast present a figure to the ceo?

 

[2disneyboys]

Being in HR, I would honestly tell you (on behalf of the new company) that if you gave me a verbal and then backed out, your name would be flagged.. if you ever applied again, we'd still consider you, but your name would be at the bottom of the qualified applicants pile. thats just us though. (on behalf of your existing employer) I would be nervous staying... then again, our company does not counter offer on terminiations. If you tell us you are leaving, then we wish you well (no matter how much we value you - if you are telling us you are leavingthen that loyalty bond has been broken) Never have we made an exception to this rule in over 75 years.

Personally, I've never felt right about bargining when it came to my job and giving notice. If I were to the point of giving notice, then once I gave it, that would be that. again, that's just me. To me, the time to neogatiate with your current boss would be before I gave notice... if the boss was not willing or able to work with me, then I would give notice. I guess I sort of agree w/ your DH.

Either way it's an uncomfortable position to be in! Good Luck with your choice!

 

[seashoreCM]

All the job search experts say that, after you give notice to your current employer, you should not actually accept or make a counteroffer to stay. Keep it low key, just say you will "take it under advisement." And don't give a number. If your current employer wants to say a number then fine but you will still "take it under advisement."

Has something to do with your current employer still feels jilted and you will never be on excellent terms with them. One expert says that after a counteroffer is made and/or accepted, your current employer has you on the top of their layoff-next list and may even keep a job requisition open for the purpose of replacing you at their conveneince compared with your date of resignation which is at your convenience.

Add tthe above to the fact you accepted the new employer's offer and you have extra weight in favor of making the move to your new job.

 

[skmommy]

I agree with 2disneyboys, a verbal agreement is as good as a contract to me. Your word really should mean something. Just my 2cents

Good luck with either choice!

 

[disneymarie]

Gee, I was leaning the other way, and then after reading the great first hand input I agree. You no longer have a loyalty to the current employer, if there are going to be cuts, you are the first expendable employee. They should have rewarded your work better before your notice.

The second employer, has good foundation money without harder to meet goals. That reduces stress. The travel may not be as much, but there can always be pluses to that. After traveling it often feels good to be home for a change.

I think some of us have a tad of wanting the enticement back, but ultimately I think it would back fire. Especially in a company showing economic hardship.

 

[jedijill]

I also agree with the PP's about making a verbal contract. Also, I think that if you accept a counter-offer from your employer it makes it look like you are just in it for the money and not a loyal employee...just a perception but we all know that perception is reality. I would take the other company's offer.

Jill in CO

 

[tapplebapple]

I am a recruiter, and whenever I need to explain this to people I liken it to a cheating spouse. That level of trust just isn't there anymore. This is the same way your current employer will feel. If there is a need for layoffs in the future, you may be a likely suspect because they will think that you already wanted out. It really never is a good idea to take a counter offer. If you wanted a better opportunity, and you found it, then you should go for it. I know it is always hard to make a change, but think about all of the reasons that made you start looking in the first place. I am sure that these reasons (and there were probably reasons other than just money) are still valid. Change can be a good thing - sometimes it just requires a leaf of faith.

Good luck with your decision

 

[StephMK]

I can tell you from my experience, I did give a verbal then ended up staying with my current employer. It was a very small, small company so it was a bridge I was willing to burn, even with the risk of who knows what connections he may have had. However, despite my current employer giving me the option to go PT and create the hours I wanted, I still was not happy. I was approached by another company a few months later and ended up leaving anyway.

If there are other reasons you considered leaving besides money, those will not go away, even if your current employer is willing to meet your salary requests. And I have heard that that trust will not be there fully afterwards if you stay. I did not have any issues but I'm sure my name is mud there now after I left anyway. I am getting out of the industry now.

Good luck, it is a very tricky position to be in!

 

[katied]

I agree with all PPs. The only way to have accomplished what you want with staying would have been as follows:

1. Receive offer from prospective employer and let them know you will consider.

2. Approach current employer, explain your dissatisfaction and what would would like to change. Absent these changes, let them know you will need to evaluate your options.

3. Make a decision, and inform all parties.

You can't accept and offer, and then reneg on it. Every time I've seend it done before, it has not worked out. You'll burn two bridges long-term with this approach.

 

[drnriordan]

I am a recruiter, and whenever I need to explain this to people I liken it to a cheating spouse. That level of trust just isn't there anymore. This is the same way your current employer will feel. If there is a need for layoffs in the future, you may be a likely suspect because they will think that you already wanted out. It really never is a good idea to take a counter offer. If you wanted a better opportunity, and you found it, then you should go for it. I know it is always hard to make a change, but think about all of the reasons that made you start looking in the first place. I am sure that these reasons (and there were probably reasons other than just money) are still valid. Change can be a good thing - sometimes it just requires a leaf of faith.

Good luck with your decision

This. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people stay for additional money only then to have their boss (and their boss's boss and so on) look at them differently. It's almost always a killer for future mobility, bonus/pay raises, etc.

 

[karice2]

I am kind of opposite. Ask them to give you a number and see if that works for you. If not, you have an offer in hand and can leave.

In the area that I work, the new job offer is often used as a bargaining tool for the current company. I know people who play that game at least once every other year to get an out of cycle pay raise.

It is common knowledge around here, everybody knows that it exists and there is no target on your back.

However, I work in an environment where job seekers still have the upper hand.

If you like your company and all else is equal give them a chance to counter.

 

[fac]

I am from a slightly different camp. I am not that concerned with the verbal offer you accepted. Seriously, if the new company does not want you, they terminate their offer any time. You can even resign before the first day of work and I have seen this happened. Obviously, assuming you will never plan to work for this "new" company. Different peopl has their own ethics based on their experiences and I am not going to judge. You have to decide what is best for you.

However, having said the above, I am with everyone that it is not a good idea to take the counter offer for the reasons that many have listed. On the other hand, I had seen someone who went back to the old company, after 3 months in the new job, worked really well do, but it will be another discussion.