To begin with, there are many reasons why you would want to leave your current employer. You don’t feel valued. There is no opportunity for career growth. You feel underpaid with the amount of responsibilities on your back. There is much better opportunity awaiting if you leave your current job. You loathe your manager. And the list goes on… Whatever it is, you will surely have a reason behind your intention, or decision, to leave your current employer.

Let’s be honest, having a long history with your current employer makes it even more difficult to leave. You’ve already built equity within the organisation. You may even have invested in relationships, and found yourself a comfort zone. But you need to think objectively. Put all those feelings aside. If a great opportunity knocks on your door, then it’s time to go. Take a leap of faith. If you think that you’ve been held back for a long time, and if the possibility of career improvement appears blurry, then, leave as soon as you can.

How profound is your intention to leave?

Are you considering to leave your current job hoping for a counter offer? If your intention to leave your current job is merely for a chance of getting a pay raise, you better cross that idea out of your head. It’s so much of a big risk. Handing in your letter of resignation may be an opportunity to negotiate a pay raise, but who knows what might backfire on you sooner or later than you think. Do not put yourself into that uncertainty. They might offer you a pay raise but come to think of it, why just now? Why are they only giving you a raise now that you have expressed your intention to leave? In worst scenarios, companies only give counter offers to give themselves time to find someone to replace you. Why wouldn’t they? You’ve already broken their trust. From their perspective, you have no loyalty to the company anymore, even though it’s not the case on your defence.

In most cases, even if you accept a counter offer, you may still end up leaving the organisation anyway, just like the 60% of UK employees who accepted counter offers (The Guardian, 2014). This implies that counter offers are merely short-term solution to long-term issues.

If you have decided to leave and move on, and your reasons are firm, therefore, no counter offer should ever change your mind.

Counter offer is basically a delayed recognition of your efforts. The efforts left unnoticed until the day you handed in your letter of resignation. Let’s say your company did not realise your “value” until you told them you want to leave, in other words, they just wanted to be nice. If they think they can still use you for their benefit, they will lure you with counter offers, and after a few months or so? They may either let you go or you will still end up leaving.

So, on reflection, if you are thinking of being lured into staying with a counter offer, think again.  Read this and remind yourself of the reasons why you want to leave in the first place.

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