Dear One Foot Out the Door,

It’s almost as predictable as clockwork. A rockstar employee puts in their notice and their current employer gives them a counter offer to get them to stay.

Look, You’ve been through a rollercoaster of emotions recently. Nervousness when you looked for a new opportunity, excitement when you got an offer, and confusion when your choice to leave became more complicated. 

To your credit, you should take a second to pat yourself on the back. If you weren’t a great employee, your employer would let you walk away without a second thought. Kudos to you!

That being said, I challenge you to think about why you were ready to leave your current job in the first place. This will be important as I go through some things to consider when you’ve been given a counter offer. 

What will change at your current workplace? Your salary. That’s literally the only difference between the time you started looking for a new job and right now. Were you happy with the culture? How about your boss? Did you work well with your team? This is really important because these things won’t change. If they were not good before, they won’t be good now. 

Now, think about this. Why was your current employer not paying you what you’re worth in the first place? Will you feel good taking a raise based on you potentially leaving instead of one you were given based on your talent and value? Your employer is basically admitting to underpaying you for the work you’ve been doing.

You’ll be putting a “no loyalty” bullseye on yourself after resigning but not leaving. Regardless of how hard you work and how grateful and happy you may be, your employer and co-workers may see you as a traitor. If they think you’re eager to jump ship, you may not receive the same treatment you did before, meaning leadership opportunities, cool projects, and afterwork invites may pass you by. 

This “lack of loyalty” idea may carry over to company leaders when they’re looking at doing lay-offs or downsizing. It would be nice to believe that you’ll be judged completely based on the talent you bring to the table, but if they are worried you’ll want to leave again soon anyway, you’re likely to not make it through a tough round of downsizing. 

And now, I’d like to present an argument for taking a new opportunity. One of my favorite quotes about job hunting is by Neil Gaiman and it goes, “If you dare nothing, then when the day is over, nothing is all you will have gained.” You were looking for a new job for a reason. There is something more you want, and whether it’s more money, a better work culture, a boss with a different leadership style, you shouldn’t settle. Life is short and you never know what the next opportunity will bring you, until you go out and say yes to the chance. 

You were offered a new job with a new company, which means someone sees something in you that’s worth taking a risk on. Be flattered by that, not by your current employer trying to smooth talk their way back into your heart. You deserve better. Go get it.

Sincerely,
Jenny