Is that counter-offer worth taking?
Question: I’ve been feeling a bit stagnant at my current job, and have just gotten a very good offer from another company. But my current employer has made a counter-offer that is slightly better. Any advice for how to think my way through this? Answer: The standard advice is that you should not accept a counter-offer. The reason for this is that you are considered tainted goods–in it for the money, but not really committed, which puts you at risk for being sidelined or even let go once the company has a succession plan in place. That may seem crazy–why would they make an attractive counter-offer only to waste the resource? But counter-offers are often done reflexively–the company is surprised, so they make a counter, but later think better of it. There are exceptions to every rule, and the exception would be if the company isn’t just throwing money at you, but offering to address the underlying cause of your malaise. Some companies have just gotten complacent, and once they realize
