Argh, counter offer?!

[Haggisman]

So... today I had a formal offer and contract come through for a job which I accepted via email yesterday.

I've just had an informal "chat" with my current boss, and his immediate response was "if we make a counter offer would you stay?".

Told him my reasons for leaving:

• I've been seconded to a customer's site for the last year - told him I no longer feel like part of the team, and like I've just been pushed aside while no one gives a ****. (I told him I understood the business reasons for it, but that it wasn't what I wanted to be doing).
• More scope for advancement - the new company is a bit bigger, and it feels like I could go further in terms of progression.
• More money - there's a 15% payrise at the new company.

He asked (informally) if:

• Bringing me back into the office
• Providing a clear path for progression
• Matching the offer

Would change my mind. I said I'd consider it, but it would depend on exactly what the offer was.

He's going to be having a chat with the MD about it and getting back to me within the next day or 2, but in the mean time I wanted some thoughts.

To summarise staying with the current vs accepting the new:

Staying With Current Company
Pros:

• Really convenient - 3 miles from home.
• Security (in as much as I've been here 5 years so they can't just get rid of me)
• Nice environment/co-workers

Cons:

• Not currently doing what I want (but I would be if I was back in the office)
• How stable is the work? Would I be sent out to another customer's site for a year in 6 months?
• Will I want to leave again in 6 months?
• Loss of trust from me wanting to leave.
• Break my agreement with the new company, letting them down and essentially "blacklisting" myself with them.

Accepting the New Position:
Pros:

• Fresh start - something new to get into
• It's what I want to be doing
• Bigger company - more scope for progression
• More money - I'll be starting on more than currently, and after 6 months probation it may go up more

Cons:

• Further away (~12 miles/30 mins) each way
• Probation means they could get rid of me easily for any reason

I'm leaning towards the new position, but the things giving me second thoughts are the increase in commute (I love being so close currently as I can pop home for lunch, ride my bike in to work etc.) and the loss of security during my probation.

 

[Haggisman]

Objectively it looks like an easy choice.

Take the new role.

The con's don't seem that bad:



- 30mins isn't so bad, perfectly doable, and many do far far longer commutes.
- Probation comment is kind of mute. You can say that about any position, even the one you currently have.

So lets look at the pro's



That's a very strong list of positives.

- We all need fresh starts in our careers at some point.

- Sounds like you're not doing what you want to be, even if you were relocated to the main office. Doing something every day that you want to do makes a massive difference to job satisfaction.

- Bigger company can offer more concrete progression paths, vertical and horizontal.

- More money is always helpful..

I'm not sure if it's strictly true, but I read somewhere that statistically, those who accept counter offers only stay at that employment a few months extra. If you've actually gone through the thought process and actively applied for and interviewed for another position it usually means you want to move anyway.

Whatever you decide though, good luck.

Thank you - think that's what I needed to hear

Did your current boss know you were having issues before you handed your notice in?

Yeah, I have raised my concerns a few times over the last year, and its pretty much been met with "we'll see what we can do"

I think the new job is the right choice, and I'm just having second thoughts because it's a big change!

 

[Haggisman]

A company that suddenly wants to keep a leaving employee can easily give them an equal amount of cash. It's much harder to change the job, other people in the team, company ethos and atmosphere, managers that make life miserable, lots of travelling, a long commute, etc.

The beginning of the end for two of my jobs was when they wanted me to go from basically being office-based to "we want you to do loads of international travel". It's not what was promised or what I signed on for, so even if they'd been willing to give me money to stay, I wasn't interested in what they wanted to change my job into. One of them was because I was fed up of a nightmare commute that was eating up hours of my life every day.

Money is the easiest thing to fix if they want to keep you, it's the rest of the issues that will keep you moving out the door.

Makes sense to me, money is rarely the only reason to move jobs. It may be what sealed the deal but there's usually another reason you start keeping your ear to the ground in the first place.

Yup; the main issue is the long commute (currently at least an hour each way to the customer's site) and the fact that I'm not really doing what I want there (software support, whereas my official role is product development).

If I was in the office doing my proper role rather than on this customer's site, I probably wouldn't be looking to move; however my concern is that they'd bring me back in, then 6 months down the line I'm back out doing something else - I know there were "reasons" for me being seconded, which are unlikely to occur again, however it's still a possibility.

Money wise, the new position wouldn't actually make me hugely better off - I currently get my mileage to the customer site paid for, and after i've paid for my fuel/consumables, I still have maybe £100-£150/month of that left in my pocket (I realise that's towards the cost of buying the car/depreciation, but I'd have to pay most of that regardless). It's less than the increase in salary would get me, but does reduce the difference.

Financially I'd be (marginally; i.e. the difference in fuel expenditure) better off staying if they were to match the salary.

 

[Haggisman]

Did you not try get the counter offer first before negotiating (a higher) salary on the new job? Rookie mistake OP!

Yeah... I wanted to make sure it was 100% before saying anything! :/

 

[Haggisman]

That said, from an employers perspective, I'd be wondering why if you felt this strongly and were than unhappy you didn't voice these concerns. Perhaps they were and were ignored?

Yup, as I said above I raised my concerns a few times and it was always met with a non-committal "we'll see what we can do".

Had a long chat with my manager yesterday, and while he was eager to keep me, he wasn't able to alleviate my concerns that the situation wouldn't improve in the near future.

The offer was basically to beat the raise by 25% (so 18% in total) and bring me back into the office, although there wasn't really any clarity on what I would be working on.

So... I declined and gave my notice.

Having (unsurprisingly) thought about it a lot over the last couple of days, I came to the conclusion that it would be silly to pass up on the opportunity, especially given that if I stay there's a strong possibility that I'd be in a similar situation in 6 months.

Staying with the current company may be the best thing to do in the short term (e.g. a couple of months), but I think more important is how I'm going to feel 6-12 months down the line when I've completed my probation, potentially had a payrise at the new company (which TBH I would be unlikely to get at the current place if they bump my pay up now to match), and am doing something I enjoy (hopefully!) with plenty of scope for progression.

Ultimately I guess I won't really know for 6 months+ whether I've made the "right" decision, but looking at it as objectively as possible, I think I have.

Bear in mind 600 miles commuting each month will come with a cost, not just in terms of motoring that will eat in to the raise (no longer cycling, though 12m is easily do-able depending on the route) but also an hour out of your day.

The fuel cost isn't a massive amount, 600 miles is a 1-1.5 tanks, so about £60-80. The convenience/time is a bit more of a factor, but then I guess it's only an extra ~15-20 mins each way, which is worth it for having a job I actually want to do! (And is a vast improvement over the 1hr+ each way I'm doing at the moment).