Counter Offers

melvis

melvis

melvis

Associate
Joined
2 May 2012
Posts
565
Location
/dev/null
So, i wasnt particularly unhappy in my current job, ive been there since was a total newbie, but when i got headhunted for another job i decided to follow it up, but take a non-committal approach to the process, i insisted i could only interview before work so i didnt have to take time off, during the process i lied completely about my current salary, thinking nothing more of it, next thing is they come back to me with offer i would be insane to refuse (~10% above my fake lie salary, ~40% above what i really earn)
Thing is i get on well with my current boss and colleagues, but the pay rise was to sweet to turn down so i accepted and went to hand in my notice today, what i wasnt expecting was my boss to counter offer with a pay offer that mostly matched the new job, without the unknowns (new job has a 6 month probation period, unknown environment)

I just wondered what other people would do in the same situation, would you carry on with the new company or take the same pay to stay?
 
Its all about the prospects, if the wage is to similar to call.

I took a counter offer, out of laziness i stayed, i now regret that.
 
I'd be tempted to take the counter offer then look again in a few months... (most people who accept counter offers leave within a year anyway) though this time don't lie about your salary and just go for a 20% rise to move(they were happy to underpay you for this long so don't stick around for long even if you do accept the big counter offer from them). You're getting a payrise regardless and like your current job, they obviously like you too... might as well stick around for a bit longer and then try for an even bigger boost in pay - if you move to a new job then you don't get to move again short term for another boost without having some explaining to do with regards to your CV... there is also the small but rather serious risk that they actually check your salary and find out about the lie.
 
Faced with a similar situation recently (minus the big inflated current salary) I turned down the counter offer for the following reasons in the end:

-If my current employer was that good they would have been paying me a fair rate to begin with
-Potentially bigger prospects with new employer
-Could see myself regretting turning down the offer in future, wondering what might have been
-Potentially my 'card would be marked' if I stayed where I am now and I think I could probably kiss goodbye to any significant raises in the future.
-I suspect if things don't work out at the new place I could probably wangle a return to my current employer at some point

That said, had they offered me enough money (i.e. enough to mean I would be out of pocket taking the new job), I probably would have stayed given the massive increase in commute
 
If you're going to lie about salaries when moving then lie about having a rival offer from another firm you're interviewing with or lie about being due a larger bonus this year for some project you worked on and can they take this into account with the offer... don't lie about something that has happened already and that could, in theory, be checked like what salary you're currently earning. You're in the middle of a tax year and they've still got to make further deductions via PAYE... you could potentially be rumbled on that if they bothered checking AFAIK.
 
if you move to a new job then you don't get to move again short term for another boost without having some explaining to do with regards to your CV...
Click to expand...
yeah, if i took the new one id certainly be looking to settle down for several years
there is also the small but rather serious risk that they actually check your salary and find out about the lie.
Click to expand...
last time i was looking i didnt tell any potential job how much i was on already, but as i didnt think id be in the running i was a bit reckless and just gave them a figure a fair bit higher than reality, maybe im being naive, but i didnt realise there was a risk for me in this? its not like i lied about skills/experience qualifications etc
 
Another way of looking at it is how you view your employment. If it's just a job then I'd suggest that you'd probably want to take whatever leaves you more money in your pocket every month. If it's a career you have then you probably want to consider what will best advance that career and chose that option, particularly given that there's now not much to chose from in terms of wages.
 
dowie said:
If you're going to lie about salaries when moving then lie about having a rival offer from another firm you're interviewing with or lie about being due a larger bonus this year for some project you worked on and can they take this into account with the offer... don't lie about something that has happened already and that could, in theory, be checked like what salary you're currently earning. You're in the middle of a tax year and they've still got to make further deductions via PAYE... you could potentially be rumbled on that if they bothered checking AFAIK.
Click to expand...

If they find out it won't matter - they were obviously happy to make the offer. If you don't add a decent percentage on whenever a prospective employer is asking you what your current/previous job paid then you're doing it wrong.
 
dowie said:
I'd be tempted to take the counter offer then look again in a few months... (most people who accept counter offers leave within a year anyway) though this time don't lie about your salary and just go for a 20% rise to move(they were happy to underpay you for this long so don't stick around for long even if you do accept the big counter offer from them). You're getting a payrise regardless and like your current job, they obviously like you too... might as well stick around for a bit longer and then try for an even bigger boost in pay - if you move to a new job then you don't get to move again short term for another boost without having some explaining to do with regards to your CV... there is also the small but rather serious risk that they actually check your salary and find out about the lie.
Click to expand...

Don't you work in Human Remains? This makes your very good advice even more surprising.
 
melvis said:
maybe im being naive, but i didnt realise there was a risk for me in this? its not like i lied about skills/experience qualifications etc
Click to expand...

Theoretically the new employer could look at the P45 and if there is a big discrepancy they might query it. The point would be that they might think "he's lied about this, what else has he lied about". Furthermore, rightly or wrongly, some organisations seem to use current salary as a guide to the amount of responsibility an individual has in their current role. In other words they might assume someone only on £25k can't have enough experience, whereas someone on say £50k might do.

However, the chances of an employer actually taking action over this are pretty low I think, not least because if they have taken the decision to hire you they must think you are capable and will not want the cost/hassle of going through the process again. They won't even get to see your P45 until you've started there anyway. The only issue as I see it might be if for whatever reason they subsequently decide they want to get rid of you (e.g. at end of probationary period) it might provide more ammunition.

If you've only stated your current salary verbally I wouldn't worry in any case and don't forget you can throw in a few excuses about how you were quoting full package including bonus, pension and so forth.
 
[FnG]magnolia;26880130 said:
Don't you work in Human Remains? This makes your very good advice even more surprising.
Click to expand...

nope I'm not in HR, I'm afraid you've got me mixed up with another poster...
 
^There is a counter-argument to that though, in that by deciding to accept the counter-offer you have actually reconfirmed your commitment to the company, and actively turned down another opportunity. You weighed up the options and decided that you would stay put, with your concerns about the current company alleviated as part of the agreement.

One could argue that that actually represents someone who has explicitly chosen to stay put in the face of other offers and been satisfied with the offer put to them, and thus is just as likely to stay as some other random person who is unhappy with their current position and could be hawking themselves out to all and sundry, you just don't know about it.
 
Caged said:
If they find out it won't matter - they were obviously happy to make the offer. If you don't add a decent percentage on whenever a prospective employer is asking you what your current/previous job paid then you're doing it wrong.
Click to expand...

That's a bold statement, you're in no position to make it really, it might well matter depending on the employer, the industry etc... If they do find out then they're unlikely to be too happy about it either way.
 
Why would it matter? If they weren't happy to offer a particular salary then they shouldn't have offered it. If they felt pressured into making a larger offer than they could afford because they were trying to poach you from another position then guess who's problem that isn't.
 
If you've only stated your current salary verbally I wouldn't worry in any case and don't forget you can throw in a few excuses about how you were quoting full package including bonus, pension and so forth.
Click to expand...

I exaggerated by 5k, i could probably explain away 2k with pension/bonus etc, i did only say it verbally, though one of the guys was taking notes, im more concerned now with this than anything, as i dont want to start a new job and get sacked due to exaggerating my current salary :(
 
HangTime said:
If you've only stated your current salary verbally I wouldn't worry in any case and don't forget you can throw in a few excuses about how you were quoting full package including bonus, pension and so forth.
Click to expand...

If you do get called out on it as a result of the P45 etc.. you could perhaps say that you took some unpaid leave. Would be quite an easy explanation for the lower than expected amount of tax someone claiming to earn X would pay.
 
melvis said:
I exaggerated by 5k, i could probably explain away 2k with pension/bonus etc, i did only say it verbally, though one of the guys was taking notes, im more concerned now with this than anything, as i dont want to start a new job and get sacked due to exaggerating my current salary :(
Click to expand...

The recruitment process will have cost more than the increase, nobody's getting sacked. I mean unless you're terrible at the job.
 
Caged said:
Why would it matter? If they weren't happy to offer a particular salary then they shouldn't have offered it. If they felt pressured into making a larger offer than they could afford because they were trying to poach you from another position then guess who's problem that isn't.
Click to expand...

It matters because they've caught you telling a lie... they'll then perhaps wonder if half of the rest of the interview where you talked about your role, responsibilities wasn't massively exaggerated. They'll also perhaps have a bigger issue with it if its the sort of role where they like to do background checks, check credit history, criminal record checks etc...

It might only be a small chance of getting caught but it could turn into a serious issue depending on the employer.

edit - for 5k though they may very well not notice.... when OP said 40% I assumed he'd lied by a 5 figure amount.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom