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"Management figures as long as they always match what someone is offered elsewhere, the employee will always prefer to stay" This is not true (the original pos

"Management figures as long as they always match what someone is offered elsewhere, the employee will always prefer to stay" This is not true (the original post, not yours). Typically, when an employee submits their resignation letter, they are out of the company, literally or figuratively. If an employer makes you a counter-offer, never, ever take it. First, you already have a reason that you wanted to quit. It's usually not _just_ for the money, but probably for other reasons (e.g. intellectual boredom). If you are unhappy with your job, more money will just not help. As someone wise told me once, "Money is not a motivator, but lack of money is a de-motivator." Secondly, and more importantly, the reason the employer is making a counter-offer is not to entice you to stay, but to buy enough time to find someone else -- a loyal and qualified someone else -- to replace you. Effectively, they are making you the counter-offer so that they don't have to spend the time and money looking for someone and training them, when they can have you train them for six months (even with a slight-but-temporary increase in your salary). You will be let go as soon as the employer feels that the new employee has been trained adequately. The moral is, once you submit the resignation letter, stick to your guns, and don't be fooled by counter-offers. [Edit: forgot to add, another reason they prefer you to stay is so that you can finish your current project. This minimizes risks to your project, while at the same time training your replacement. The employer would only keep you until the current project is complete, and you will probably not get any new ones.]

imcqueen 15y ago
complete agreement with this. you eventually get used to the pay increase and the reasons for wanting to leave remain. Your manager no longer feels compassion for rewarding your hard work with promotions, bonuses and awards. Long term they're definitely figuring out a way to make you less crucial. This generally only goes for quitting though. Simply asking for more money is completely different. the article focuses on employees quitting for leverage. If you work hard day to day and plant the seed that you're unhappy with your compensation (and continue to grind) a good manager should step in and reward you or guide you toward a promotion. The benefit just takes a lot longer than the "pay up or I quit" approach.
tsotha 15y ago
>Secondly, and more importantly, the reason the employer is making a counter-offer is not to entice you to stay, but to buy enough time to find someone else -- a loyal and qualified someone else -- to replace you. People need to realize this. I worked for a company that did it time after time. Everybody who actually took a counter was out on the street within three months, meaning the company was able to make a much smoother transition at the cost of just a few extra months at the higher salary. The guy who took the counter was then in a position of finding a job when he didn't have one, which is a recipe for getting lowballed by potential employers. When they offered me a counter I was tempted to take it on the condition they give me a huge cash bonus and a twelve month contract with steep cancellation penalties. Instead I just said no. Who wants to work at a place like that?
nandemo 15y ago
> Secondly, and more importantly, the reason the employer is making a counter-offer is not to entice you to stay, but to buy enough time to find someone else -- a loyal and qualified someone else -- to replace you. How does one decide that an outsider is "loyal"? More often than not the company will be "poaching" the outsider from another company. Doesn't that suggest that outsider is not loyal? And why the hell any company that does not offer life employment would expect loyalty from employees?
- Drbble 15y ago
  Bloggers, routinely overlook this wisdom. Also, your replacement is nowhere near as competent as you at your job, if you have any unique responsibilities (code you alone wrote). Current employees are far cheaper than new hours, if productivity is taken into account (but often it isn't)
  - mirkules 15y ago
    I agree, that's exactly the point I was trying to make. Btw, I think I fat-fingered and downvoted you, so I'll upvote another one of your comments (sorry)
- mirkules 15y ago
  What I meant was that since you're quitting, the company would view you as completely disloyal, and definitely not dedicated to this company. A new hire, by comparison, would be at least somewhat more loyal. That particular comment was more of a figure of speech along the lines of "If you're going to quit on me, I'm going to go out a d find someone that is more loyal"
spqr 15y ago
Are you speaking from experience? I've been in IT for 20 years and your advice sounds completely wrong to me. My current base salary is $171,000 and I get a bonus as well. I like to think I am a 9 or 10 level salary negotiator but maybe I'm wrong because your advice sounds like a someone who is making $80k per year and thinks they know everything about salary negotiation.

imcqueen 15y ago

complete agreement with this. you eventually get used to the pay increase and the reasons for wanting to leave remain. Your manager no longer feels compassion for rewarding your hard work with promotions, bonuses and awards. Long term they're definitely figuring out a way to make you less crucial. This generally only goes for quitting though. Simply asking for more money is completely different. the article focuses on employees quitting for leverage. If you work hard day to day and plant the seed that you're unhappy with your compensation (and continue to grind) a good manager should step in and reward you or guide you toward a promotion. The benefit just takes a lot longer than the "pay up or I quit" approach.

tsotha 15y ago

>Secondly, and more importantly, the reason the employer is making a counter-offer is not to entice you to stay, but to buy enough time to find someone else -- a loyal and qualified someone else -- to replace you. People need to realize this. I worked for a company that did it time after time. Everybody who actually took a counter was out on the street within three months, meaning the company was able to make a much smoother transition at the cost of just a few extra months at the higher salary. The guy who took the counter was then in a position of finding a job when he didn't have one, which is a recipe for getting lowballed by potential employers. When they offered me a counter I was tempted to take it on the condition they give me a huge cash bonus and a twelve month contract with steep cancellation penalties. Instead I just said no. Who wants to work at a place like that?

nandemo 15y ago

> Secondly, and more importantly, the reason the employer is making a counter-offer is not to entice you to stay, but to buy enough time to find someone else -- a loyal and qualified someone else -- to replace you. How does one decide that an outsider is "loyal"? More often than not the company will be "poaching" the outsider from another company. Doesn't that suggest that outsider is not loyal? And why the hell any company that does not offer life employment would expect loyalty from employees?

Drbble 15y ago
Bloggers, routinely overlook this wisdom. Also, your replacement is nowhere near as competent as you at your job, if you have any unique responsibilities (code you alone wrote). Current employees are far cheaper than new hours, if productivity is taken into account (but often it isn't)
- mirkules 15y ago
  I agree, that's exactly the point I was trying to make. Btw, I think I fat-fingered and downvoted you, so I'll upvote another one of your comments (sorry)
mirkules 15y ago
What I meant was that since you're quitting, the company would view you as completely disloyal, and definitely not dedicated to this company. A new hire, by comparison, would be at least somewhat more loyal. That particular comment was more of a figure of speech along the lines of "If you're going to quit on me, I'm going to go out a d find someone that is more loyal"

spqr 15y ago

Are you speaking from experience? I've been in IT for 20 years and your advice sounds completely wrong to me. My current base salary is $171,000 and I get a bonus as well. I like to think I am a 9 or 10 level salary negotiator but maybe I'm wrong because your advice sounds like a someone who is making $80k per year and thinks they know everything about salary negotiation.