It’s Getting Harder to Leverage a Job Offer

It used to be that the fastest way to increase your salary was to get a job offer and leverage it into a counteroffer. But in today’s shifting job market, the emphasis is on “used to be.”

With jobs getting tougher to find, experts say, the landscape for ambitious career-makers is changing.  Dan Kaplan, a senior client partner in the CHRO practice at Korn Ferry, says seeking or accepting counteroffers is now a riskier career move than most people realize. “It’s a more dangerous play nowadays,” says Kaplan. To be sure, some studies estimate that upward of 80% of people who accept a counteroffer to stay with their current job leave within a year.

That’s if they get a counteroffer at all. Between slowing growth to the rise of artificial intelligence to continued tension over returning to the office and other issues, human resources leaders and people managers are more inclined to let people leave than make a counteroffer to keep them.

Against that backdrop, here are five things our experts suggest thinking about before seeking or accepting a counteroffer. 

Assess how motivated are you to leave.

“Why did you start looking for a new job in the first place,” asks Jennifer Zamora, a Korn Ferry principal who specializes in human resources. “Do you really want to leave or is it a matter of more money or a promotion?” If it’s the latter, Zamora says having a candid conversation with your manager or finding other ways to demonstrate your value and negotiate a raise or advocate for a promotion might be a better strategy than risking not receiving a counteroffer, especially if you have no real intention of leaving.

Know where you stand.

Dennis Deans, vice president of global human resources at Korn Ferry, says seeking or accepting a job offer depends a lot on “knowing where you stand in the organization.” Top performers and those with in-demand skills or deep institutional or industry knowledge have more leverage. Firms with strong talent management and development processes “will often make the investment in keeping these people,” says Deans. But newer employees, people who fall outside those categories, or those in roles that can be easily shifted to other areas or supplemented with technology are on less solid footing, so to speak.  

Consider the reaction…

Korn Ferry Advance career coach David Meintrup tells clients to consider how their manager and other leaders in the organization will take the news of another job offer. Some managers may get offended or view you as disloyal and not a team player, for instance. Others will want what’s best for your development and fight to get you what you need to stay or understand that moving on is best for your career. “Think about the culture of the company before seeking a counteroffer,” says Meintrup.

...and the potential repercussions.

Understand, however, that even if your company makes a counteroffer and you accept it, that doesn’t mean it’s business as usual. “Do it once, and your manager will always be waiting for it to happen again,” says Paul Fogel, professional search sector leader for software at Korn Ferry. As a result, people who accept counteroffers could ultimately experience repercussions like being passed over for promotions, left off key projects, or at the top of the list when layoffs or cost cuts are necessary, among others.

Play the long game.

Zamora cautions people considering counteroffers to not be seduced by the money. More money is great, of course, but if staying doesn’t align with your career goals it could impact your earnings potential and job satisfaction in the future. In fact, equally important to think about are things like growth opportunities and work-life balance, among others. “What’s the long-term impact on your career if you stay or if you go?” asks Zamora.

For more expert career advice, connect with a career coach at Korn Ferry Advance.

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