Home > In The
News > Career Advice > Receive
a Job Counter-Offer? Don't Take It
Career Advice
Receive a Job Counter-Offer? Don't
Take It
By Hal Reiter
June 30, 2008
A few years ago, I recruited an executive to run a mid-level company. The night before he was supposed to start his new job, the executive called to say he was staying put. The board of directors at his current company--a major multinational retailer--had offered to name him CEO in one year's time.
I was aghast, but my former candidate could
hardly envision a better scenario. He had
leveraged an offer to run a mid-sized company
and used it to land the coveted top spot
at a retailing giant. No greater career coup
exists, right?
Wrong.
After three tumultuous years as CEO, my
former candidate was fired. This executive
was not yet ready to run such a large organization.
Had he accepted the job at the smaller company,
he could have gained the necessary experience
to successfully run a major multinational
in due time.
Instead, he lured his company into a bidding
war and forced the board to make a rash decision
about retention in the name of corporate
competition. As a result, his career ultimately
suffered a mortal blow, not to mention the
damage he caused shareholders, who watched
their stock drop as a result of his inexperience.
Unable to land another CEO position, he
took an early retirement.
In my 25 years of experience, I have learned
that accepting a counter-offer is usually
career suicide. Watching your boss scramble
to keep you may be a heady experience, but
in exchange for that sweet moment, you'll
have squandered your honor, a sacrifice that
will haunt you for many years. Even more
troubling, you may never know exactly when
or to what extent your reputation has been
sullied.
There's a good chance hiring executives
might blacklist you from other employment
opportunities. Aside from refusing to ever
hire you again, executives have long memories
and will bad mouth you any chance they get.
I remember sitting on a plane with a group
of retail executives when someone mentioned,
by name, a seasoned retailer. The group listened
intently as one of the executives launched
into an unflattering tale of how the employee had used the executive's perfectly good job offer as a bargaining chip for a fat buyback. By being dishonest with one company, the employee harmed his reputation with all of the executives on that flight.
Whenever I deliver a short list for a top
job to one of my clients, I feel obligated
to mention which potential candidates have
accepted buyback offers in the past. Often
my client will choose not to proceed with
one of these people. Remember: Recruiters
never forget a buyback, and computer files
help us immensely.
Bosses don't forget either. Initially,
the company that retained you delights in
winning you back from the competition. But
after perhaps six months, management will
begin resenting you for essentially extorting
money or power from the firm.
A bitter taste of disloyalty lingers. Now
you're tacitly expected to perform like a
new hire, proving yourself all over again
to justify your new salary or position. You
had better be up to the task.
Anytime you use a new job offer as a bargaining
chip with your boss, there's always a risk
you'll lose the bet. Next thing you know,
you're sitting in a strange office, having
left a trail of ill will in your wake.
To be fair, counter-offers can provide an
opportunity for employees to voice issues
or concerns about their jobs. When you are
recruited for another job, ask yourself:
What are the pros and cons of my current
position? If the negatives outweigh the positives,
you simply must leave. However, you may decide
you genuinely like your position, aside from
one or two problems, in which case it's time
to have an open, honest conversation with
your boss--before you accept the offer.
Down the road, such a conversation will
be far more valuable if you choose not to
force your boss into a buyback offer. You
will retain your reputation for honesty,
and, in my experience, this will serves you
far better than a single raise or promotion
ever could. See actual article at www.forbes.com.
Hal Reiter is chairman and CEO of Herbert
Mines Associates, a senior-level executive
search firm specializing in the retail, fashion,
beauty and consumer products industries.
|
