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Counter Offers



Happy June.  This month I want to discuss counter offers.  Since the beginning of this year we have seen a record number of counter offers made by employees.  The low unemployment rates are playing a large factor to this but we have witnessed counter offers blowing up for both sides.

Case in point, recently I made an offer to a new graduate with no experience.  I offered her a strong compensation plan based on her experience/degree and also what the market was demanding.  She had a great personality, good references and I felt like she would be an asset to the team.  She countered my offer for an additional $4100. I declined her offer and moved to the 2nd best candidate who accepted. The first candidate came back 48 hours later wanting to accept the offer I had made but it was too late, an offer had been made and accepted by another.

All too often the recipient of a counter offer (the employer) is in a situation where they need to hire, they are constrained by a budget or salary tiers, and there is very little wiggle room.  However, candidates do not always take the time to understand what the constraints of the employer is. They make an assumption that anything can be negotiated and this is simply not true.  My advice: understand the constraints of the employer and also what your must haves are in an opportunity. Don’t try to negotiate just for the sake of negotiating thinking the worse they can say is no.  You might end up with a no and a closed door.

Some additional advice for both employee and employer: consider both sides.  It is easy for a hiring manager or business manager to quickly think the employee doing the countering is greedy.  On the flip side, it is easy for the employee to think they are being cheap or perhaps they have an overly inflated sense of self-worth.  The hiring manager or business owner’s job is to figure out what they need and what matters most to them.  Is it PTO, is it health insurance, or is it a solid base pay because they are a single parent?  On the other side, the employee needs to understand what they are flexible on and what is set in stone.  Vacation days might be iron clad in an employee hand book, salaries might be capped and no matter how hard or well you negotiate they cannot be loosened.  Knowing both sides up front can help alleviate mis-aligned expectations.

In addition, for my job seekers, when submitting a counter, submit everything at once not in bits and pieces.  There is nothing worse for a hiring manager to get a counter on something and say yes then get another request.  If you ask for one thing and get it, then go back and ask for another, the chances of you getting it are greatly reduced and it damages the relationship before you have even started.  Propose all of your changes or requests at once.

Lastly, to my employers out there….don’t be surprised by a counter offer and don’t take it personally.  It has been a few years since we have seen them, but they are back and they are worth considering for the right people!  If you have any hiring needs for the month of June please do not hesitate to call us.  We have some great professionals looking for great employers!

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