Five Steps To Take When Facing A Counteroffer
- Tara Forster Sowa
- Sep 4
- 2 min read
If you’ve decided to accept a new role, only for your current company to respond with a tempting package to stay, pause and take a breath. For CFOs, CHROs, other C-suite leaders, and even middle management roles, the implications of this decision are rarely just about money. They ripple across reputation, long-term career trajectory, and trust.
Here are five key steps to navigate the counteroffer dilemma with clarity and confidence.
1. Revisit Why You Wanted to Leave
Counteroffers often address symptoms rather than causes. A bigger paycheque or title may temporarily soothe dissatisfaction, but the underlying issues that prompted you to consider leaving, whether that’s culture, lack of growth, limited influence, or board misalignment, will most likely remain.
Accepting the counteroffer without confronting these root issues risks prolonging the inevitable departure.
2. Evaluate the Trust Factor
Once you announce your intention to leave, the dynamic with your current leadership team changes. Even if you stay, colleagues and superiors may see you as a “flight risk.” This can quietly influence future promotions, succession planning, or project assignments.
Consider whether staying will erode the trust you’ve worked years to build.
3. Compare Long-Term Growth Paths
Money is often the first card on the table in a counteroffer. But future scope, learning opportunities, and organizational influence are the real multipliers of career value.
New Role Advantage: Often brings fresh challenges, visibility in a new market, and access to a broader network.
Counteroffer Limitation: May keep you in a familiar comfort zone with less potential for exponential growth.
Map both roles five years into the future. Which path aligns with where you want your career to go?
4. Assess Organizational Stability and Signals
A counteroffer may be a tactical move to buy time for your current employer, not a sincere investment in your future.
Red Flag: If the company is undergoing restructuring, preparing for acquisition, or facing financial strain, the counteroffer may be more about their short-term survival than your long-term career.
Look for signs of sustainable commitment, not just a reactive pay bump.
5. Leverage Guidance from External Advisors
Decisions at this level carry weight. Executive search partners, mentors, or board advisors can provide the outside perspective you need.
Value of Executive Search Firms: They understand market dynamics, compensation benchmarks, and cultural fit across industries. They can help you pressure-test whether the new role offers greater strategic upside or whether staying might stall your trajectory.
Benefit: Beyond impartial advice, these firms can help you plan for the long arc of your career, not just the immediate offer in hand.
Takeaway:
Counteroffers often look appealing in the short term but may limit your trajectory in the long term. The right choice is the one that aligns with both your career vision and your values.
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