Nearly everyone who has ever left one company for another has had to struggle with that ever-alluring proposition known as a counter-offer. This seemingly genuine display of appreciation for your worth is surely the brainchild of Dilbert’s pointy-haired boss, for no one actually wins if an employee comes crawling back. When a worker returns to their old position with a few extra perks after he/she has actively sought out and obtained another job, the damage has already been done; metaphorically speaking, it’s like trying to treat a gunshot wound with a Band-Aid.

Accepting a counter-offer is quite literally bad news for everyone involved: the potential employer, the recruiter, your present employer, and even yourself. While it may seem like the current company is benefiting by retaining “key” personnel, they have just created a whole new mess of problems. First, they should expect every other employee aware of your action to try strategies similar to yours. The management has inadvertently rewarded an employee for seeking opportunities elsewhere. Anyone else who was previously even considering posting their resume online and/or “testing the waters” will surely do so now, for what do they have to lose? Your boss has also just created more work for him- or herself. After all, it would be foolish for the company to not anticipate your eventual departure, if not begin looking for your replacement outright. Allowing you to leave at your convenience instead of on the company’s timetable would wreak havoc on the team’s workflow, the department’s budget, and (of course) the vacation schedule. And as a final insult, your boss would experience some backlash for letting a good employee leave and for not having a contingency plan to deal with your absence. It is in the company’s (and your boss’) best interest to make a counter-offer, but not reveal to you that it is a temporary solution.

An employer will not soon forget that you wanted to leave once, and are likely to leave in the near future, which means your loyalty will forever be in doubt. The near certainty of being replaced is a good example of why there is rarely a solid reason for accepting a counter-offer, but if that is not enough, consider these factors:

• Your co-workers will never see you the same way again; for one, you have demonstrated that you do not really want to be there, and two, some may consider your tactics for career advancement underhanded.
• You may have just won some extra benefits or a raise, but what about future promotions? Has the time until your next advancement been prolonged, or, worse yet, will you just be permanently blackballed?
• Why didn’t the company offer you what you deserved before you threatened to leave? Sure, you are likely to be making more, but has the counter-offer remedied the real reason you wanted to leave? The paycheck may be different, but the working environment you previously dreaded every morning will be exactly the same.
• You accepted a new position elsewhere because you thought it was a move in the right direction; a counter-offer should not change your opinion of the new opportunity.

The disadvantages to the would-be employer are obvious. After investing a significant amount of time, effort, and money into filling the position, they might have to start the process all over again. In the time you were negotiating with this company, it is not unlikely that the other candidates who were told that the job was taken have already gone on to something else and are no longer available. Even if they were, there is something to be said for both parties’ perception of this arrangement. The alternative individual realizes they were the second choice and may fear being replaced when someone more qualified turns up, plus the company knows that their selection was forced, leaving them with a less than ideal new employee.

The recruiter hired by this company is equally out of luck. They have lost face, commission, and client confidence. The financial setback for them is nowhere near as severe as the damage that has been done to their standing in the business. Their sole responsibility is to provide companies with dependable workers, and if rumors abound that an agency cannot deliver, those recruiters will soon be searching for a new career themselves.

Why should you be concerned about the recruiter and former future employer? It may not be immediately obvious to you, but it will be crystal clear when your past comes back to haunt you after eventually departing from the current company. And statistics show you will leave. The National Business Employment Weekly reports that four of five people who accept counter-offers end up leaving in the following 12 months anyway; sometimes it is by their own choice, sometimes they are given the pink slip. Either way, once the job search begins anew, you may find that your reputation precedes you, especially if your career is set in an industry where competitors know one another and word travels fast. Do not burn bridges you may need to cross later in your career.

Remember that counter-offers are not really about you. More often than not, your boss is in a panic and his or her first reaction is to devise a plan that will convince you to stay. The idea is flattering, but do not forget the thought which is likely to follow this revelation in your boss’ mind: “I need to find a replacement right away.” When you have found a new job, the best thing to do is hand in a written resignation, walk out of the office, and do not look back. Think of that inevitable counter-offer as an insincere compliment that someone was coerced into making, then decline it. Be proud of your decision to improve your career, and embrace all the wonderful qualities of the new company that made you want to work there in the first place – you will not regret it.