Whether the opportunity came to you naturally or following an application, the realities remain the same:

• You have questioned your current position and employer, and the answers led you to initiate and pursue this process.

• You have invested your time and that of the recruiter.

Let us examine the situation from different angles.

From your perspective:

« Are you leaving FROM something or moving TOWARDS something? »

Sources of dissatisfaction are often multiple. It is entirely possible to be generally satisfied while still wanting better, or to try something else, especially after three years or more in the same position.

In most cases, once this questioning appears, departure will occur within 6 to 12 months. The dissatisfactions that led you to accept a new position will generally return fairly quickly. If you were that valuable to the company, why would they have waited until you were about to leave to offer better compensation?

Think twice before accepting this new offer and submitting your resignation. Be certain that if you take this step, you will not turn back, no matter what your employer offers you afterward.

From the perspective of your current employer:

They may gain time to replace you, because they now know that you are likely to leave or repeat the same offer/counter-offer scenario. Consider your credibility: “He told me he found an opportunity, but he only used it to negotiate a higher offer. I offered him more, he stayed. Tomorrow, he will find something better; I won’t match it, he will leave anyway.”

One does not build a lasting employer-employee trust relationship solely on money—employers are aware of this. Yet, this is the message you send by accepting a counter-offer: “I am motivated by money.”

The trust bond is weakened.

From the perspective of the employer who made you a job offer:

“What credibility will your word have? You accepted an offer and then withdrew a few days or weeks later.” The conclusion: “He used our offer to negotiate with his current employer.”

This will remain a blemish on your career path. Be sure that everyone involved in this process will remember it and talk about it.

The professional world is small, even like a village. A career is built day by day, step by step.

In conclusion, resignation is an important, well-considered decision that you make based on yourself and your aspirations. It should not depend on what your current employer wants or what they are willing to do. Out of respect for yourself, chart your course and move forward.

If your current employer’s offer seems very rewarding, very well: leave with a light heart, with this feeling and satisfaction, because you have thus proven to this company that you have created value.