So, you’ve been offered a new role after attending maybe one or two interviews with the firm of your dreams – Hooray and Congratulations! You have just spent the past few evenings celebrating with your family and friends and have received your offer letter in the post from your new firm. Everything looks in order and you have popped it back in the post (signed of course) ready to start your new adventure! Then the dreaded thought comes to you that your notice needs to be handed in with your current employer! The day has arrived where it must be done and you have nervous butterflies. Fear not, as the most difficult part of the process has already been done, the perfect firm has offered you your perfect role and this is the final piece to the jigsaw.
When handing in your notice, you will most likely have a sit-down chat with your current firm in private who will most likely ask for the reasons behind your decision to leave the firm. Depending on the circumstances and reasons why you are handing in your notice will alter the way in which the firm will react. Some firms will be devastated to hear the news or some may unfortunately not be troubled by this news which sometimes makes your life easier in that the meeting gets cut short and you can focus on the exciting coming months.
During the meeting, some firms may negotiate your notice period to a lesser amount meaning you can join your new firm sooner rather than later. However, some firms may make it a little bit more confusing by counter offering you! With a counter offer comes a potential salary increase, better package including holidays and possible issues to be solved (in the short term). They let you have a think about the counter offer and this sometimes begin to look like a good option, or perhaps even the easier thing to do. You sit there thinking “Why now? After all this time working here has it taken me handing in my notice for them to do something about it?” This is becoming an increasingly popular option for firms to retain their employees but most of the time, candidates hold on to the real reasons in which they were looking for a new role in the first place. How trustworthy are your current firm? Would they ensure that their new promises are kept?
At the end of the day, it is your decision, but the success of counter offers is very low. Over 70% of candidates who accept a counter offer are no longer with the firm six months later. These offers are normally known as a “short-term fix” so our advice here at Temporis is to take your dream job and start your new adventure!
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