Why you should say thanks but no thanks to a counter offer.

In a competitive legal hiring market, it is increasingly common for candidates to be made a counter-offer by their existing employer after resigning. Good candidates are in demand, and many employers move quickly to try to retain them once a resignation is on the table.

While a counter-offer can feel flattering, accepting one carries real career risk. Research consistently shows that a large majority of people who accept a counter-offer do not stay with their current employer for the long term, with many leaving within six to eighteen months regardless. It is worth putting your ego aside and giving any potential counter-offer serious thought before you respond.

As specialist legal recruiters, we have seen this pattern play out many times. Below are the factors worth weighing up when a counter-offer lands on your desk.

1. Revisit the reasons you wanted to leave

Go back to the reasons you wished to leave your current role, and compare them honestly with the counter-offer in front of you. What has actually changed? Why didn't your employer offer more money, a new project or different working conditions when you first raised it? If the counter-offer is purely financial, what about the other aspects of your role that left you unhappy?

Do you get along with your boss? Can you see a clear path for career progression? Are you being invested in through development and training? Does your current firm genuinely align with your values? Consider whether any of these underlying conditions have actually changed. Accepting a counter-offer might bump up your salary, but it rarely changes the reasons that drove you to look for a new role in the first place.

2. Consider your value

Why didn't your employer recognise your value before you resigned? How much do they really recognise your contribution, if action is only taken once you are ready to walk out the door? Consider whether this reflects a work culture that is genuinely positive for you and your career. If you have not felt valued during your time there, that is unlikely to change simply because you handed in your resignation.

3. Consider the counter-offer from your employer's perspective

Many employers offer what they believe you want, purely to avoid the disruption, cost and inconvenience of recruiting and training your replacement. It is worth being mindful that your employer is now aware you were unhappy enough to want to leave. Their counter-offer might simply be buying them time to see a project through to completion, and it is not inconceivable that they consider replacing you when it becomes more convenient for them to do so.

It is also worth thinking through how your resignation, followed by an accepted counter-offer, might affect your ongoing relationship with your manager and colleagues. Your commitment and loyalty may be questioned going forward, and over the longer term this can mean you are not the first choice for a special project or promotion. Colleagues may also perceive favouritism, which can be detrimental to working relationships within a team.

4. Never, ever do this

You should never accept a counter-offer from your existing employer after you have already accepted an offer from a new employer. This is unethical, and it can carry real consequences for rescinding an accepted employment contract.

The damage to your personal brand and reputation in the market can be significant. A new employer has taken the time to interview you, make you an offer, prepare for your arrival, announce you to the organisation, and quite likely decline other candidates for the role. You are unlikely to be considered by that employer again in future. The legal industry is a small world, and burning bridges in this way will almost always harm your career over the longer term.

Say thanks, but no thanks

We understand that accepting a counter-offer can be tempting. After all, it saves the disruption of packing your desk and starting over somewhere new. But the pitfalls can be draining and genuinely career limiting. Once you have made the decision and taken the steps to pursue a new role, believe in your reasons for doing so, and take the next step in your career rather than retreating to your comfort zone. We would strongly suggest saying thanks, but no thanks, and walking away respectfully, having already made your contribution to your current firm.

For more career advice from experienced legal industry recruiters, stay in touch. We would welcome the chance to have a confidential conversation with you about your market value and what is on offer across the Queensland legal industry.