How to Handle a Counteroffer After You Quit

How to Handle a Counteroffer After You Quit

It can be uncomfortable to tell your manager that you are quitting your job. To avoid unpleasantness, ask your supervisor for a meeting. Tell your manager it’s important. Be prepared, as it’s a good idea to tender your resignation without burning bridges and maintain good relations with your former boss and coworkers.

This is how you can quit your job with class and handle a counteroffer.

Don’t beat around the bush.

When you are sitting across from the boss, look them in the eyes and say, “I’ve been given an offer for a new job and have accepted it. Please be happy for me.” You want to rip off the Band-Aid right away.

Then, offer some context so your manager doesn’t feel that you’ve been going behind their back.

You might say: “The opportunity kind of fell into my lap. I didn’t seek it out. Someone at the company knew me by reputation and asked if I’d be interested in jumping on a Zoom call. The company is well-regarded, and the person offering the job interview is highly respected, so I felt it couldn’t hurt to only have a talk. Things happened quickly, and they extended a fantastic offer I couldn’t refuse.”

Recognize your manager.

After you give your notice, your manager will try to process what is happening. They may be upset you’re moving on because you’re a great team member or might be frustrated about having to hire a replacement.

While their mind is racing, tell your manager, “I want to let you know how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I’ve learned so much from you. You are a mentor and friend, in addition to my boss.”

Give a reasonable amount of notice.

Knowing that there will be extra work to do with you leaving, let your manager know, “I plan to give two weeks’ notice so that I can help during the interim and hand off my workload to my coworkers. I’ll try to make that happen if you need an extra week or so.”

Your boss will feel a little more comfortable, knowing that you’re not storming out the door and the team has some breathing room to figure everything out for themselves.

Stand firm against a counteroffer.

Your boss may ask, “Is there anything I could do to change your mind?”

Your manager might ask if their manager and other senior-level executives could speak with you. Be leery of this. It is a thinly veiled ploy to guilt, pressure or bribe you to stay. A counteroffer could backfire.

If you are resolute in your decision, let your boss know that having other conversations is unnecessary, as your mind is already made up.

Your manager’s bosses may feel it’s easier to throw some money at you to keep you from moving on. They figure you’d get a raise in the new year, anyway, so it’s like paying you now rather than later. Knowing that you’re planning on leaving, they’ve woken up to the fact that you’re awesome and really hard to replace. It’s too little too late. If they really cared about you, they’d have shown you the love before you said you were leaving.

It is best to firmly say, “Thank you, but no thank you.”

The bottom line

Shortly after you accept a counteroffer, you’ll be seen in a different light. The tension could get very uncomfortable. They remember the conversations as if you were holding them over a barrel, demanding more money to stay. They’ll think of you as a mercenary. Trust will be gone too. Your boss and management will feel you betrayed them by interviewing behind their backs.

The goal is to say all the right diplomatic things and leave on good terms. Don’t burn any bridges behind you, as you never know when your former manager and coworkers could come in handy for reference checks or help you throughout the rest of your career.

This article was written by Jack Kelly for Forbes and was lightly edited and published with permission.