What to do if the company tries to keep you when you decide to resign

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This post was last edited by colinzh on 2015-8-6 at 11:25. Submitting your resignation to a company is already a very awkward situation, and it becomes even more awkward if the company’s management tries to keep you. The simplest way for a company to retain employees is by offering promotions and raises, which is indeed attractive. But what is the proper approach? There are usually two reasons why a company tries to retain an employee: 1) The company has invested time and money in developing that employee; it doesn’t want another company to take advantage of that investment. Moreover, paying a slightly higher salary is much more cost-effective compared to having to create new positions and train new employees, which shows that the employee indeed possesses valuable skills ； 2. I’m sorry, you’re already “out”; the company is keeping you around only to manage risks, and as soon as someone takes over your position, you will be asked to leave. And the second point is what most companies do. First of all, do not reveal the salary amount offered to you by the new company. The company’s executives will assume that this is the main reason for your resignation, and then try to retain you by offering promotions, salary increases, or bonuses; at that point, you’ll have to weigh the pros and cons. Secondly, the risk of accepting the company’s attempt to retain me is too high. Initially, considering a job change is certainly not just for money – it could be a new company, a new job, new colleagues, new challenges, or perhaps the pursuit of one’s own interests and hobbies. If you accept their attempts to keep you, it’s unlikely that the new company will hire you in the future, and it will also leave a bad impression at your current company. Finally, if quitting your job to change employers is purely for money, then you might consider accepting an offer to stay. However, the situation in future positions may change, and employees who are seen as lacking teamwork spirit and being disloyal to the company could face issues. Therefore, when facing attempts by the company to keep you after resigning, headhunters advise that the best approach is to avoid traps; once you have decided to leave, there should be no more hesitations.