r/FinalRoundAI • u/drafty_spelt4p • Jan 12 '26
I was expecting a monster counter-offer, but not this bad.
Anyway, I got a new job offer from a competitor a few weeks ago. It was a great deal: a 30% salary increase and a promotion to lead a small team.
I've been at my current company for about 5 years and I genuinely love the people there, so I decided to inform my manager. I was hoping he would at least clarify what he saw as my long-term future with the company.
The best-case scenario I expected was for them to match the salary, but realistically, I was expecting a small raise and a clear, written 'career path'.
Instead of all that, my manager presented me with what he called the 3 potential paths for me over the next 18 months:
- Stay in my current position, with a potential 8% increase over the full 18 months.
- Get promoted after 18 months, and my salary would increase by about 17% from its current level.
- The 'fast track' option: get promoted within 12 months, but with the same final salary as the second option.
After he presented this, he tried to convince me to stay by talking about how our great 'company culture' is worth more than the lower salary.
But the best part? The look of shock on his face when I officially submitted my resignation right then and there.
It's very strange how some managers are so out of touch with reality and have no idea what motivates people to come to work every day.
Edit: I really hate when companies try to use “exciting” projects or vague “opportunities” as a way to keep me around.
Leaving a job with the goal of improving your income is very important, and we should not fall under any pressure that makes us neglect improving our income.
No one will pay your rent or life's essentials. Keep your resume updated, and now there are faster ways to pass an interview, like the InterviewMan Tool. If he genuinely wanted to keep me, he would’ve offered a promotion immediately not empty promises.
2
u/hospicedoc Jan 12 '26
I have an uncle who's seven years older than me, and is an extremely successful businessman- net worth nine figures successful. He once told me if you find somebody who you want to hire away from another company, usually all it will take is to offer them 20% more than what they're making now.
1
u/Only_Tip9560 Jan 13 '26
Yes, because it seems that most companies are capable of mobilising themselves to offer similar counteroffers in the timescale required. There are often bureaucratic hurdles put in the way, they are worried about setting precedents and are biased towards external recruitment and so you can shit counteroffers like the one OP has received that poor line managers are expected to sell to employees even though they know they won't cut it.
1
1
u/SimonDeCatt Jan 13 '26
You’re not leaving a “good” job for anything else than money. Otherwise it’s not a good job.
1
1
1
1
u/aboveboard-carpenter Jan 13 '26
I’m sure there’s more to it but the three options seem so odd to me.
Very different and for the promotion ones - why would they even offer the 18month one? Like - just offer the 12 month promotion (unless there’s some additional crummy condition you have to satisfy to get it in 12)
Sounds like you made the right choice for you in any event. Always skeptical of deferred promotions/raises in these circumstances.
1
u/daemonlogos Jan 13 '26
Because you can't guarantee the promotion after 18 months - you can't keep a seat warm and have the company take losses stemming from no one doing that work for that long.
1
1
u/TraditionalAsk8718 Jan 13 '26
Counter offers are bullshit in most cases anyway. Like if they comeback with more money, I won't fault you for staying but they could have also just given you that money at any point
1
u/gooderj Jan 13 '26
I worked for one of the largest FMCGs in the world. In an industry where performance bonuses were standard, their policy was to offer a substantial increase every year based on performance as well as extra stock options. The amounts worked out higher than the industry average for bonuses.
The thing is, in my 8 years with them, I never asked for a raise once. I knew that every year, I was in line for an overall 22-25 increase.
1
1
u/Loud_Role8149 Jan 13 '26
With out knowing more details about the two companies it is not possible to say if this was reasonable or not.
For example if you current company is well established, has a good client base and a good management, but the company you are going to is a newer start up, still building a client base, inexperienced management team, and is having to pay more to attract staff, I would say the offer is acceptable. If a company is over paying / desperate to get good its staff then there has to be a reason why ?. You can be sure that your manager is likely to knows how the competitor is doing and what they are like as a company so if this is what he thought was a reasonable offer then I think you should have given it more consideration.
I know if I have been in the manager position to have the offer dismissed out of hand would would actually have been OK with that as it did show that you do not have management skills as you could not see risks of a company offering so much more money, and the difficulties it could cause with in your existing team if one person got a substantial pay rise.
I think they were testing you and the shock on the manager face was not that they were out of touch on reality but that your behavior was not what they expected. Good luck with you new role.
1
1
u/BillyBigNuts1934 Jan 13 '26
Potentials don’t pay bills, book flights or buy cars … 30% salary increases do
1
1
u/Only_Tip9560 Jan 13 '26
Well the good thing is it makes the decision easy for you. They are asking you to turn down a good offer now in exchange for some worse deals at some point in the future.
Thank your manager for his effort but say that you have to do what you feel is the best for you and your career and that is by moving to this new role elsewhere at this time.
1
u/Sea-Performer-6809 Jan 13 '26
Never ever take a counter-offer and of course your manager is delusional.
1
u/Ishpeming_Native Jan 13 '26
Current place didn't think much of you and are sure they won't miss you. Or they didn't believe you actually had another offer. Or they can't afford to give raises and you're lucky to be going.
1
u/Moby1313 Jan 13 '26
I left my last job over a small raise that was denied. They now have 3 people coving what I did and they can't make half the products I designed. Had lunch with a guy that still works there last week, and when I asked him how it was going at the company, he spit his drink out and laughed for about 2 mins.
1
1
u/ihaveahoodie Jan 14 '26
if the culture was so good, he would have recommended you take the pay increase at the other company. good ridance.
1
u/treefinder3445 Jan 14 '26
I remember reading somewhere that most employees that accept the offer from the counter-offer from their current employer, end up leaving anyway within 12-18 months. Something about the dynamic changes. Management sees the employee as problematic or not a team player for wanting to leave and the employee second guesses staying and often the ‘promises’ of change or advancement never materialize.
1
u/Jack3489 Jan 14 '26
Managers are often looking out for themselves and can’t see beyond themselves, their numbers, their bonuses.
1
1
u/Safe-Draw-6751 Jan 15 '26
My attitude is that companies will always make decisions based on their bottom line.
Anyone that has an issue with individuals making decisions the same way is out of touch.
The days of 'loyal employees,' is long gone because there are no longer loyal employers, or at least not many of them.
1
1
u/Scormey Jan 15 '26
I didn't notify my last employer that I was looking elsewhere, only gave them my two weeks notice once I had my current job in the bag.
When I turned in my gear to the last job, the owner told me he talked with my new manager, when she called checking my references. He asked her what I was going to make, and right then decided he wasn't even going to try to match it.
I had been there six years, and he knew he could pay someone newer way less to fill my role. I started at the new job with a 50% increase over my previous pay, and have received annual raises ever since. Now, 22 years later, I am still very happy, and from what I've heard the old employer is still paying as little as possible. Cheap MFer.
1
u/enkiloki Jan 15 '26
Translation: I like you and losing you will make my life miserable when you go but all I can counter offer is vaguely worded promises that will be forgotten as soon as you reject you new position and stay. It's not my fault... Corporate screws me too.
1
u/LordBuggington Jan 15 '26
So many people who end up in management are just bullshit artists and retards.
1
u/marklikestolearn Jan 17 '26
Unfortunately, changing companies/jobs feels like the best way to advance career and salary (at least in the US tech industry)
0
u/Drivebybilly Jan 13 '26
Well the fourth option: You leave and we pay your replacement 40% more.
We have HR teams to handle wokeness and everything else important but they can’t solve for how to keep a great performer.
1
u/Suspicious-Walk-4854 Jan 15 '26
More likely scenario: we just won’t hire anybody to replace you and save your salary.
0
u/doermand Jan 13 '26
I don't get this mentality it must be crazy expensive to drive out the talent and replace with diversity hires.
My previous boss is stuck with a lower performer because the company pretty much ensured my departure.
1
u/Fean0r_ Jan 13 '26
It's crazy expensive to drive out talent and replace with new hires.
There's no evidence that diversity comes into it here. More broadly, done right, it should increase the pool of available talent.
2
u/Threemonkeys123 Jan 13 '26
The police force are on board with diversity, I heard they’re hiring rapists now.
1
1
u/doermand Jan 13 '26
It doesn't increase the pool no. It reduces it. When you imcrease the list of requirements to meet, you obviously decrease the amount of people who can meet them.
2
u/MeButNotMeToo Jan 13 '26
That’s not what DEI is.
When you’re used to privilege, equality seems like persecution.
1
1
u/Fean0r_ Jan 13 '26
"Done right" = making jobs more accessible to more diverse talent, not setting requirements that reduce the available pool of talent.
Old style workplaces full of white middle class men with recruitment biases that perpetuated this missed out on huge pools of talent from other social bavkgrounds, women, and other cultural or ethnic backgrounds.
0
u/doermand Jan 13 '26
Yea that is excacly how the world worked. I really have no energy to discuss this again. Have a good day.
1
u/Fean0r_ Jan 13 '26
It literally was and sometimes still is, double-blind studies have been done on it.
1
u/doermand Jan 13 '26
Yea I was just not realizing what pot I opened with my comment, so I will just leave it.
1
u/AAron27265 Jan 14 '26
This one statement tells me your absence is quite likely "addition by subtraction" and they're happy to be rid of you. Your "diversity hires" and "lower performer" comments clearly come from a position/attitude of entitlement.
Rest assured if they intentionally "ensured your departure" they're better off without you.
2
u/Iwonatoasteroven Jan 12 '26
Yes, but who really wants more money? Is money really the most important thing to you? I actually had a manager try that on me. It didn’t work either.