The Pinto Podcast

The Counter Offer

May 23, 2021 Chris & Nancy Pinto Season 1 Episode 9
The Pinto Podcast
The Counter Offer
Show Notes Transcript

Have you decided to enhance your career by finding a new job, only to have your current employer muddle everything with a counter-offer?   We're here to help, providing some insight and, hopefully, a few laughs along the way! 
 
Pinto Employment Search LLC - Logistics & Supply Chain Recruiters
Chris & Nancy Pinto, Owners
Website: 
https://www.pintoemployment.com/

Chris Pinto:
Phone: 908-578-5814
Email: 
chris.pinto@pintoemployment.com
www.linkedin.com/in/chrispintoemployment

Nancy Pinto
Phone: 201-988-2293
Email: 
nancy@pintoemployment.com 
www.linkedin.com/in/nancypinto

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Chris Pinto
https://www.chrispinto.com/
IG: @chrispeterpinto
FB: https://www.facebook.com/chris.pinto.940
Twitter: @chrispeterpinto
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pinto-employment-search-llc/
Email:
chrispintoactor@gmail.com

Music and Sound FX Credits: https://freepd.com/



NANCY:   Whether you asked for a job transition or not, searching for a new position can be scary, frustrating and disheartening.  Times and technologies change quickly, and there’s a lot to organize!  But the journey can just as easily be exciting, fruitful and rewarding.  I’m Nancy Pinto. 
CHRIS:  And I’m Chris Pinto.  Together we own Pinto Employment Search, an executive recruiting firm specializing in the supply chain and logistics industry.  Our combined experience in transportation jobs and recruiting is over 50 years!  We’re here to help you navigate the world of resume writing, job applications, interviews, negotiating compensation, and everything in between - to help you land the job you want!  
From time to time, we will also release an episode where we announce current job openings we’re working on.  
NANCY:  Welcome to the Job Search SOS Podcast!  
CHRIS: Consider this scenario.  You’ve been planning a ski weekend with your buddies for 2 months.  Today is the day.  But all of a sudden at 3 o’clock your boss tells you that a very important client has a container arriving tonight in Long Beach from Houston and needs you to be there to make sure it arrives safely.  Oh, and by the way, you will need to go back there tomorrow - A SATURDAY - to oversee them transloading it to the storage facility. 
NANCY:  Now you have 2 choices. You could try out that roundhouse kick you’ve been working on in your Krav Maga class to see if it will actually cave in his rib cage, or you can cancel your ski weekend, work instead, and stay out of prison. You choose the latter because you want to remain a productive member of society.  
CHRIS:   But now you’re seething.  It’s bad enough that for the past four years, they treated you poorly, underpaid you, and were so disorganized that you routinely spent half the day running around putting out fires.  This was the last straw.  You decide you have had enough.  
NANCY: Fast forward a few weeks, and you have found yourself a great new job.  It’s a step up, with more responsibilities, but also  a higher salary AND more vacation time. Yaaay!  You give your Manager the customary 2 weeks notice. 
CHRIS: Then, all of a sudden, you’re treated like Royalty. They want to pay you more! You’ll never have to work weekends again!  In fact, you can keep your plans and leave early!  Upper management has their eye on you, and as a matter of fact, there are BIG CHANGES right around the corner that are being approved as we speak. AS WE SPEEAAK!
NANCY: And now you’re thinking Where the F#@$K was that before???? Well, it was all in a little magic box in your bosses office that is marked  “Only open in case of Emergency.”  And today YOU are the Emergency.  They don’t want to lose a good employee.  And they will say ANYTHING to get you to stay. 
CHRIS: Sometimes they will make up a new Title for you, like Supervisor of Global Strategic Process Initiative Solutions.  They’ll bring out your boss's boss’s boss who has no idea who you are and has to be quickly briefed on your name, title and “insert personal anecdote about employee- in-question here” to tell you how important you are to the company and convince you to stay.
NANCY: They want you to forget all the reasons you decided to look for a new job in the first place, make you feel like an invaluable part of the “Team” - and question why you would want to leave this Family. 
CHRIS: Tempting to stay, isn’t it?
NANCY: But once again...Where the F#@$K was that before????
CHRIS: It’s a strategic move designed to make you turn down the other offer and keep you warm while they decide what they REALLY want to do with you. 
NANCY:  Before you immediately accept your current employer’s counter offer, consider the following: 
CHRIS:  Why did they offer a promotion and a raise only after you decided to resign?  You’ve had great performance reviews since you started, yet there’s always an excuse for not increasing compensation to match the level of work you put in day after day.   
NANCY:  If you turn down the new company, is it only a matter of time before your old boss falls into old patterns of mistreating you?
CHRIS:  Are you doomed to repeat this nerve-wracking job search?
NANCY: Will you always be asking yourself “What if…” after you’ve closed the door on the new opportunity? 
CHRIS:  Fair or not, will your colleagues and managers view you differently if you decide to stay?  
NANCY: And should the company find themselves needing to downsize, will they remember how you wanted to leave and show you the door? 
CHRIS:  Of course, this strategy may work.  You are right to request reasonable changes and be paid what you are worth.  But more often than not, your current employer will be flustered, and the company you turn down might feel used as leverage.  You don’t want to burn any bridges, so think very carefully before making this crucial decision.
NANCY:  I personally know that of which we speak.  Years ago, I found myself at a company that was restructuring.  The ultimatum for many of us was: take on more responsibilities (at the same pay), or lose your job.  After a year, the situation became unsustainable, so I found a new job more closely aligned with my professional and personal goals.  
CHRIS:  The boss went through the 5 stages of counter offer grief:
Disbelief, Panic, Strategizing, Romancing, and Guilt Trip.  
NANCY: Number 1: Disbelief.  “What’s this, a joke? Haha!  You’re not really leaving.  You love it here! C’mon now, you’re just going through a phase.”
CHRIS: Number 2: Panic.  “Oh no.  She’s serious.  What am I gonna do?  This is really inconvenient!  How do I split up her job?  Can I get away with giving it to so-and-so, or am I gonna have to replace her?  Am IIIIII gonna have to do it? Ugh!  Why can’t she just stay!”
NANCY: Number 3: Strategizing.  “I’ll offer her a raise, a manager title, PLUS 3 more vacation days - but be prepared to offer 5.  I’ll point out that she’s gonna be the new kid on probation at the new company, while here she practically has run of the place!  I’ll  remind her that ups and downs are part of the job no matter where you are, and that things will get better.  Then I’ll tell her this is all because I care about her future, and ever-so-magnanimously give her a few days to think over my proposal.”    
CHRIS: Number 4:  Romancing:  The  counter offer is put into action. “My finest employee!  You’re working so hard on that RFQ, time for a break.  Let me take you to lunch.  Order whatever you want, it’s on the company!”  
NANCY: Number 5: Guilt Trip.  This happens when the counter offer is rejected.  “I’m really disappointed.  After giving you a job, supporting you all these years, you’re leaving me high and dry.  Was I really that bad?  You should think very carefully about how this move could affect your future.  I didn’t think you’d be the type to burn bridges.  Could you at least be available for a couple of weeks to answer any questions the department might have about all the extra work they’re gonna have to handle?”   
In this phase, my boss told me I’d never find another job as good as the one I was leaving.  He was right.  I found better.   
CHRIS:  He was hoping Nancy would be persuaded to stay if they sweetened the pot.  She listened to what they had to say, but stuck to her decision.  
NANCY:  And, I’ve never regretted it, because I knew in my gut that it was time for a change, and if I wanted things to get better, it would have to come from me, not from the company.  They did what they had to do; I did what I had to do. 
CHRIS:  We hope this advice helped.  As always, we understand that many factors are at play when considering changing jobs.  Sometimes it IS better to stay where you are.  Every situation is unique.  As long as you’re playing fair and honestly, and not just using people, you absolutely need to make the best decision for you and your family, regardless of outside influences.  Yes, we recruiters want to make our placements; that’s no secret.  But we also want you to be certain, so that when you do change jobs, you’re there for a long time.  
NANCY:  Let us know your thoughts and experiences around counter offers!  Next time, we have some guidance for students preparing to enter the workforce.  
CHRIS:  We’ll also drop a bonus episode announcing the hottest logistics jobs we’re working on.  Our website and contact info will be in the show notes of every episode, so please feel free to share with anyone you know, and reach out with comments, questions, or just to say hello! Thank you for listening to the Job Search SOS Podcast!  Please visit www.pintoemployment.com and feel free to reach out to us.  See you next time! 

Pinto Employment Search LLC - Logistics & Supply Chain Recruiters
Chris & Nancy Pinto, Owners
Website:  https://www.pintoemployment.com/

Chris Pinto: 
Phone: 908-578-5814
Email:  chris.pinto@pintoemployment.com
www.linkedin.com/in/chrispintoemployment

Nancy Pinto
Phone: 201-988-2293
Email:  nancy@pintoemployment.com  
www.linkedin.com/in/nancypinto