Career suicide

by way of the "Counter Offer" I bumped into this great article addressing the "counter offer" when a valued employee decides to move on. I have had this happen on at least two occasions. Once, I recall jumping through a number of hoops for a great consulting role with a consulting firm. One of those deals where they did not want to talk wages until they knew I was the right person for the job. When I passed all tests, they offered me a low ball figure. I was insulted. One of the reasons that I have never, and would never, consider applying for another job where the employer is embarrassed to reveal the wage and benefit package early in the dance. Your mileage may vary. But in this case, I so wanted to leave my old position that I agreed to work for that low wage. They said if they had made a mistake, they would make adjustments at my annual review. And they did. I got a 20% increase a year later. Largest in company history. I felt vindicated. They admitted that they were wrong. Now that I was in demand, time to look for an employer worthy of my talents. Within three months, I found one and left. They made the counter offer, but I explained that it was "too late" for them to impress me. Yes, they honored the commitment to "make it up to me", but even a 20% increase a year later would take years to actually repay those lost wages. But I also knew "career suicide" was more common than most would like to admit. Don't fall prey... -ski ---- Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey, Jonah www.throughput.us ski@throughput.us ©2008 Throughput.us LLC. All rights reserved.