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After an interview with a company they offered me a salary matching the one I asked for. However when considering the other benefits I was getting at the current employer (which I wasn't getting at from the other company) I realized my initial request was too low and I asked for more. They agreed to my demand and I accepted this new offer via email and telephone, because I was sure my current employer wasn't going to match it.

When I informed my current employer of the offer I received they came back with a counter offer which is slightly better and is actually a 60% increase from what I am currently getting from them.

Now I would like to ask the other company (not my employer) that I need some time to reconsider their offer even though I already informed them that I accept it because I got a counter offer from my current employer that is very competitive.

Is this a bad idea? And how should I proceed in asking for this additional thinking time while being professional and polite.

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    Is your intention to go back-and-forth and see who offers more and then go for that? Be careful, as you may end up with no offer (a bird in hand is worth two in the bush, etc)
    – DarkCygnus
    Feb 28, 2019 at 22:55
  • No, it is not my intention to do that, especially considering I already negotiated the offer once. However when I told them I will accept their offer I didn't think my current employer will actually match it that considering how big the raise was, and I feel like I haven't made a proper comparison between the proposals that are currently on the table right now.
    – Sam
    Feb 28, 2019 at 23:05
  • I see. So, after making such further comparisons, what will your intentions be? Stay with current employer if it's better? Re-negotiate with new company again? Go for the new company if the current + raise is not better?
    – DarkCygnus
    Feb 28, 2019 at 23:07
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    The general consensus on here seems to be to never accept a counter offer. Mainly because your current employer could have been giving you better conditions all along yet chose not to. That sort of treatment is never going to change. Plus you will now be a marked man and more likely to the first out the door when times get tough. Just search for "Accept counter offer" on this site for more details.
    – Peter M
    Feb 28, 2019 at 23:57
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    Philosophically a dupe of workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/9957/…
    – Peter M
    Feb 28, 2019 at 23:59

2 Answers 2

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Now I would like to ask the other company (not my employer) that I need some time to reconsider their offer even though I already informed them that I accept it because I got a counter offer from my current employer that is very competitive.

Is this a bad idea?

Given that you already accepted the offer, both in email and by phone, going back on your word now would be unprofessional.

You say "I was sure my current employer wasn't going to match it.", and thus accepted the other offer... This was your mistake (calculated risk), as you assumed something, made a choice and it turned out you could have checked with your current employer before accepting an offer.

Now, it is up to you to decide what you want to do. Be careful in being too "greedy", and try to back-and-forth the negotiation, seeking higher payment each time, as you may end up with your current employer not raising and the new company backing up. As they say, "a bird in hand is worth two in the bush".

You say here that you "need time to reconsider" as you got a "competitive counter-offer from your employer", and that you wish to convey that to the prospect company... if you actually say those words to the company, it is very likely it will be taken as "I got a better counter-offer, will you raise yours?", which could end up in them backing off...

If you need to reconsider the pros and cons I suggest you do that immediately, instead of sending an email asking for time to think. If you decide for the counter-offer, then do proceed to tell the company you are backing off... If not, you will have avoided sending an unnecessary email that could have had negative consequences on your job-searching process.

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You didn't ask whether you should accept a counter-offer, and I think that's way more important.

An employer shouldn't need to wait until you are resigning before giving you a raise. The fact that they readily gave you a counter-offer on the spot of SIXTY PERCENT is a gigantic red-flag.

I see that as them deliberately taking advantage of you and now that you learned of your true value, they want to keep you to make sure their projects are running smoothly, then probably fire you when they find another gullible replacement.

Read up on general advice of accepting a counter-offer. If you really want that "counter-offer", change it to an hourly contracting consulting position and charge them a rate twice of what they offer.

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