Can I counteroffer for an internal promotion after it has been signed?

Question

I signed a job offer for a promotion in August for a position that will be starting in January. I have been working for a company for almost two years at one location. The promotion is to support six additional locations. When I was presented with my promotion, I immediately accepted and signed it. The issue is the amount is only $10k more than I'm currently making and a lot more responsibility. Is it too late to go back and counter the offer even though it has been signed but hasn't started? If not, should I send an email or meet with my new Supervisor? Can the company rescind the offer? Will this put me in a negative light?

Answer 1

Is it too late to go back and counter the offer even though it has been signed but hasn't started?

Yes. You have accepted the offer and the expectation is that you hold up your side of the bargain unless there is a substantial change somewhere. The time for negotiation is BEFORE you accept.

If not, should I send an email or meet with my new Supervisor?

You can try. But look at it the other way around: how would you feel if your new supervisor would tell you "Hey, the 10k we offered you? We really didn't mean that, we only want to give you 2k". You'd be really upset about this. If you do the same thing to your supervisor, they will be upset too.

Can the company resend the offer?

Depends on the legislation but generally yes. If it's ok for you to renegotiate, it's ok for them too.

Will this put me in a negative light?

Yes. You come across as someone how doesn't properly think through their decisions, is indecisive and goes back on their word.

Answer 2

Unless you've got a compelling reason to try and counter at this late stage (such as you've been headhunted by a rival company and you want your current company to match it), then I'd say the ship has sailed.

As above, you signed it and accepted it and are getting cold feet, countering now will look bad and I would only consider it if I had another offer on the table, in writing.

Answer 3

Is it too late to go back and counter the offer even though it has been signed but hasn't started?

Once you've signed it, you've agreed to it.

Of course it can be revisited if you BOTH wish it to be revisited. Nothing is set in stone.

The more bargaining power you have, the more likely they are to come back to the table.

If not, should I send an email or meet with my new Supervisor?

It may be most prudent to wait until you've started in the role. You can then more justifiably come back to them and say that after experiencing the role, it seems the extra pay does not justify the extra responsibility.

Can the company resend the offer?

Not once they've signed it.

Of course, they may have significant power to terminate agreements anyway so it may not matter.

Will this put me in a negative light?

You're going back on your word, so yes.

Answer 4

Other people have pointed out that you already agreed to this, so it's too late to renegotiate without looking bad.

One other question that people haven't addressed, though: why did you agree to the terms immediately and only realize that the terms weren't acceptable to you after the fact? Did you think this through before you made the decision, or did you just accept it right away? It's quite possible that this represents a more general problem. For example:

• Do you have a hard time saying "no" to people in general? If so, there are numerous books available on this. When I say No, I feel Guilty is rather dated but helpful. Boundaries by Henry Cloud is also helpful. There are numerous other books on this general theme.
• Do you have anxiety about negotiating? If so, you may want to read, for example, Getting to Yes by William Ury and Roger Fischer.
• Do you tend to make impulsive decisions that you regret later and/or have trouble thinking through the consequences of actions? I don't have specific books to recommend on this particular topic, but I'm sure that there are plenty of them out there.

Answer 5

As others have said, the negotiations are complete. For now.

What you can do is ask your boss "what would you need to see from me to justify a raise?" The answer may be something you can achieve over the next year. Of course that presumes that the money exists, and it would need to be allocated among everyone who deserves that recognition... But that's how the game is played.