Handling Counter-Offers When Your Candidate Accepts Your Offer

You did everything right. Sourced a perfect candidate, navigated the interview process, extended a competitive offer, and they accepted. You're celebrating.

Then the phone rings: "My current employer just made me a counter-offer. Can we talk?"

Counter-offers are the final boss of recruiting. 70% of candidates who resign receive counter-offers, and 40-50% of candidates who accept your offer will seriously consider their employer's counter.

Here's how to handle them without losing your candidate—or your sanity.

Prevent Counter-Offers Before They Happen

The best counter-offer strategy is addressing it before resignation:

During the interview process, ask: "If your current employer made a counter-offer, what would make you still choose to leave?"

This forces candidates to articulate their reasons for leaving beyond money. When they tell you "lack of growth," "toxic culture," or "no advancement path," reference these reasons later if a counter-offer comes up.

When extending the offer, bring it up explicitly:

"Most candidates receive counter-offers. Let's talk about what you'll do if that happens."

Walk them through the typical counter-offer playbook: more money, vague promises of promotion, guilt about leaving the team, threats about how resignation looks.

Help them anticipate and prepare their response before they're emotional and under pressure.

When The Counter-Offer Call Comes

Stay calm and empathetic:

"I understand this is a difficult situation. Counter-offers are common and it's natural to consider them. Let's talk through it."

Don't panic, don't guilt-trip, don't immediately counter the counter. Your candidate is stressed—be a partner, not another pressure source.

Ask what the counter-offer includes:

"What exactly did they offer you?"

Most counter-offers are financial—salary increase, retention bonus, equity. Some include promotion promises. Many come with emotional appeals about loyalty and team impact.

Understanding what they're considering helps you address the right concerns.

Address The Real Reasons For Leaving

This is where your earlier work pays off:

"When we first talked, you mentioned you were leaving because of [lack of growth/toxic manager/limited advancement]. Has that changed?"

Money is rarely the only reason people leave. If it was, they'd have negotiated for a raise months ago instead of job searching.

Walk them through the reality: "They knew you were unhappy. They could have given you this raise anytime. Why did it take your resignation to get it?"

Statistics support this: 80% of people who accept counter-offers leave within 6 months anyway because the underlying issues don't change.

Challenge Promotion Promises

Counter-offers often include vague future promises:

"They said they're going to promote me to senior manager in three months."

Ask the hard questions:

Verbal promises made during counter-offers are rarely honored. Employers say what they need to say to retain you, then deprioritize those commitments once resignation pressure is gone.

Frame The Long-Term Career Impact

Accepting counter-offers damages your relationship with your employer:

"You've signaled you're willing to leave. They now see you as a flight risk and will likely look for your replacement."

This isn't theoretical—managers often start succession planning immediately after making counter-offers. They'll hire or promote someone else as your backup, reducing your advancement opportunities.

"When the next round of layoffs or budget cuts comes, who do you think gets cut first? The loyal employee or the one who tried to leave?"

You've used your resignation as leverage once—you can't do it again. Your negotiating power is gone.

Highlight What Your Offer Provides

Refocus on why they were excited about your opportunity:

"Let's revisit what attracted you to this role: [new technology, leadership opportunity, company mission, career growth]."

Counter-offers address the pain of leaving—your offer should remind them of the excitement of the new opportunity.

"Your current employer is trying to convince you to stay in a situation you already decided wasn't working. We're offering a fresh start with the things you said you wanted."

Emphasize growth, learning, challenge, culture—the non-financial factors that drive job satisfaction.

Know When To Walk Away

Sometimes counter-offers reveal candidate motivation you didn't see earlier:

If a candidate's entire decision comes down to whoever pays more, they're mercenary and will leave your company for the next highest bidder.

"If money is the only factor, you should probably accept their offer. We want someone who's excited about the opportunity, not just the paycheck."

This gives candidates permission to make the decision that's right for them while signaling that you're hiring for fit, not desperation.

Better to lose a candidate at the offer stage than hire someone who's already negotiating their exit.

When Money Is The Only Issue

If the counter-offer is purely financial and your candidate is otherwise committed:

"Is compensation the only thing holding you back from joining us?"

If yes, and they're worth it, consider matching or partially matching. But only if:

✅ Your offer was already at or near market rate ✅ The candidate has demonstrated genuine interest beyond money ✅ They're worth the additional investment ✅ It doesn't create internal equity issues

Don't get into a bidding war. If your offer was competitive and aligned with their expectations during negotiations, they're either using you for leverage or genuinely conflicted.

Follow-Up After The Conversation

Give them space to decide without pressure:

"Take 24 hours to think through everything we discussed. Let's reconnect tomorrow."

Rushing them increases anxiety and resentment. Giving them time shows respect and confidence in your offer.

Send a follow-up email summarizing your conversation:

Recap the original reasons for leaving, the long-term concerns about accepting counter-offers, and the opportunities your role provides. This gives them something to reference when they're stressed and emotional.

If They Choose The Counter-Offer

Stay professional and keep the door open:

"I understand your decision. If things don't work out or circumstances change, please reach out. We'd still love to work with you in the future."

80% of people who accept counter-offers regret it within six months. Many will come back to you when the promised promotion never happens or the underlying issues resurface.

Keep them in your pipeline and check in every few months.

If They Choose Your Offer

Accelerate their start date if possible:

"The longer the gap between accepting and starting, the more opportunity for doubt or additional counter-offers."

Get them onboarding paperwork immediately. Introduce them to their future team via email or video calls before their start date. Keep them engaged so they don't second-guess their decision.

The Bottom Line

Counter-offers are emotional, stressful, and common. Your job is to be a trusted advisor who helps candidates think through the decision rationally.

Prevent them by: ✅ Discussing counter-offers during interviews ✅ Understanding motivations beyond money ✅ Setting expectations at offer stage

Handle them by: ✅ Staying calm and empathetic ✅ Asking about the specifics of the counter ✅ Reinforcing original reasons for leaving ✅ Challenging vague promises ✅ Framing long-term career impact ✅ Highlighting your opportunity's value ✅ Giving space for decision-making

Most candidates who resist counter-offers do so because you've built a relationship based on trust, helped them see beyond immediate emotion, and reminded them why they wanted to leave in the first place.

The candidates you lose to counter-offers weren't fully committed anyway. Better to know that now than after onboarding.

Sources:

The Daily Hire