The Counteroffer Dilemma: What Candidates Need to Know Before Resigning

September 24, 2026 – Landing the job offer of your dreams should be the culmination of a successful search process. But for many professionals, one of the most difficult parts comes after the offer is accepted: telling a current employer they are leaving. A recent report from The Bridger Group examines how companies respond when valued employees resign and why candidates should prepare in advance for the possibility of a counteroffer.

You updated your resume, landed the interview, passed with flying colors, and got the job offer of your dreams. You’re excited about the opportunity and eager to dive into the work. There’s just one step between you and the next stage of your career: telling your current employer you’re leaving.

For most people, it is not an easy conversation to have, according to The Bridger Group. Candidates often work with their recruiter to plan their exit and finally communicate their plans to their current company, giving them two weeks’ notice.

Then comes the reaction.

“We were just about to offer you that promotion you’ve been asking for!”

“What if we offer you a raise, plus a more substantial annual bonus?”

“I can’t believe you would abandon us like this. We’re like a family at this company! Is this how you treat your family?”

The Bridger Group said it sees these situations regularly, and no matter the industry, level of seniority, or position title, the response generally comes down to at least one of four categories: money, love, promotion, or special projects.

Money

Months ago, you asked for a raise and were turned down. Maybe it “wasn’t in the budget,” or management “needed to see greater value generated” so they could “justify it to management.” In some cases, The Bridger Group noted, companies might even offer a 50 percent compensation increase to incentivize an employee to stay.

No matter the circumstances, the report said there is one critical question to ask: Why didn’t they offer it sooner? “They could have offered higher compensation or a better bonus at any time, but they chose to wait until you had both feet out the door and were waving ‘farewell’ from across the threshold,” The Bridger Group explained. “Those aren’t the actions of a company who truly values your contributions.”

Another common response centers on the relationships employees have developed inside the organization. They’ll all miss you so much. Nothing will be the same without you. You’re the glue that holds them together. You’re the heart of your team.

There are a million ways to say it, according to The Bridger Group, and there is likely some underlying truth there. Emotional bonds develop among people who have worked together for an extended period of time.

“It’s okay to care about your coworkers, team members, and even bosses,” the report said. “And it seems fair to assume the majority of people who change jobs aren’t doing so with the specific intention to cause harm or pain to the people they’re leaving behind.”

But The Bridger Group also stressed that people are responsible for their own emotions and, first and foremost, an employee’s responsibility needs to be their own well-being.

Promotion

“A promised promotion can be one of the most difficult counteroffers to evaluate,” The Bridger Group report said. “Employees may have spent months, sometimes years, asking for additional responsibilities, opportunities for growth, or some sign that there is a future for them at the company beyond the constraints of their current role. Then, once they announce their resignation, the opportunity suddenly appears.”

“Well, we weren’t going to share this yet, but since you’re thinking of leaving… You’re up for a promotion, and we’re prepared to fast-track it if you stay.”

The Bridger Group cautioned that the organizational dynamics that prevented the promotion in the first place may not have disappeared.

Why Executives Should Think Carefully Before Accepting Counteroffers

Few moments in an executive’s career carry as much complexity as the decision to resign from a leadership role and pursue a new opportunity. What often begins as a strategic career move can quickly become emotionally charged once a current employer responds with incentives aimed at reversing that decision. Recruiters and leadership advisors note that while counteroffers may appear attractive in the moment, they frequently introduce new risks around trust, long-term advancement, and career alignment that executives must evaluate carefully.

“All the politics and systems in place that prevented your promotion up to this point are still there,” the report explained. “Structurally, nothing meaningful about the organization has changed.”

An employee might have gotten what they wanted for the moment, but the company also now knows that person is willing to consider leaving for the right opportunity. According to The Bridger Group, that could make the employee more of a “flight risk” and potentially stanch future growth inside the organization.

Special Projects

Another familiar retention tactic involves a suddenly available special assignment. Your manager suddenly has a “super-secret project” they have been working on and were hoping to bring you in on. The timing of the departure just happened to be unfortunate. Perhaps, management says, if you decide to stay, they can still pull some strings to get you involved. Or, The Bridger Group said, it may simply be a last-ditch effort to retain an employee’s knowledge and skillset.

“It’s possible they do have a new project, and they might have planned to tag you in,” the report said. “But if they didn’t include you in any ongoing conversations and are conveniently only bringing it up when you’re finally ready to move on, it’s pretty clear that their intentions are a bit suspect.”

The Bridger Group suggested asking the same basic question: If the organization is suddenly ready to bring the employee into the project, what stopped it from doing so sooner?

Preparing Yourself in Advance

The reality of the counteroffer is that it often is not entirely about the employee, according to The Bridger Group. It is also about what the departure means for the company.

“Specifically, they’re buying themselves time to figure out what to do, and—in some cases—find your replacement,” the report explained. “They’re following their playbook. You need to establish your own game plan.”

The Bridger Group recommends preparing before initiating the resignation conversation, particularly because emotions can quickly influence decision-making. Start with the basics, the firm said. Define who needs to be told and how the conversation should take place.

While an in-person conversation has historically been the standard, hybrid work environments have changed some of those best practices. In some cases, a video call could be the best option. Phone calls remain acceptable, although The Bridger Group generally recommends them only as a last resort. “Even though you’re leaving, we want to avoid burning bridges whenever possible,” the report said.

Draft an Email

The Bridger Group also advises employees to create a paper trail when leaving a role. Regardless of how plans are initially communicated, candidates should prepare an email in advance so they can follow up with their boss and HR right away.

There is no single “perfect” way to write the email, the firm explained, but it should hit several key points: the employee has accepted a position with a new organization; is grateful for the opportunity to have worked at the current company; has thought through the choice thoroughly and the decision is final; and clearly identifies the date of the final day.

That notice may be the traditional two weeks or, depending on the situation, effective immediately.

Steel Your Resolve

Resignations can be emotional conversations, and The Bridger Group recommends that candidates take time beforehand to remember why they started interviewing elsewhere in the first place. “The reality is that the problems you were looking to escape will still be there, even if you have higher compensation or are working on interesting new projects,” the report said.

Related: Are Counteroffers a Risk Worth Taking?

The firm said it has repeatedly seen candidates accept a counteroffer only to be replaced three, six, or 18 months later with someone the company believes will be “more dedicated to the company” or who “better suits their strategic vision.”

“And if they do decide to replace you?” The Bridger Group said. “You won’t have the luxury of offering them a counteroffer in order to stay.”

Plan Your Responses

The Bridger Group recommends spending 15 minutes the night before a resignation conversation thinking through exactly what to say in response to the four common counteroffer approaches: money, love, promotion, and special projects.

The firm also suggests physically writing down those responses. Writing notes by hand has repeatedly been shown to aid memory recall in ways typing does not, according to the report, making employees more likely to remember the responses they planned before entering an emotional conversation.

Communicate Clearly

Ultimately, the goal should be to make a graceful exit without burning the bridges built during an employee’s tenure with the organization. That requires communicating calmly and clearly while avoiding jabs or personal attacks, The Bridger Group explained.

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The message itself can remain simple: You are leaving, you appreciate what the organization has done for you, the decision is final, and you hope the company can respect that choice.

The Ball’s in Your Court

The Bridger Group acknowledged that recruiters may not always appear to be an objective third party in a counteroffer situation because firms are compensated for successful placements. But the firm said its perspective also comes from the experiences of its own employees, many of whom have faced similar decisions during their careers.

“When it comes to accepting a counteroffer from your current company, we really do have our candidate’s best interests in mind,” the report said. Losing an employee is an inconvenience to a company, The Bridger Group explained, but the greater issue is often losing that person before the organization has had time to fully prepare for the departure.

That is why the firm recommends providing advance notice of a final day whenever possible. It can serve as an olive branch before an employee steps into the next stage of a career. But when the underlying issues that originally drove someone to look elsewhere remain, The Bridger Group strongly encourages candidates to consider what brought them to that point in the first place.

“Change is hard, and changing jobs or even entire career paths can be incredibly uncomfortable,” the report said. “But a wise person once said that growth begins just past the edge of our comfort zone. The world is full of possibility if we’re brave enough to reach out and take it.”

Related: Counteroffers in Focus: Risks, Realities, and the Road to Retention Success

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor  – Hunt Scanlon Media