Counter Offer

A response to a job offer or resignation where one party proposes different terms.

A counter offer can come from two directions: a candidate countering a new job offer with different compensation terms, or a current employer countering an employee's resignation with improved pay or conditions to retain them.

When countering a new job offer, be specific about what you want and anchor your request in market data. Most employers expect negotiation and build room to move into initial offers.

The retention counter — when your current employer offers more to convince you not to leave — is statistically and psychologically complicated. Most employees who accept a retention counter leave anyway within 12 months.

Timing matters in negotiation. Don't counter before you have a written offer. Once you've accepted, commit — renegotiating after verbal acceptance damages trust and can cause offers to be rescinded.

How to Counter a Job Offer

  • Express genuine enthusiasm first — make clear you want the role before pivoting to terms.
  • Cite specific data points: 'Based on Levels.fyi and conversations with peers in similar roles, I was targeting $X.'
  • Counter in one ask — avoid making multiple requests sequentially.
  • Give them a range with your target at the floor.
  • If they decline your counter, ask what the path to getting there looks like in 12 months.

Why Accepting a Retention Counter Rarely Works

When your current employer suddenly finds budget to pay you more the moment you resign, that tells you something: they knew you were underpaid and chose not to act until forced to. Accepting a retention counter rarely changes the conditions that made you want to leave. Your relationship with your manager may be strained. The new role you turned down may be gone permanently.

Using a Competing Offer to Negotiate

A competing offer is the most legitimate negotiating lever you can have — it proves market demand rather than just asserting it. When you share a competing offer, be transparent about the full package (base, equity, title) and make clear you prefer to stay if the gap can be closed. However, only use a competing offer as leverage if you're genuinely willing to take it — and be prepared for your employer to call the bluff. Tactical competing offers that aren't real, or that you've already mentally declined, damage trust and rarely produce lasting results.

After You Counter: Managing the Wait

  • Send your counter in writing (email) so there's a clear record of what was asked and when.
  • Give the recruiter a reasonable timeline — 24-48 hours for a simple ask; 2-3 days if they need internal approval.
  • Don't send multiple follow-up messages — one check-in after the stated timeline is appropriate.
  • Continue your normal interview process with other companies while you wait — a counter is not an acceptance.
  • If they come back with a number below your ask but above the original, decide in advance what your walk-away floor is so you don't make the decision under pressure.

Example

You receive an offer for $120,000. You counter at $135,000, citing market data. The company comes back at $128,000 — you accept.