Should you stay for a counter-offer?
A raise offered right after you resign can look good. Before you stay, check whether the reasons you were leaving are now written as real terms, and whether the money must be paid back if you leave early.
Go back to why you were leaving
Write the reasons as three facts, not “I feel undervalued.” For example: no new scope for a year, no date for a review, a manager who misses resource promises. A counter-offer has to answer those three. More money with the same scope and the same manager usually fixes today’s irritation, not the facts you wrote.
Ask whether those problems would have been handled next quarter without a resignation. If not, the raise is a patch. A patch can buy months. Know that you are buying time, not a solved job.
If the reason is health, safety, or illegal conduct, do not trade a raise for silence. That trade is outside this list.
Four items that must be in writing
Amount and start date: a base increase from a date, or a one-time bonus. Do not let a one-time bonus be described as “your salary went up” unless next year’s base is also written.
Level: whether the human-resources system changes, or only the external title. Later background checks often confirm the system level. A new business card does not change your starting point next time.
Scope: three deliveries for next quarter, and whether the reporting line changes. Without the three deliveries, the money only pays for the mood.
Stay terms: if you leave before twelve or twenty-four months, whether bonus or equity is repaid. Separate “I am staying” from “I am locked in.”
- Base start date, or what the one-time bonus is
- Whether the system level changes
- Three deliveries next quarter
- Repayment if you leave early
Count the lock-in as part of the money
Illustration in dollars, not a real offer: a $20,000 bonus that you repay if you leave within twenty-four months. If you may still search within eighteen months, the expected value is not $20,000. It is “only if you finish the term.” Multiply by the chance you will actually stay. If that chance is low, do not treat the bonus as salary already earned.
An outside offer with a $10,000 signing bonus and no long lock can be cleaner. Write both as: what you keep if you are free to leave within a year. Do not rank the headline bonus sizes alone.
Run the same math in yen for a yen offer. Do not compare a dollar bonus with a yen bonus by the size of the digits.
The label after you stay
Some teams treat “got a raise only after resigning” as a flight risk. That is not a universal rule, but watch the next month: does your manager still give you critical work, or start leaving you out of plans? Watch behavior. Do not guess.
If you accept, ask the steps to withdraw the resignation in the system and confirm who owns which projects. “We’ll pretend it didn’t happen” is not enough.
Set a review three to six months out: did the written scope and level happen? If not, follow the next step you wrote in advance. Do not wait for another verbal promise.
Set it next to an outside offer
Compare the outside offer on steady-year cash plus whether the job fixes your three reasons. Do not compare on “how much they added because I was leaving.” A counter-raise is often aimed at your old wage, not at the market median.
If the outside steady year is already above the published median, and the current company only lifts you near the median plus a lock-in, staying needs a scope or life reason. “At least they increased it” is not that reason.
If you do not have a written outside offer, do not invent one to force a counter. If they ask to see it, trust and the working relationship fail together.
Lean stay or lean leave
Lean stay when at least two of the three reasons have a written fix, the manager still gives you important work, you can honestly finish the lock-in, and the outside role is not actually better scope.
Lean leave when money went up but none of the reasons changed, the lock is longer than you will promise, you have a written outside offer with a higher steady year, or guilt is the main reason to stay.
Confirm by email within twenty-four hours. If you stay, confirm the start date of the new terms. If you leave, confirm the last day and the handoff. Do not hover between the two.
Disclaimer
Whether a clawback or non-compete holds depends on the contract and local law. This article only lines terms up with reasons. It is not legal or financial advice.