Should You Stay or Should You Go?

It's a difficult position to be in. You've found what looks like an ideal new job and secured it, but your current employer has offered you an incredible incentive to stay. By offering you that great new package, you're left with a dilemma on your hands – should you stay or should you go? There are a number of things you'll need to consider before making this big decision.

It's of paramount importance to be honest with yourself and ask what's really motivating you. If it's financial reward and other benefits, the improved package your current employer is offering might start to look like the more attractive option. If money is less of a concern and the new job speaks to your passions, then your heart should win over your head.

You also need to remember that you've shown your hand to your current employer. By letting them know you've been looking around and have landed a new job, you've given them a motive to question your loyalty to the company if you do decide to stay. You may have won on the financial score, but have you lost some good-will in the process?

That said, they must really value you to have offered you such an incentive to stick with them. Is your value to them personal, do they recognise your talents and are they a good employer? Or is there another agenda, not wanting to launch a recruitment drive or not wanting you to leave for a competitor with so much insider knowledge? As well as weighing up your own motivation, you need to feel comfortable knowing theirs.

Ultimately, the decision has to be yours and it will require time. Ask both the new and current companies to give you a couple of days to think it over, and use that head-space to really assess what you want from your working life. Think about what motivates you and what you hope for from your career. That way you will reach the right decision for you.