March 20265 min read
What to Do When You Receive a Counter Offer
The technology job market in 2026 is pulling in two directions. Over 45,000 tech workers have been laid off since January, largely driven by restructuring and a reallocation of budgets toward AI. At the same time, demand for specialist technical talent has not eased. According to CompTIA's State of the Tech Workforce report, more than 90% of organisations expect IT skills shortages to affect them in 2026. For professionals weighing a counter offer, understanding which side of that divide their role sits on matters more than ever.
What is a counter offer?
A counter offer is a proposal from a current employer after a resignation has been submitted, intended to keep that person in place rather than lose them to a competitor.
In tech, these offers tend to go well beyond base salary. Equity refreshes, title changes, project reassignments, remote arrangements, and accelerated progression timelines are all common. The cost of replacing an experienced technical professional, when recruitment, onboarding, and lost productivity are factored in, is estimated at between 50% and 200% of annual salary depending on seniority and specialism. Employers understand that calculation. A counter offer is cheaper and faster than a lengthy search for someone with equivalent skills. What it does not address are the reasons that professional started looking in the first place.
How common are counter offers in tech?
Based on data gathered across our professional networks, 57% of professionals receive a counter offer when they resign. Of those who accept, most leave within twelve months regardless, and around half resume job searching shortly after accepting.
Key stats from our network
0%
of employees receive counter offers after they resign
0%
of employees leave within 6 months of accepting a counter offer
0%
of employees depart within a year of accepting a counter offer
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of employees resume job searching after accepting a counter offer
These figures do not mean every counter offer should be dismissed. They mean the bar for accepting one should be high, and the reasons for doing so should be specific and verifiable. If you want to understand whether the salary being offered reflects current market rates, our technology compensation guides break this down by role and seniority.
What the current market means for this decision
According to research from the AI Workforce Consortium, 78% of ICT roles now include AI technical skills, with 7 of the 10 fastest-growing tech roles being AI-related. The industry is dividing, and the gap between organisations investing in that direction and those maintaining legacy infrastructure is widening quickly.
For professionals in roles evolving alongside that shift, the market remains strong. For those in functions that are not, a counter offer that addresses compensation without addressing the trajectory of the role is a short-term answer to a longer-term question.
What accepting a counter offer actually involves
The financial terms tend to dominate the conversation. The consequences that surface later are less visible but worth understanding.
Once a resignation is submitted, an organisation begins planning for that person's departure. Reversing the decision pauses those plans but does not reset the underlying dynamic. Leadership awareness that someone was prepared to leave affects how future decisions are made, particularly when team structures are being reviewed. It is not uncommon for professionals who accept counter offers to find themselves less visible on strategic projects or longer-term development opportunities, not through any deliberate action, but as a natural consequence of changed perceptions.
There is also the prospective employer to consider. Technology is a smaller professional community than it can appear. Hiring managers move between organisations, and specialist recruiters work with the same candidates and clients across years. A late withdrawal, handled poorly, is remembered. Timing and communication matter considerably.
When accepting a counter offer makes sense
The clearest case for accepting is when a resignation has prompted a change that should have happened anyway and has now been formally confirmed. A promotion with a documented timeline. A change in reporting line or team structure. Access to the technical work or strategic remit that prompted the search in the first place.
The key distinction is between something confirmed in writing before a resignation is withdrawn, and something promised in a retention conversation. The former represents a genuine change. The latter rarely does.
A useful test is whether the decision to stay would hold up clearly when explained to a future employer.
When it is unlikely to work
If the reasons for looking were structural, a counter offer will not resolve them. A technology stack that is falling behind, a progression pathway that has stalled, or a leadership culture that was not working are not problems a salary adjustment fixes.
It is is clear that technical roles are increasingly expected to combine AI capability with human skills like communication, collaboration, and leadership. If a current role is not developing those capabilities, a better salary does not change that.
If these improvements were available, why did it take a resignation to produce them?
Questions to consider before accepting a counter offer?
- What were the original reasons for exploring the market, and does this offer address them directly?
- Is the organisation investing in the technology and direction that matters for long-term career development?
- Would this offer have been sufficient six months ago, before a resignation was involved?
- Where does each path realistically lead in two to three years?
Questions to ask your employer
| Questions to ask the employer | What a credible answer looks like |
|---|---|
| What has specifically changed to make this offer possible now? | A concrete explanation, not a general commitment to improve |
| Can the revised terms be confirmed in writing? | Yes, before the resignation is withdrawn |
| What does progression look like from here? | A defined timeline with named milestones, not a deferred conversation |
| Would any of this have happened without a resignation? | The honest answer to this question is usually instructive |
Making the decision
A counter offer is not a solution. It is a response, and the two are not the same thing.
The decision to explore the market rarely happens without reason. Whether the motivation was a progression ceiling, a desire for more technically challenging work, a move into AI or a function that is growing, or simply an organisation that had stopped investing in the right direction, those reasons do not disappear because an employer has become more attentive.
The right question is not whether the counter offer is generous. It is whether it materially changes the conditions that led you to consider leaving in the first place. If it does, specifically and verifiably, with commitments in writing, it may be worth taking seriously. If it addresses compensation while leaving everything else unchanged, it is a retention measure, not a genuine shift in trajectory.
The data reflects this. Most technology professionals who accept a counter offer leave within twelve months regardless. The offer buys time, but rarely the thing they were actually looking for.
Whether you accept a counter offer or decide to move, having the right recruiter in your corner matters. Glocomms places technology professionals across software engineering, data, cybersecurity, and infrastructure at all levels. Register your CV to be considered for current opportunities.
Frequently Asked Questions About Counter Offers
A counter offer is a proposal from a current employer after a resignation has been submitted, intended to keep that person in place rather than lose them to a competitor. In technology, these offers typically go beyond salary to include equity, title changes, project reassignments, and accelerated progression timelines.
Very common. Based on data from our professional networks, 57% of technology professionals receive a counter offer when they resign. Of those who accept, 80% leave within six months and 90% within a year.
Only if it directly resolves the reason you started looking. Structural issues such as limited progression, outdated technology, or a culture that was not working are rarely fixed by a salary increase. Any commitments worth accepting should be confirmed in writing before a resignation is withdrawn.
It can. Once a resignation is submitted, leadership awareness that someone was prepared to leave does not disappear. It can affect which projects you are assigned, which conversations you are included in, and how secure your position is if restructuring decisions are made.
Roles that are hardest to replace attract the most aggressive retention efforts. Senior engineering, cybersecurity, data infrastructure, and AI-adjacent roles are where counter offers tend to be most frequent and most substantial.