THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
November 11, 2011 | 25
BUSINESS
CAREERS
Counter
Continued From Page 24
unhappy for some time and no
one bothered to notice it or,
worse, they noticed but did not
bother to do anything about it.
No matter what your employer
says when making a counter offer,
you will be seen as a flight risk
from that point on.
Having once demonstrated
your lack of loyalty to the firm or
company, your ‘stock’ within the
organization will drop and you
will always be viewed by some as
having one foot out the door.
uncertainly of starting all over
again. So out of fear, they will
counter offer. But your reasons
for wanting to leave still exist,
notwithstanding the added
incentives you have been given to
stay.
Staying with an employer that
promotes employees only when
they threaten to quit will likely
not solve your concerns or help
you achieve your long-term
career goals. Do you really want
to work for a firm or company
that rewards you only when you
say you are leaving?
Your strategy
Accepting a counter offer can
be hazardous to your career.
Unfair or not, it may create the
impression that you are indecisive, for sale to the highest bidder
and at risk of walking out the
door at the worst possible time.
Your temptation to accept a
counter-offer might seem reasonable enough to you, but it will
send an enduring ripple through
your old firm or company.
The best way to avoid a counter
offer is to state unequivocally that
your decision is final. Before you
start the resignation process, get
your own career story straight.
Give some careful thought to
what is wrong with where you are
today and why the new position
will get you where you want to be.
Be prepared to discuss the factors
influencing your decision.
While you should speak frankly
to your boss about your new
employer’s offer and why it is
compatible with your long term
career-goals, be sure to keep the
conversation positive and for-
ward looking. Express gratitude
for the opportunity you have been
given with your current firm or
company and confirm that you
will do whatever it takes to make
the transition an easy one for
them.
Cleo Kirkland is a senior recruitment consultant at The Counsel
Network in Toronto.
It’s about me, not you
An employer counter offers for
a selfish reason: fear of having to
find your replacement. You are a
known quantity, a proven performer, a team player and your
boss does not want the hassle and
Butterworths®
Can’t tie one
hand behind
back: Wolch
“not all attempts to identify an
informant” will amount to an
exercise of the s. 7 Charter right
to make full answer and defence
“It will depend on the circumstances,” he stressed.
“Some defence inquiries may
of course amount to an obstruc-
tion of justice, or extortion
depending on the manner in
which the inquiries are carried
out and their intended purpose
and the totality of the circum-
stances of the case.”
The risks were illustrated in
the case before the court. The
appellant Barros, a former police
officer, was hired by the lawyer
representing an accused drug
dealer to find out the identity of a
secret police informant in the
case.
Barros was charged with
obstructing justice and extortion
after the police investigator in the
case, who was a friend and ex-colleague, accused him of
implicitly threatening to reveal
the informer’s identity unless the
Crown withdrew charges against
Barros’s client.
With Justices Morris Fish and
Thomas Cromwell dissenting in
part, Justice Binnie restored
Barros’s acquittal on one count of
extortion, but affirmed the Court
of Appeal’s order for a new trial
on obstruction of justice and
extortion.
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