You’ve recently closed a construction executive job seeker who has accepted your offer of employment and will start in three weeks. During his resignation his current construction employer made him a tempting counteroffer. The construction executive job seeker has called you today to say that he is confused and leaning toward staying with his current construction employer. How do you respond?

Part of closing construction executive job seekers involves preparing them for the resignation process and how to respond in the event of a counteroffer. Addressing this issue prior to the construction executive job seeker’s resignation is critical, because once the counteroffer has been made, you can find yourself scrambling.
Experienced recruiters deal with this objection before it is ever raised. You should advise the construction executive job seeker of the risks involved with accepting a counteroffer, and ideally provide him or her with print or online material that backs this up.
Get the details of the counteroffer, and cover each point with your construction executive job seeker. Issues that you should be prepared to discuss include: If the counteroffer is primarily monetary in nature, was this the true reason for leaving the construction employer?
If not, what has changed with his position? Does the construction executive job seeker understand the potential ?black mark? his construction employer may have for him even if he does decide to stay with the construction employer? Is this just a temporary desperate move on the part of the construction employer to keep him, but who may immediately start searching for his replacement? Are there legal issues with regard to his written acceptance of your offer?
If so, the construction executive job seeker should be advised of these obligations. It’s important to fully explore each of these issues and appeal to the construction executive job seeker’s better judgment.
Counteroffers can be hard to decline, particularly if construction employers bring in fellow employees or colleagues to help convince the employee to stay. Addressing the issue of a counteroffer early can be an easy way to avoid the ?buyer’s remorse? that is common after accepting a new position.
Finally, whether or not you’re able to successfully solve this situation, use it as a learning experience and be sure to incorporate resignation procedures and counteroffers with construction executive job seekers in the future.