• “This couldn’t be happening at a worse time.”
• “This is one of my best people. If I let him quit now, it will wreak havoc on the moral of the department.”
• “I’ve already got one opening in my department, I don’t need another right now.”
• “This will probably screw up the entire vacation schedule.”
• “I’m working as hard as I can, and I don’t need to do his work too.”
• “If I lose another good employee, the company might decide to ‘lose’ me too.”
• “My review is coming up and this will make me look bad.”

• “Maybe I can keep him on until I find a suitable replacement.”

• “I’m really shocked. I thought you were as happy with us as we are with you. Let us discuss it before you make your final decision.”
• “Aw, gee, I’ve been meaning to tell you about the great plan we have for you, but its been confidential until now.”1
• “The VP has you in mind for some exciting and expanding responsibilities.”
• “Your raise was scheduled to go into effect next quarter, but we’ll make it effective immediately.”
• “You’re working for whom?”

• Any situation in which an employee is forced to get an outside offer before the present employer will suggest a raise, promotion or better working conditions is suspect.
• No matter what the company says when making its counteroffer, you will always be considered a fidelity risk. Having once demonstrated your lack of loyalty (for whatever reason), you will lose status as a “team player” and your place in the inner circle.
• Counteroffers are usually nothing more than stall devices to give your employer time to replace you.
• Your reasons for wanting to leave still exist. Conditions are just made a bit more tolerable in the short term
• because of the raise, promotion or promises made to keep you.
• Counteroffers are only made in response to a threat to quit. Will you have to solicit an offer and threaten to quit every time you deserve better working conditions?
• Decent and well-managed companies don’t make counteroffers…EVER! Their policies are fair and equitable. They will not be subjected to “counteroffer coercion” or what they perceive as blackmail.

Another rubbish article that’s full of useless advice without any truth in it and all in all an insult to intelligent IT professionals. I’m not surprised it comes from an Australian recruitment company that seems to be populated by complete morons.

I think it clearly describes the stupidity and ignorance of Australian recruiters: they think they are clever enough to conceal their true intentions to people who are smarter than them. Is there at all a limit to your stupidity? Yeah, we choose to study science and computing because were are easily controlled dumb asses and you went for simple business classes because you are smart and clever? Come on…

A child could figure out that this is just another sloppy and I’ll disguised attempt (but you probably did your best) to try and sell what’s only in your own interest as “good advice” and “facts” (an overuse of “never” and “always” should be the least evidence of that).

If your target audience would have been overweigh and insecure house wifes and you were selling “no effort weight loss methods” – then perhaps you would have a chance to get your message across. And actually, that is your biggest mistake: a complete failure to define your target audience – which ironically is your bread and butter. Were even the basic business classes to hard for you?

My god you’re dumb!

I couldn't agree more. I've never accepted a counter offer!! Its happened to me twice and both times I felt like my position at the company would have been extremely volatile if I had stayed!

Move on...

M.

I was driving down the road one day and discovered two dead bodies on the road. One was a headhunter and the other was a skunk. How did I tell the difference between the two?

Answer: The tire skid marks were in front of the skunk.

Yeah, we choose to study science and computing because were are easily controlled dumb asses and you went for simple business classes because you are smart and clever?

Indeed. Most of them, especially on the frontline are no better then lowly paper shuffling office clerks.

If they did do a business class it would only be for a diploma from a McDonalds style low-end business college, not worth the paper its written on.

Hawkwind, don't worry, you'll never be counter-offered.

I don't fully agree with the article, as I think it applies to people with issues at their place of work beyond money. Ultimately staying will not fix the situation.

If it's a money thing only, a counter-offer should be accepted if it's a good counter-offer.

I have had a few of them, and never accepted, they telegraph there intentions from the word go.

Move on....

A typical Candle topic..

SD

Hawkwind perhaps with swein flus for such comment. GL high skills king of counters offer. Employer need run Sotherby auction bids on top talent. Great price always need for great man or risk career crash like Andrews Symond.

GL

A pitifully week attempt to sanitise the shonky recruiting practice called POACHING

Hawkwind, don't worry, you'll never be counter-offered.

You are dead wrong, you moron. Even gone to a very lucrative business opportunity in a different industry from which I now earn residual income and financial freedom. I even have plenty of spare time to do a University degree and starting up a virtual business in SecondLife.

..need to both get girlfriends and get off virtual reality sites and playing with themselves. Pitiful stuff.

BigM

..need to both get girlfriends

Already have one you goose.

and get off virtual reality sites and playing with themselves. Pitiful stuff.

Why? I am making good money in there - creative too! Of course this will be a skill that headhunters will NEVER have access to.

It is comments like this that indicate you know nothing about ICT or the Metaverse. There is no such thing as a virtual reality site, duckie.

This just shows how backward Australian IT is. Gets a minus for innovation and comes in at an impressive 25th out of 29 OECD nations and a BIG AUS$20 billion plus trade deficit.

Thats the only thing big about Strine IT.

...for when your real one fails!

The rest of your fantasy isn't worth a reply.

...and all of that from a jerk who is confused about what industry he/she actaully works in.

You probably only spent 2 years in IT - the other 8 years in recruitment.

Now thats a failure!

@Perusal - this is obviously a way over your head - but here are the economic reports 2003 and 2007.

Information Industry and Technology Updates

Nice try, but there's no confusion here.

What is confusing, and a little sad, is that you have sent a link to what you thought were two comparative documents. They are not. One is an industry update, and one is an industry trade update. They have completely different sets of data in them, and one is simply an executive summary.

But then you probably did not bother opening them anyway. Maybe you should stick to your own degree's subject matter and not walk into "foreign territory".

I am not sure what you are trying to do with this anyway; you have already shot your argument in the foot here. You couldn't get a job it IT in 2003, which you blame on migrant work (among other things) at the same time, but the industry was still in a downturn. I know you admit to not understanding the employment market, but it really is obvious: in a downturn no one needs migrant labour as local labour is cheap and plentiful.

In 2007 we were in a boom which created a skills shortage. You weren't in the industry then, but I'd bet even a hack like you could have landed a role.

We do not need to cover this a third time.

What is confusing, and a little sad, is that you have sent a link to what you thought were two comparative documents.

Of course you are confused. They both describe how poor the Australian industry is doing in the global market.

I think you should make yourself useful and go and sharpen some pencils for your boss.

You do not fool anyone except yourself by responding to a part-quote and ignoring the rest.

You obviously did not read or fail to comprehend the links you sent me. But then what is a psych student doing trying to understand an economic report anyway?

I am sorry to have ruined the integrity of your "research".

Perhaps you have ruined the integrity of John Houghton and the Centre for Strategic Economic Studies at Victoria University.

Don't play games. John didn't link his work to the wrong topic; you did.

You have made yourself out to be an amateur in a several areas.

Economics, stockbroking, IT and headhunting. In psychology you are nothing else but a quack. Unlike the IT Industry, the medical industry has special treatment for people like this - usually a few years jail time.

Listen Perusal, I think you should go and get some professional help fairly soon before it all catches up with you.

Another rubbish article that’s full of useless advice without any truth in it and all in all an insult to intelligent IT professionals. I’m not surprised it comes from an Australian recruitment company that seems to be populated by complete morons.

Looks like we have one of them here in the thread of this article as well as the previous.

Hawkwind, I'm going to assume for the minute you are, your posting a diagonsis based on reading a few words from someone who may or may not be a troll. Your sounding like a cowboy.

Ah who am I kidding, the only losers in IT are those who post here and don't think this is a totally f'd up forum...

Are you really in the middle of a phyic degree

3rd year. Honours next year and perhaps after that, a Masters degree.

Hawkwind, I'm going to assume for the minute you are, your posting a diagonsis based on reading a few words from someone who may or may not be a troll.

Yes, you are assuming - in part. Far from it - it is not a professional diagnosis as I am not practising. Besides that though, material like this is a psychologists dream and is a subject of much research in the areas of psychology and sociology.

However, in cognitive psychology (one of the main areas) there is cognitive behavoural therapy (CBT), part of which the written word is used (more deliberate than speech), and part of the training is to recognise the "signs". There is also computerised CBT.

I have suggested that he/she gets professional help, yes?

Ah who am I kidding, the only losers in IT are those who post here and don't think this is a totally f'd up forum...

What else would you expect from a f'd up industry and the foul way it bastardises its skills base? The only losers are those who remain in the industry.

Get real Big M. GL not response and plays game when no problems with womans.

Best one mates worry for Kevin Rudd. First PM of Aussie history striken by '96 Mazda truck. What laughs. Turnbull win battle become next PM labour not surive.

GL

Minight Wisdoms

Thought a few of you may be interested in more in-depth discussions about the IT job market.

You'll find them on the Whirlpool forum at http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/135

Overall, things are looking rather grim. Some jobseekers are reporting that a single valid IT job is attracting anywhere between 300-600 applications.

IT Recruiters are a pack of thieves.

I wonder how much propaganda they have trumped up this year?

The NBN and Web Filtering will have absolutely no effect except to increase the massive ICT trade deficit.

ACS, AIIA promote National ICT Careers Week

Some jobseekers are reporting that a single valid IT job is attracting anywhere between 300-600 applications.

Long time since I've been here, but having lost my job last week through redundancy I applied for 14 I saw on seek yesterday, had one interview today, and 9 of the other recruiters rang me back purely on the strength of my CV. Had coffee with one for 20min today and the only signs of desperation he told me were those with no tangible skill, experience or language skills.

As I've said before, not enough IT people know what recruiters and more importantly employers look for. I do, and I continually improve myself in that respect. I advise anybody reading this to evaluate yourselves even if you are currently in work as to what you can do to improve your marketability.

I agree with TopDown

I'd also add people with no people skills (like half the regs on this forum) remain on the terminally unemployable list.

For everyone else, the money and jobs are still there.

Have you seen the offensive IT ads by Express IT or Execom on TV! late at night.

What do you see.