Risk in Accepting Current Companies Retention Package?

[CareerQuestion]

Dammit- Company's, not companies...

I currently make $80k including salary and ~25% yearly bonus. I've been recruited into a role in a different industry with an offer of $95k +10-15% yearly bonus. Total yearly cash would be in the $105-$107k range.

My current company is a mobile company with a startup vibe- lots of people in their 20s and 30s (I'm 28). Catered food. Beer fridge, etc. If I need to stay late dinner gets paid for by the company. When I travel, I stay at really nice hotels. The other company is a bit more traditional (web, but not mobile) and slightly farther away (10 more minutes each way). Benefits are good in both places. The new role offers a small equity position that I don't currently have. New company also prides themselves in work-life balance and apparently it is rare to stay past 5pm.

My current company hasn't been performing as well recently (I worry that bonuses will dwindle in the future), so I expected that they wouldn't counter. However, after I brought up the offer to my current company they are working on a retention package.

I really enjoy my current coworkers and I have a great relationship with my boss. I regularly hang out with coworkers outside the office. High level strategy has caused some issues recently and we aren't as profitable as we once were, so I worry about the long term stability of my current company.

Maggots, do you think that there is too much risk in staying at my current role even if they match my offer given that my company might think I have one foot out the door?

Yes, it is a dumb alias but I don't necessarily want to broadcast my salary to my ski buddies.

[AdironRider]

Mobile company with a startup vibe? What exactly does that mean?

If its a "mobile" company does it turn a profit consistently, or is more recent? Have consistent revenue sources? And I'm not talking Candy Crush style...

The other company sounds a bit more established, "safe" if you will. A company like that can be something you might appreciate as you get older and become a bit more established, aka buy a house, get married, have kids, where losing your job, or a portion of your income would sting more.

Doesn't sound like money is an issue at your level, but in ten years when you're counting on it more it might be. More to life than that of course but happiness doesn't keep you fed or housed.

One thing I can say, good food, beer perks are really not going to change your overall pleasure in life all that much (I've been in jobs with awesome perks, and jobs with no perks), and unless you are some total social weirdo, or the new company really sucks, I'm pretty sure you'll find plenty of people to have a beer with at the new joint.

[CareerQuestion]

Mobile company with a startup vibe? What exactly does that mean?

If its a "mobile" company does it turn a profit consistently, or is more recent? Have consistent revenue sources? And I'm not talking Candy Crush style...

The other company sounds a bit more established, "safe" if you will. A company like that can be something you might appreciate as you get older and become a bit more established, aka buy a house, get married, have kids, where losing your job, or a portion of your income would sting more.

Doesn't sound like money is an issue at your level, but in ten years when you're counting on it more it might be. More to life than that of course but happiness doesn't keep you fed or housed.

We are a mobile gaming company. We never had Candy Crush revenue, but we were a top 20 grossing mobile gaming studio for several years in a row. It had been extraordinarily profitable for several years. Now it is breaking even.

I think the new company is safer for sure, just not quite as fun or as much social interaction.

I'm not a developer (I only know markup languages- HTML/CSS) so I can't just walk across the street and find a comparable job at the drop of a hat. This new role also moves me from an advertising role (optimizing yield on our in app impressions) to a more traditional marketing role, which I'm not sure I'm as excited about.

Edit- in saying that at least a couple mags on the board know who I am. Oh well.

[AdironRider]

Well I'd bail for the new joint, but to be fair I don't really know much about the industry, and my accounting background freaks out when it comes to companies like your current one.

I'd just think long term, if you have a decent offer now and its not as easy for you to move as opposed to others, well make hay when the sun shines.

[irul&ublo]

If you'd asked about moving from Mickey D's to Carl's Jr., I'd have guessed digitaldaeth

[4matic]

Salary is a wash. How do you monetize the equity stake in the new deal and what is the equity value of the entire enterprise? Equity without a clear exit isn't worth much and depending on the grant might even cost you (RSU). The food benefit is another $3k a year.

[Benny Profane]

"My current company hasn't been performing as well recently"

Stock a bit down?

I'm guessing that mobile gaming will be looked back upon as a Pets.com sort of phenomenon in five to ten years, with, you know, a lot of people palming their foreheads and saying, "wtf were we thinking? Billions of dollars?"

[Hugh Conway]

always leave before it craters. noone gives two shits about your loyalty - and anyone who says different is lying through their fucking teeth - they'll see the resume gap and ditch resumes; by the time it starts to crater it's too late unless you can jump ASAP (which it doesn't sound like you can)

[CareerQuestion]

Salary is a wash. How do you monetize the equity stake in the new deal and what is the equity value of the entire enterprise? Equity without a clear exit isn't worth much and depending on the grant might even cost you (RSU). The food benefit is another $3k a year.

Not sure how you figure it is a wash. Current setup- $62k salary, $18k bonus. Offer is for $95k salary, $10-14k bonus. Even if you add the food and debauchery, I still come out $20k+ ahead. Not to mention that I worry about the bonus pool being reduced because of recent company performance. We could be talking about $30k or more difference from my current compensation to this offer.

I'm not counting on the equity.

If my current company comes up with $$$ it does make the decision harder.

"My current company hasn't been performing as well recently"

Stock a bit down?

I'm guessing that mobile gaming will be looked back upon as a Pets.com sort of phenomenon in five to ten years, with, you know, a lot of people palming their foreheads and saying, "wtf were we thinking? Billions of dollars?"

I look at some key metrics every day and worry about the way they are trending.

always leave before it craters. noone gives two shits about your loyalty - and anyone who says different is lying through their fucking teeth - they'll see the resume gap and ditch resumes; by the time it starts to crater it's too late unless you can jump ASAP (which it doesn't sound like you can)

I am kinda leaning this way.

[OldLarry]

Not sure how you figure it is a wash. Current setup- $62k salary, $18k bonus. Offer is for $95k salary, $10-14k bonus. Even if you add the food and debauchery, I still come out $20k+ ahead. Not to mention that I worry about the bonus pool being reduced because of recent company performance. We could be talking about $30k or more difference from my current compensation to this offer.

I'm not counting on the equity.

If my current company comes up with $$$ it does make the decision harder.



I look at some key metrics every day and worry about the way they are trending.



I am kinda leaning this way.

Look at long term prospects of each shop and your role in each. I was faced with the same kind I'd decision a few years ago and walked. Turned out to be the wrong call. New shop did not have their shit together at all product- wise and basically lied to me about what they had.

Conventional wisdom is to never accept a counter- they know you are 1 foot out the door and immediately start looking for a replacement at your old salary. Check out the new opportunity very thoroughly before you leap.

Mobile anything is the shit, no? And digital ads before trad marketing? That said, if you know what's causing it to crater and can't see it turning, run....

[OldLarry]

Ps- nice work! Congrats!

[Cruiser]

The vast majority of workers who accept a company's counter leave within 12 months anyway. So, is this the opportunity you want to leave for? Or will the next one be? Either way, you're as good as gone.

Mrs. C accepted a counter a few years back. She was glad for the salary bump that she got and she used that to find an even higher paying new job a bit less than a year later. The fact of the matter is that underlying factors in her case (and likely yours) made her start to consider other offers in the first place and those factors didn't change just because they offered her more $$$.

[bigAK]

$20K+ more and less hours at the office and equity and more stable company? Not sure where the downside is, though I've always sort of despised the "social startup" environment. I would much rather get in/get out and buy my own beer/food/yoga classes/whatever perk in my free time rather than on company time. No matter how "cool" an office environment is, it rarely compares to not being at the fucking office.

You have worries about the long-term viability of your company (maybe they should reinvest some of that perk & travel budget in the product line??) and don't have the mobility of your coworkers. When/if the music stops, it's always the "loyal" ones holding the moldy potato...

Larry is wise (hugh too), make sure this new gig is all it's been sold as. Sounds like an easy decision to me though.

Congrats!

[shroom]

i'd get out of that tech bubble while the goin is still good. i think the more recent money in the mobile/app [and particularly gaming] world will be harder to come by when the current bull starts its downtrend.

if that ends up not being the case, you can always bounce back, while having a little more $$$ in the bank. it seems like you gotta change jobs every few years to get a significant raise in tech these days anyway; just a means to an end.

[Hott Butt Mud]

Dude, hate to say it, but move on. Your job will eventually be automated like everything else. Why don't you start working on an app that can design games?

[stfu&gbtw]

No matter how "cool" an office environment is, it rarely compares to not being at the fucking office.

Never have truer words been spoken. Work's work. Go make your money so you can enjoy yourself how you want to. More money + more free time = more awesome.

[4matic]

Not sure how you figure it is a wash.

Read it wrong. Thought it was $80k plus bonus.

[Hott Butt Mud]

Read it wrong. Thought it was $80k plus bonus.

And your opinion no longer matters. Thanks for playing.

[Marshall Tucker]

always leave before it craters. noone gives two shits about your loyalty - and anyone who says different is lying through their fucking teeth - they'll see the resume gap and ditch resumes; by the time it starts to crater it's too late unless you can jump ASAP (which it doesn't sound like you can)

Much wisdom here.

If you go looking for friends and social life at work you'll get fucked up the ass. Hard.

[CareerQuestion]

Thanks for all the advice, mags. My company is dragging their feet, likely because the execs are too busy worrying about catching hell in a board meeting next week over a failed product launch that they are wholly responsible for.

I'm really leaning towards leaving. I don't want to be here when the ship hits the iceberg. Come to think of it, maybe it already has hit the iceberg and this is my lifeboat.

[that dude who did that thing]

It's pretty hard to assess the risk of staying on when you don't identify the companies, the industries (beyond "mobile"), the products or ht eplayers involved.

Risk assessment needs to be based on detailed understanding of the particular situation. In other words, YOU need to do it, or you need to tell us everything if you expect us to do it.

At least you are looking at it the right way, you're weighing the likelihoods of outcomes, multiplid by the cost/revenue associated with each of those outcomes, over a period of time, and with rough adjustmnets for intangibles.

[riser4]

Much wisdom here.

If you go looking for friends and social life at work you'll get fucked up the ass. Hard.

Are part of the reason the company is cratering?

[CareerQuestion]

It's pretty hard to assess the risk of staying on when you don't identify the companies, the industries (beyond "mobile"), the products or ht eplayers involved.

Risk assessment needs to be based on detailed understanding of the particular situation. In other words, YOU need to do it, or you need to tell us everything if you expect us to do it.

At least you are looking at it the right way, you're weighing the likelihoods of outcomes, multiplid by the cost/revenue associated with each of those outcomes, over a period of time, and with rough adjustmnets for intangibles.

Current company is mobile gaming. It sold last year and has been in a state of decline since. New company is an online performance marketing company. It has been around for 16 years and never had a layoff and never missed a bonus payout.

Really the only things keeping me in my current role would be the people and the industry. If I was willing to move, my career would take me to companies like Google, Twitter, etc on the vendor side or any mobile app company needing to monetize users on the publisher side. The problem is that there aren't many opportunities for that in my location (Rocky Mountains).

I'd be more willing to move, except that it would take 60-80% more money for me to live the same lifestyle on the west coast and my SO would have to find a job as well. She currently makes $50k. A $155k household income for a 28/27 year old couple without kids offers a fairly decent lifestyle in our location.

Her career is on the rise, so she'll probably be making substantially more in the next couple years. Add that to a continuing trajectory on my end and we'll be set up pretty well.

[CareerQuestion]

Are part of the reason the company is cratering?

No. I actually built a model that forecasted this exact scenario a year ago. Our Physics PhD data analyst vetted my work and agreed with it. We presented it to the execs almost exactly a year ago.

The model was accurate to within 3% at 6 months out and 8% at one year. It is a personal point of pride that it was so damn accurate. I wish it would have changed things, but it didn't. The execs stayed the course because of a pending acquisition that netted each of them many, many millions of dollars.

[splat]

The vast majority of workers who accept a company's counter leave within 12 months anyway. So, is this the opportunity you want to leave for? Or will the next one be? Either way, you're as good as gone.

Mrs. C accepted a counter a few years back. She was glad for the salary bump that she got and she used that to find an even higher paying new job a bit less than a year later. The fact of the matter is that underlying factors in her case (and likely yours) made her start to consider other offers in the first place and those factors didn't change just because they offered her more $$$.

I'd go with this and start building a resume that brings in continuing new offers with a kick in salary and in your quals that shows diversity and ability to adapt across markets.