Welcome to The Hero 🗞️. This is approximately a 3-minute read.

You spent six weeks filling a role.

Sourcing candidates, screening them down, running three rounds of interviews - and finally, you found the one.

You sent the offer.

And they accepted.

Everyone's happy.

… Right?

The next step in this cycle is your candidate going back to their current employer and handing in their resignation.

And their boss - the one who hasn't given them a raise in two years - suddenly finds budget.

A promise to "fix things" that have been broken for years.

Then… you get the call.

And hear the words:

"I think I'm going to stay."

Half of all candidates who resign get counter-offered. 

Half!

The full breakdown is just below - don’t miss it! 😉

Here are some of the best links I’ve found since last time I emailed you: 

Your Guide to Retaining Employees and Reducing Turnover in 2026 (link)

10 Proven Employee Retention Strategies for 2026 and Beyond (link)

12 Key Elements for a Positive Candidate Experience in 2025 (link)

Candidate Experience: Best Practices for Attracting Quality Talent (link) 

Best AI Sourcing Tools for Recruiters in 2026: A Proof-Based Shortlist (link)

23 Best AI Sourcing Tools in 2026 (link)

Staffing and Recruiting Intel to Consider in 2026 (link)

It's not about the money.

The candidate spent weeks - maybe months - building up the courage to leave. Imagining a new job, a fresh start, a better situation.

Then they handed in their resignation letter.

And suddenly it got very, very real.

The fear hit…

What if this new job doesn't work out? What if I'm making a mistake?

And right at that moment of maximum vulnerability, their boss shows up with a raise and a promise.

It feels like being rescued.

But here's what didn't change:

The counter-offer didn't solve the problem. It just made the fear of leaving go away - for now.

That's why 50% who accept are actively searching again within 60 days.

{{rp_personalized_text}}

Most wait until the counter-offer lands to address it.

By then, it's too late - the candidate is already emotional.

On the first call, ask this:

"There's about a 50% chance your company offers you more money when you resign. If that happens - would it change why you're looking in the first place?"

If they go quiet and can't answer - they're not ready to move yet.

If they answer clearly and confidently - you just helped them build their own shield against it.

Before the offer goes out, ask them this:

"When you sit down with your boss and tell them you're leaving - what do you think they say? What do you say back?"

It sounds almost too simple.

But when someone has already played a scary moment out in their head, the real version feels familiar instead of terrifying.

They've already lived it once.

Rehearse it with them. It matters more than you think.

You've been taking notes since the first call, right?

Use them.

"You told me three weeks ago that there was no real path to grow there. Does a pay rise actually change that?"

Pull them back to their own reasoning - the stuff they said before the fear kicked in.

A counter-offer is an emotional argument.

Logic wins when you deliver it right.

Here's one nobody talks about enough:

The time between the final interview and the offer going out is where you lose people - quietly, slowly, without anyone noticing.

Every extra day of silence is a day they're getting more comfortable where they are.

The anxiety of waiting tips back into the comfort of staying.

Move fast.

Get your offer out quick.

The counter-offer has been around as long as hiring has.

It's not going anywhere.

The counter-offer isn't what beats you.

An unprepared candidate is.

Do the work on the first call -

Ask the hard questions, rehearse the moment, use their own words back at them - and by the time the counter lands, it's already dead 😵

There are a few ways:

Or you can just reply to this email.

I reply to absolutely everyone who writes me back 🙂