Offered a promotion right after you quit? Don't let your employer dangle a carrot.

• When you tell your company you're quitting, your boss might try to get you to stay with a promotion.
• The title bump and pay raise might be tempting, but remember there was a reason you wanted to leave.
• Another option is asking about switching roles or teams within your current organization.

You finally made a decision. After months — or years — of resenting your job, you're going to quit and take the plunge to start a different career.

The very idea is freeing. After all, your boss doesn't value you enough; your company's culture is lacking; and frankly, you'd rather be doing something else.

But wait. Your unappreciative manager just made you a surprise offer — a promotion, complete with a new title and a raise. Now what?

Until very recently, it was unquestionably a job-seeker's market in the US. And while hiring is still strong,  companies aren't as hard-pressed to fill open jobs as they were last year. Meanwhile, layoffs are rippling across industries and some workers are worried about their job security if the US enters a recession. Those who were planning changes might be more inclined to stay where they are, especially if their employer tries to keep them by dangling more money and a fancier title in their faces.

Sometimes it makes sense to abandon — or postpone — your career change if you get a better deal at work. At other times, you'd do well to stick with your plan. Here's what to keep in mind as you're making a decision.

A promotion can fix things — in the short term

According to research by Maria Kraimer of Rutgers University, people who say they would like to go back to school and pursue a new line of work are less likely to go if they get promoted at their current company. But the decision to stay can be a bad one in the long term. 

Because while the pay bump and ego boost might feel good at first, the positive emotions are fleeting. "They get a raise and they're getting good traction at work, but the problem is that they're not happy," Kraimer, a professor of human-resource management, said. "They wake up 10 or 15 years down the road and they realize that this isn't what they want to be doing — it wasn't then, and still isn't."

By then, however, it's often too late. "When you're older, it's harder to make a big change. You're on a career path, and you might have a family and so you need to earn a certain salary," she said.

There's a reason you wanted to leave

It's natural to feel conflicted about taking the promotion, Sunni Lampasso, a psychologist and executive coach based in New York, told Insider. But she said it's important to trust that you've carefully thought the decision through. "You don't wake up one morning and say, 'I want to do something completely different,' and quit your job," she said.

Lampasso said some of her clients in this situation chose to stick with their employers and take the promotions, but many more opted to make changes. "In my experience, the clients who made the jump have not regretted it," she said.

Remember: If you accept the promotion and stick with your current employer, your boss might not trust you as much anymore.

You have more than two choices

There's another option beyond grabbing the promotion or bailing, Kraimer said.

"If you like the company, or the benefits, but don't enjoy the role, you should explore other options," she said. "Maybe there's a new temporary assignment or different responsibilities that are more appealing."

Indeed, many leaders are open to workers changing roles or teams, because allowing such moves can help employers meet critical business needs without hiring anyone new.

Ultimately, getting some distance from your current position can be helpful, Lampasso said. "Once you start doing something that's more meaningful, and are at a place where you feel valued, it's a lot easier to see how unhappy you were before and understand why the old job wasn't right for you," she said.

An earlier version of this story was published on October 19, 2022.