Before you send the offer
A pay match fixes pay. Find out what else is in play.
Enter the numbers and what your candidate has told you. The read updates as you type, lists every reason behind it, and turns the salary gap into a question you can ask on your next call.
Counteroffer risk
High
The offer has company.
Their current employer is already part of the conversation. Settle the reason to leave before you send a number.
Direcstaff judgement, not a predictionThe question to ask first
So before the number, ask
“If your employer matched $120,000, what would still make you want to leave?”
Why this read
What to do first
Direcstaff judgement, not a prediction. High means currently employed and staying mentioned. Medium means another signal fired. Low means none fired, which is not a promise the offer will be accepted.
How the check works
You answer five things about the person you want to hire. The check runs a short set of rules and gives you a risk read in words: Low, Medium or High. Every rule that fired shows up under "Why this read", so you can see exactly where the label came from. Then it hands you one question to ask before any number goes in writing.
What each input means
- Current salary and your offer. Annual base pay in US dollars. The check subtracts current from offered and shows the math. Bonus, equity and benefits are left out, so an offer at or below current base gets flagged for you to talk through, not rejected.
- Currently employed. If yes, there is an employer who can respond. "Not sure" counts as a signal, because you should find out.
- Weeks interviewing. Their whole search, not just your process. Two weeks or less, or eight weeks or more, adds a prompt to the conversation. It is not evidence of how often counteroffers happen.
- Staying mentioned. Whether they have raised a pay match, a promotion or another reason to stay.
The rules, and whose they are
These thresholds are Direcstaff's recruiting judgement. They are not drawn from a study, and this page quotes no counteroffer statistics.
- High: currently employed and has mentioned staying.
- Medium: any other signal fired, including uncertain answers.
- Low: nothing fired. Low does not mean they will accept.
Blank, zero or negative salaries, and weeks that are not whole numbers, pause the read until you fix them.
Why the question matters more than the label
A pay match fixes pay. If pay is the only reason your candidate wants out, a match may well keep them where they are. If the reason is the work, the manager or a stalled path, a match leaves all of that in place. Ask before you send the number and listen for which one you are dealing with. A few more worth asking:
“What is missing in your current role that you want here?”
“Who else needs to be part of your decision?”
“What would you need to feel ready to accept?”