The Written Terms Rule

Never accept a counteroffer verbally. Ask for the new terms in writing: new salary, new title if promised, new scope, and the exact review date.

If something is promised but not written — "we will revisit your title in six months" — it does not exist. Managers move on. Companies restructure. Verbal promises evaporate.

A one-paragraph email from HR confirming those four items is the difference between "they kept their word" and "remember when they said…" two years later.