Letters to the Editor
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Word to the wise, from the recruiting world...
NEVER accept a counter offer. This isn't just some verbal ploy to get you hired, it's practically a law of the business world, especially in highly-competitive fields.
Look, if you are searching for a job because you are undervalued and underpaid, then obviously you're not happy about something at your current job...something that probably isn't going to change, despite constant requests by you (if you have the courage to bring up such issues, which you definitely should). So, if you get an offer, then you let your company know that you are leaving....THEN they make a bunch of promises to you, written or otherwise, they are doing that for one reason only: out of THEIR own self-interest, not yours.
Taking a counter offer basically tells the employer that you don't mind being their slave, for the right price...also, by trying to leave that place of work, you've already indicated that you don't like working there...so if the company decides to have a layoff, guess who's probably the 1st. in line to get axed? Ta-da, that's YOU!!!
And there's no need to give 2 weeks notice, especially if you are in a right-to-work or at-will state, or have a non-union job...you owe your employer nothing, because legally, they also owe nothing to you when they decide to fire/lay you off in at-will states. 2 weeks is common courtesy, but again, this is all about YOU, not your soon-to-be former employer.
So listen up, all you college students out there, who think you'll know better when this happens to you the first time...don't EVER except a counter offer from your current employer, even if they put it in writing. This is something you'll learn after many years of working in the business world, because counter-offers are just a temporary fix to a long-term problem that you can't solve.
LW, you have every right to be angry with yourself...but the lesson learned here is that you need to always look out for yourself, not your company (unless you own part of it, that's kinda different).