One of my friends recently informed me that he had fantastic news: his dad, after almost a year of sifting through vacancy announcements and shuffling to and from interviews, had been extended a job offer. As he shared the news, I could sense a “but” coming. He continued that although his dad had received a job offer from an employer of whom he was not particularly fond, he had received three more offers for positions for which he had interviewed during the preceding week. While my friend’s dad never could have known that after receiving the one job offer he would receive a flood of offers, and the proposition that he should have declined that job offer seems rather outrageous given today’s employment environment. Nonetheless, it is important that job seekers carefully consider possible job offer before and after receiving them.
Career advice guru Lindsay Olson recently commented in an article that hiring managers, upon extending a job offer, assume a few things have taken place. Hiring managers expect that job applicants already have put serious time into thinking about whether they would like to work for a given employer. What if you want some additional time to consider the offer? Olson has four general recommendations.
1. Be enthusiastic and honest. Olson observes that the employer needs to know that you are both serious and excited about the position. She suggests that job seekers who find themselves in a situation in which they need a bit more time to consider a job offer “express” their “thanks and enthusiasm about the offer” and request some additional time. Above all else, recommends Olson, “If the employer asks what you need to consider, it’s best to be honest that you are considering another offer and feel like you need to see out the process before making a final decision.” Job seekers in this position should set a date by which they plan to render a decision, says Olson.
2. Justify your decision. “Make sure you have a viable reason,” suggests Olson. Requesting added time may “make a company question interest level and your overall chances of accepting the offer.” In light of this, you will need a good reason, which will help to mollify employers’ fears.
3. Reach out to other employers. If you receive an offer, it is essential that you reach out to those other employers with whom you have interviewed, states Olson. As my friend’s dad should have done, it is important that you tell those employers that “you have an offer on the table” and “give them a date by when you” intend to “make a decision, and ask if it’s possible to make a hiring decision by then.”
4. A deadline is a deadline. If the employers you have reached out to regarding your offer do not get back to you by the deadline you set, “make a decision and stick with it,” recommends Olson.
5. Be courteous. My friend’s dad chose not to renege on his initial decision because he wanted to keep intact those professional bridges and relationships he had spent a lifetime building. “Regardless of whether you accept or decline the opportunity,” says Olson, “do so gracefully.”
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