Well it looks like my post-graduation job search has finally come to an end. I’ve been applying since February and have gone on three interviews this month. I just received a voicemail from company A which said they’re extending a job offer to me (which will be my first actual career if you will).
Now of course, what should I do? I haven’t heard anything from the other two interviews but they said I would hear back within a few weeks from now. Should I say screw the other companies and accept the offer I’ve been extended? Should I try to postpone the offer I have for a few weeks (which seems a bit long to try and stall) to see if I get offered a better salary for negotiation purposes? The last thing I want to do is alienate the one company that has shown the most interest in me…
Given the time I’ve spent job searching and needing to work and earn money, I’m very tempted to just take the offer. At the same time, if I were offered work at the other two companies, its possible they could offer a moderately higher salary. Any tips or advice?
Figure out what you are worth in the current job market before going in for any compensation negotiations. Keep in mind that, in general (but certainly not always), smaller companies typically pay less than larger companies for equivalent positions/work. Review salary surveys and ask acquaintances in similar positions what an appropriate salary would be for someone in your position with your level of experience.
Based on your interviews, ask yourself which job you think you would enjoy the most, Company A’s job, or B’s/C’s, etc…
You can usually ask for a couple of days to think over an offer. Asking for a few weeks probably won’t work. They do have a job position to fill, after all.
If you are offered a compensation package you feel is substantially below what you researched in #1, and the company doesn’t sound like it will be willing/able to offer fair value, consider walking.
Basically, choose a job you think you’ll like (or at least be able to tolerate) and that will pay you something you think is reasonably fair. Otherwise, you’re just going to be resentful every day you show up at the job. Of course, it is a tough job market right now in many places, so you do have to make an honest estimate of your chances of landing another job if you reject the current offer.
Is it typical business etiquette that after you accept an offer all negotiations are off? If I were to accept the first offer and have a considerably better offer come along, I would want to avoid simply walking on the accepted offer because I’d feel bad and I think it would look unprofessional, so would they even consider negotiations at that point?
All three places I interviewed at are large companies and I don’t think I’d mind working at any of them. The company that has extended an offer is my first choice when it comes to a commute though (only about 30 minutes, no traffic) versus the others (which are about an hour without traffic, up to an hour and 45 min with traffic).
Just accept the job and worry about other jobs later. You are in an enviable position compared to many people. You will soon find out that your main responsibility is to take care of yourself. If someone comes along next week and offers you twice the money, you just take it and abandon the one you have. That doesn’t just apply now, it is true for the rest of your working life. The business world is a game, a money-making game, by design. Always take the best thing you have available at the time and keep your eyes open for something better. Believe me, they will screw you over hard given the opportunity and it will probably happen sooner rather than later.
Don’t worry about business etiquette either. That is for business dinners and style in e-mails. Congratulations but focus your doe-eyes on the target and prepare to screw people and be screwed. That is the way it works.
In a more neutral spin - when you start a new job, you are generally in a probationary period. You need to think of this as a mutual evaluation, not only are they checking you out - you are checking them out. So, if a better offer occurs within a short period, and you feel that you would like to accept the better offer, you simply inform the first employer that it’s not working out for you. HOWEVER, always leave the door open with them. The better offer job might end up being crap, and you might want to be able to go back to the first one.
If the other companies said they would let you know in a few weekS plural then i would just take it. You could ask to take a few days to think it over and call the other companies, but if companies B and C are already saying the interview process will take weeks then I wouldn’t bet on them speeding up the process to give you an offer.
And honestly unless one of the jobs is significantly better I would take it just on the shorter commute.
Contact the other companies and say you are considering other offers and have a deadline. You’d like to consider any offer they might extend to you but you have a time limit.
Switching jobs quickly after starting your first one will not look good on your resume. And quitting on a company that quickly can have a way of coming back to bite you down the road. I wouldn’t accept a job that I wasn’t committed to staying at for at minimum of 18 months, unless there are extenuating circumstances. I have tossed resumes if the person switched jobs too often or too quickly.
Take the job and go get some good experience. Your first job isn’t the time for salary negotiations and trying to game anybody - it’s a time to accept a decent offer and go work for a living in the field for which you trained.
Maybe, but the OP is talking about a period of less than a month. You DON’T have to put a job on your resume if you worked there less than six months, OP. Now, if you will be working in a small industry and worry that the word will get around and poison your name for the future, that’s different, but don’t worry about the issue Telemark raises in this instance. There’s every chance that if you take the job and then circumstances force you to bail on it within a period of weeks, they can just call their second choice, who will most likely have been waiting by the phone all that time wondering when they were going to call. Nobody loses, everybody wins.
I’m in a similar situation. I lost my job when the company that I worked for during the last ten years started shutting down its operations. I have one offer from a huge company, but I absolutely hated everything I saw when I was there for the interview. I really don’t want to work in a large corporation and deal with the bullshit, even if it means better pay and benefits. I have another potential offer. It’s a small company started by a group of people that I used to work with. It seems to be a pretty cool place, and I really want to work there, but they sure are taking their sweet time and they told me they’re still thinking about it. I accepted the offer from the big evil corporation, but I’m prepared to ditch them if something can be worked out with the other company. I don’t really see a big ethical problem with this. That’s pretty much what at-will employment means, which is the norm in the US (assuming that’s where you are).
Yes, but while you are working for Big Evil, you should find out how it treats employees it lays off. If it’s 4 months benefits plus a outsourcing company, then it’s not so evil. If it’s the door and nothing, then you can do the same back. Two weeks severance is standard, which is why employees are expected to do the same. That’s fine, if the employer treats it’s employees the same.
This is the best advice I’ve ever seen on this board.
Heed it at once. There is no room for sentimentality. Any company will screw you the moment it’s convenient for them, so if you get a better job offer a week after starting, and you want it, take it. There is no such thing as company loyalty any more. Don’t let anyone tell you different.
Take on the job, on the assumption that the job is one you want, in a company you want to work for, you liked the people that interviewed you, and the salary is within your desired range.
This is exactly right. I have actually had job offers taken BACK on me. One guy said the guy who quit changed his mind. The other offer, the company said, an internal applicant complained to H/R and they had to give it to him. Both times I was formerally offered the job. (This was a few years back)
Face facts, you’re not the only guy to apply for the job you got. If you died tomorrow they’d go with another candidate. So you won’t be hurting that company at all.
Companies aren’t stupid either. They realize you aren’t just looking for ONE job. If another offer comes along, give this job you took a chance to meet their offer. If they say, “no,” you say “BYE”
Thanks for the advice, everyone! I called the company today to accept the offer but they said they’d email and mail me the complete offer and would like to have a response within a week so it looks like I bought some time (even though I will likely still be taking the offer).
If one of the other companies looked more attractive to you, definitely give them a call/email and let them know that you have an offer on the table and need to hear from them immediately if they’re interested in hiring you.
I think it’s great that they’re giving you a formal job offer in writing. READ IT THROUGH CAREFULLY. There’s going to be little room for negotiation in terms of salary or benefits in your first position (though there may be some), but that’s not what you’re looking for. If it lists your responsibilities or requirements or probationary periods or goals to achieve or anything else you want to make sure you fully understand what’s expected of you.
If you think there’s something amiss with what they’ve presented as your responsibilities or benefits in the interview versus what they’re putting on the paper, now is the time to address that discrepency with them and seek clarification (also to be put in writing).
As for the other jobs, have you had interviews yet? Basically have you just handed them a resume or is there a very real possibility you’ll get a phone call tomorrow with an actual second offer? If it’s the latter, call them up and ask for their deadline in making a decision and go from there.
