Re: deliberating over all job offers versus accepting the first one

On 6/3/06, Terrence Brannon <[email protected]> wrote:
> Acceptable interval between getting a job offer and deciding on it
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> The time delay between getting an offer and accepting it can send
> signals to the employer who made the offer. I think it looks best to
> the recruiter and the company if you accept immediately - it
> communicates that you have no reservations about the job being a
> perfect fit for you and you are eager to start... but I could be
> wrong. What is an acceptable amount of time to delay a response to a
> job offer? Some people accept the job, then claim they have to work 2
> more weeks and then keep interviewing and then withdraw their
> acceptance. I think this is dishonest.
>
> So I think the essential question is once you have one decent offer
> (in terms of work requirements and pay), how much longer should you
> interview and continue to accept offers?
>
> A possible sticking point is if you get two great offers from
> companies A and B and accept company A, a lot of times company B will
> never talk to you again, which means it may have been wise to only
> submit resumes in sequence and do one interview and if it seems OK,
> then go with it for the time being.
>
>
> Taking an offer as soon as it is made
> ---------------------------------------------------
> I'm sure all of you have been in a situation where a recruiter has
> reviewed your resume but prior to submitting to the employers asks "if
> they make an offer, will you accept?"  and tries to get you to say yes
> to this question. Some people will say yes and then just ditch the
> recruiter if they find a more desireable job. I personally would like
> to be upfront and say: "well, actually I am interviewing the employer
> as much as he is interviewing me. Just because he makes an offer, I
> cannot promise that I will accept."
>
> After I say this, they usually say something about how important this
> client is, or how the last person they submitted opted not to take it
> and try to make you feel like it is up to you to save the Eastern
> seaboard from falling into the ocean. How do you handle situations
> like this?
>
> Conclusion
> ----------------
> I don't understand what recruiters are saying to employers. Why is it
> such a heartbreak when a recruiter submits a resume, the employer gets
> excited and makes an offer, but then the candidate refuses the offer
> because he felt it was not a good fit? Why do recruiters try to paint
> a picture that a candidate is bound to want to take an offer when all
> he knows about the employers is some general info in a job spec and
> perhaps a trip through the company website? It doesn't seem fair to
> obligate a candidate to accepting a position before he has deliberated
> on the interview and perhaps a few more. I think it would be
> unreasonable to spend a month after an offer deliberating. I think 7
> days is the absolute most time one should wait before accepting an
> offer and I think that immediate acceptance or any acceptance without
> sleeping on it at least one night is nothing but a mistake.
>

The job market is pretty good right now, as a candidate it's in our
best interest to work at finding that perfect match, whatever that may
be for you.

I'm more inclined to accept a contract-to-perm quicker than go through
the hurdles of full time acceptance unless the employee has met all my
needs (pay, rate, telecommute, etc.).

The last thing I want to do is rush to accept a job, after all, that's
sort of what got me into the situation of wanting to look for a new
job.

-- 
Anthony Ettinger
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