On 6/3/06, Terrence Brannon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Acceptable interval between getting a job offer and deciding on it
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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
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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
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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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