Have you ever experienced second thoughts about a job offer? It happens at least once during a career of anyone. Do you know how to face such unavoidable circumstances in your professional life? Let’s learn it.
Today job market in the UK and elsewhere is fluid for both ends, candidates, and recruiters. Everyone has ample options to choose from. The selection process is always in inversed pyramidal manner. It means employers select candidates first when they see the best fit for their all requirements/marks. Similarly, the second and third options have some deficiencies.
The same stories go for candidates when they approach more than one interviews and job offers.
The job applicants have to decide their metrics to accept a job offer.
If a candidate has accepted a job offer in the absence of the better one, it is not the fault of the candidate who declines it when finding the better one.
Think of Consequences When You Change Your Mind
However, consequences may go bad or worst when
- The candidate has signed up employment contract on legal documents.
- The employer has little heart to understand your points of interest.
- The employer has not a better option than you.
- The recruiter is suffering from negative thinking and don’t let you go.
Here, you have to save from
- Legal consequences when you already signed up the employment contract and texts in it don’t permit to decline it.
- You have not signed the legal contract yet, but your reputation in the job market and network of employers/recruiters are in question. It often happens thanks to online social media where anyone can spoil your next chances with unwanted shares.
- You may lose a big or valuable company/employer forever because such behavior shuts the door of next opportunity in that company in the future.
Confirm that Your Changed Decision is Right
If you have changed your decision to decline the present job offer, don’t panic.
It is because there are many reasons the present job market is experiencing such behavior. For instance,
Your Dream Employer Wants You
You have applied for your dream job, but someone else has won it, and you have to go to your second or third choice, and you have accepted the offer. Now, that employer of your first choice found that their candidate is no longer available and you are their next choice, and they want you.
You Accepted Job Offer without Looking Details
You have accepted job offer even during the interview round without demanding their details like salary, hourly rate, perks, cuts, and so on and afterward you have seen the ugly texts and decided to reject the offer.
You Have Better Options Now
You have passed through interview processes with several companies, but you have a job offer from only one, and you have accepted it. With the lapse of time, one or two more companies that you have interviewed with them have finished their processes and found you the best fit. They are going to offer you more lucrative perks and all that you have dreamed once. It triggers your emotions and compels you to change your mind.
You Strive for Experiences than Perks
You are striving for valuable experiences and supportive team shape up your carrier even with the start-ups, but you have not found the same and a different role in a big company with good perks that you have accepted. Now, your personal or social network indicates the company you are striving and a vacancy for it. You intelligence forces you to turn down the offer from uncomfortable role, team, or company and accept the interesting one.
You Are In Crisis
Some have a mid-life crisis, unexpected circumstances/epiphany or any-time crisis. These are unavoidable situations, and you have even decline your dream job offer with heavy-hearted.
How to Decline a Job Offer You Accepted
If you are firm on turning down the accepted job offer and mentally, physically, as well as financially ready to face the bad to worst consequences, still you have chances to reduce the bad effects. Yes, you can apply the following tactics carefully and save yourself from the worst going to happen to you.
Act Swiftly:
Once you realize, the accepted job is not to fit for you, and you take a firm decision to decline the offer, don’t waste much time to acknowledge the company or organization. Act swiftly and inform the concerned authority as soon as possible and open the doors for others.
Show Honesty, but tactfully:
Intimate your recruiters regarding your changed decision, in a polite manner, so they never misunderstand you at all or feel insulted. In due course, you can use soft tactics like tell them you would not fit into company culture or nonalignment of skill sets. Refrain from mentioning anything regarding the company or recruitment process either.
Go Briefly/Concisely:
Try to save yourself from giving a long explanation in verbally or in writing and show only significant points those can clear your stand without creating any trouble at the moment or in future.
Display Gratitude:
Always mention gratitude for giving you an opportunity to know the company and learn something from the recruitment and other teams there. Also, try to show that changing the decision after the offer was a tough thing for you and you hope to work in the future will a pleasure for you.
Check Your Bottom Line while Renegotiating:
When you declare your changed decision, the chances are high that the company may try to renegotiate with you on some negotiable points like benefits, perks, etc. In such condition, you have either clarify that you are in no mood to renegotiate at all or say ‘yes’ for renegotiation keeping things clear in your mind.
However, renegotiation act as a counter offers and damage your reputation in the market as well as in the company too.
Select Right Way/Channel to Communicate:
In most of the cases, intimation regarding your changed decision should give to the employer directly otherwise, HR or recruitment team is okay. A face-to-face meeting is better, but a phone call is okay in some cases. In extreme cases use email or instant messengers, but it will dilute your case further and create a negative image in the company.
Learn Valuable Lessons:
Some companies are behaving well in such situations while some are strict and may go to take legal action against your changed decision. Whatever sweet or bitter experiences, you take lessons from it.
Take of things before finalizing your decision to accept the job offer. Take enough time to say ‘Yes’ to the company for acceptance and inquire everything from recruitment team as well as working employees in the company if possible, so you need not pass through the changed decision process at all.
About the Author
She is Marketing & PR Executive for Just Norfolk Jobs and has been since October 2017. Manya has a vast amount of HR & Recruitment experience coupled with her local knowledge of the Norfolk & Norwich area.