Juggling Two Offers Takes Special Skills
Last year during his job search, information-technology consultant
George Cresto found himself in the fortunate position of having two companies
express interest in him. There was just one problem: His second choice offered
him a job first, while the other firm had yet to make a decision.
And more job seekers could face this dilemma if the job market
continues to improve. Juggling two potential employers can be a delicate
challenge. A job seeker who botches the balancing act risks alienating both
employers and ending up without either job, while a candidate who misleads a
potential employer can tarnish his or her reputation across an industry.
"The worst thing to do is surprise a company who thinks
you're ready to be there," says Karen Armon, president of executive-coaching
company Alliance Resources in
She suggests that candidates tell recruiters and hiring managers
from the outset that they are looking for jobs at other companies. Most
potential employers will appreciate the honesty.
If the less-favored firm makes an offer, career coaches advise
candidates to buy time. Tell the employer you are grateful for the offer, but
that you want to take a few days to consider it, discuss it with your family,
or perhaps talk with some other employees at the firm. Then call the other
company. Explain that you have gotten another offer, but remain interested. If
the second firm can't give any indication of your status and won't speed up its
process, some career coaches suggest taking the offer that is on the table.
Meg Montford, an executive career coach based in
Ms. Montford says job seekers can't put off a potential employer
for too long. If you ask for two weeks to consider an offer, the employer
probably is "going to get suspicious," she says.
Tony Blake, recruiting director for Great-West Life & Annuity,
a Colorado-based insurance company that is a unit of Great-West Lifeco Inc. of
Mr. Blake says he will try to buy time for a candidate with a
hiring manager. One week is reasonable, he says. Sometimes the company will
grant two weeks. But anything longer is usually too long, he says. "Now
you're getting to the point where [the delay is] probably going to be impacting
the business too much," he says. Alternatively, if a candidate with a firm
offer elsewhere needs a decision from Great-West, Mr. Blake asks senior leaders
if they can speed the decision.
Career coaches offer different opinions on the acceptability of
committing to a job and then reneging. Some emphasize that you may tarnish your
reputation among people you may work with later, especially in a tight-knit
industry. If a candidate has signed a contract, reneging can bring more serious
consequences than a tarnished reputation.
If there's no contract, other coaches say job seekers must do what
is right for them, even if that means reneging. Ms. Armon says recruiters might
be mad at first, but she says this will usually fade and is unlikely to doom a
career.
Mr. Cresto, the information-technology consultant, tried to buy
time from the first company while speeding up the process at the second. His
situation was especially tricky because he had received -- and verbally
accepted -- an offer from the first company before he even started in-person
interviews with the second. Nonetheless, he still had lingering concerns about
how well he would fit in at the first firm, where projects were performed mainly
by individuals rather than teams. Mr. Cresto prefers the team approach.
So he told the first company that he wouldn't be able to deal with
the paperwork immediately. Meanwhile, he told the second firm he had another
offer. "I understand you have a process to go through," he told the
firm, "but I just want to let you know that I have a very short time
window where I'm going to be on the market."
Normally, the second firm's interviewing and hiring process takes
one to two months, Mr. Cresto says. For Mr. Cresto, the firm compressed it to
two weeks. After a week and a half, an offer from the second firm was imminent.
So he called the first firm to decline its offer.
He explained what had happened. He stressed that he appreciated
how much time the firm had invested in interviewing him, and that he didn't
take that for granted. "Luckily the person I was dealing with was not
offended and basically left the door open" if things didn't work out at
the second firm, Mr. Cresto says. He happily accepted the offer at the second
firm, where he is a senior principal and enjoying his work.
Email your comments to erin.white@wsj.com
Article from CareerJournal.com Today – January 2006