You've just been made an offer by a company, and you're interested in the position and the organization...but you're still waiting to hear from your first-choice organization about another job. What do you do?
"Students don't always know that they have a certain degree of control of this process," says Alan Goodman, director of career services at Catholic University. "In a case like this, the student should do a couple of things. First, ask for additional time to consider the offer." Goodman notes that employers, despite their desire to land top candidates, understand that these students are probably considering more than one opportunity. They know that an immediate reply isn't likely. While there is no fixed or customary "think-it-over" time period, it's not unreasonable to ask for two to four weeks—or even longer.
"Second," Goodman says, "the student can often speed up the process or at least get more information about his or her status by contacting that first-choice company." He recommends calling the first-choice company to ask if its decision can be made within the time granted by the other organization. Sometimes, organizations can be nudged to move on their offers when faced with the prospect of losing a top candidate.
"I think that students are afraid they may turn off the employer, or even risk having the job offer withdrawn, by asking for additional time," Goodman says. "While employers need to fill their openings, the last thing they want is to have a student—under the pressure of a short deadline—accept the job, then discover three months after starting the job that it's not a good fit and leave to go elsewhere." Employers recognize that it's smart business to give as much time as they can so the student can carefully consider the offer.
Even if you're not weighing other offers, there is nothing wrong with asking for more time. The student who receives an offer in November for a job starting in June may be up to his or her neck in exams, projects, and grad school applications—and too busy to concentrate on the offer at hand. Or, the student may just not feel ready to make such an important commitment at that time.
"Explain to the employer that you want to give the offer the full consideration it merits, but that in order to do that you need some time to think things through. Suggest a date by which you would be ready to give an answer," Goodman says. "The vast majority of employers will be reasonable about this."
That's not to say that you can take forever to make a decision. Employers will have other top candidates to whom they'll make the offer if you turn it down; they can't stand by idly and risk that those candidates, too, will accept positions elsewhere. "At some point," notes Goodman, "there will be a 'go/no-go' date that can't be negotiated. Students need to accept and respect that."
If you think an employer's time frame for accepting or declining an offer is unreasonable—or if you feel the employer is applying too much pressure—talk it over with someone in the career services office. "Any time something in the recruiting process strikes you as unreasonable or wrong, it's a good idea to check with your campus career center," Goodman says. "The staff there can let you know, first, if in fact the employer is being unreasonable. Second, they can help you decide how to respond."
Comparing offers
And what if you have a number of offers to choose from?
"Enjoy it," Goodman says. "Remember, of course, that you shouldn't say 'yes' to anything immediately. Investigate all of the offers, go over the information you have about each, talk to someone you trust—a career services counselor, a faculty member, a parent—someone who can help you think through the offers objectively. Make sure you have a firm understanding of what each opportunity entails. And, if there are gaps in your information, contact the employer and ask for additional information. The thing you want to do is reduce the amount of surprise there will be with your position—you want to have as clear a picture as possible."
That advice holds true even if you have just one offer.
"By exploring as many aspects of the offer as possible, you reduce the chance that you'll be dissatisfied with the job or company and end up leaving quickly," Goodman adds. "That's something that new graduates need to keep an eye on. You need to watch that you're not creating a history of job hopping. That can catch up with you."
Afterwards
After you've given your decision careful consideration and accepted an offer, stop looking. Inform other employers who have extended offers, or who might be considering you for a job, that you have accepted a position. And, don't go out in search of more offers.
"By accepting an offer, you're making a promise," Goodman says. "There is a lot of expense involved with hiring that students don't take into account." In fact, in a NACE survey, employers said it costs them an average of $3,485 to hire one new college graduate. In addition, says Goodman, "The employer now has to go out and look for someone to fill that position."
Whenever you receive a job offer, you need to think about what you want in a job, what's important to you. Maybe you're most interested in opportunities that present a challenge or, in the level of responsibility the job will afford you. Or, speaking of "afford," maybe it's the salary that you're most interested in. In order to make a well-informed decision, you need to look at what the job entails and provides and at your interests, needs, values, and goals.