‘How Much Time Can I Ask for to Consider a Job Offer?’
Dear Boss,
I’ve been conducting a low-key job search for months without much movement and now, suddenly, have what seems like serious interest from two different companies. I’m near the end of the interviewing process with both of them, but, from what I can tell, one of them is moving much more quickly than the other. I’m open to both, but I’m more interested in Company A. Of course, Company A is the one that’s moving more slowly. I’m worried about getting an offer from Company B and needing to give them an answer before I’ve heard back from Company A.
I don’t want to turn down Company B just out of hope Company A will come through with an offer, because if they don’t I’d be glad go to work for my second choice. But I also don’t want to accept Company B’s offer if I have a chance at working with Company A.
How do people navigate this? I assume I can’t tell Company B that they’re my second choice or that I need to put them on hold while I wait for an answer from a different employer. And I know I can’t tell Company A to speed up their timeline (and in fact they mentioned that part of the reason for the delay is that they’re waiting to interview a finalist who’s been out of the country and thus unavailable).
If Company B makes an offer before I’ve heard from Company A, how much time can I ask for to think it over before I start to look uninterested? Is a week or two unreasonable? And if I do get an offer from them, is there any way I can contact Company A to explain the situation, or will that look like I’m trying to pit them against each other?
Last, I guess, what if I accept Company B’s offer, then Company A finally comes through with their own, better one? Can I back out of the first offer without ruining my reputation in my small industry, or is that never done?
I know I’m getting ahead of myself! For all I know, no one will make me an offer and all this worry will be for nothing. But I’d feel better if I knew how to handle it.
It’s a nice problem to have, but it can be stressful figuring out how to make different employers’ timelines line up so that you end up with the job you wanted most, not just the one that made you an offer first. And you can only put interviewers off for so long while you’re waiting to hear back from other companies. There are things you can do to make it easier to navigate, though.
First and foremost, when you get the offer, tell them that you’re very interested, explain that you’d like some time to think it over, and ask when they need an answer. For example: “I’m thrilled to get this offer, and I’m really interested in the position and the company. I’d like to run the numbers and think it over. When do you need my answer by?” (“I want to talk it through with my partner” also contextualizes the request.)
Ideally, they’ll reply offering you up to a week or two, but some might only give you a few days. (That might seem unreasonable, but there can be legitimate explanations for it, like if they need to get back to a second candidate who has a deadline of their own.)
Be aware that in some situations, rather than offering a timeline themselves, they might respond by asking you how long you think you’ll need. If that happens, one week is generally considered pretty normal. Ask for more than a week and you risk sounding like you’re simply waiting to see if a better offer comes along.
Next, immediately contact any other companies that you’ve interviewed with and whose offers you’d be tempted to accept over the one you already have. (And “immediately” here really means immediately. Do it that same day, since at this point the clock is ticking.) Explain to the other company that the job with them would be your first choice, but you have an offer from another company that you need to respond to within X days, and ask if there’s anything they can do within that same timeline.
An interested hiring manager who knows you have another offer to juggle will try to expedite things if they can. Often, a company that considers you a strong candidate will move faster when they need to, and it’s fair to ask about. They won’t always be able to, though; there might be scheduling conflicts, decision-makers who are unavailable, or other red tape slowing the process down. If that happens, then you have to decide whether you’re willing to turn down a sure thing (the first offer) for the possibility of a second offer that might not ever materialize.
If you’re reading this and thinking, Hmmm, couldn’t I use that same strategy to get a faster offer even when I don’t really have another one waiting? … don’t do it! Bluffing could leave you with no offers at all — there’s always a risk the reply will be, “We can’t speed things up on our side, so go ahead and accept the other offer and we’ll take you out of consideration here.”
There are some occasions when you can get away with presenting the other offer earlier on in the process, before it’s concrete. If an employer seems especially interested in you and you genuinely believe you’re going to get a competing offer soon, then you can say something like, “Do you have a sense of your timeline for making a hire? I’m in the finalist stage with another employer, but I’m more interested in the position with you.” However, don’t do this unless you’ve actually seen convincing signs that the other employer truly considers you a top contender (say, being told you’re one of their top candidates or that they’re likely to be making you a formal offer soon). It can become a reason for the first employer to focus less on you rather than more since a hiring manager might think, I’m not sure she’s quite what we’re looking for and it sounds like she’s about to accept another job anyway, so I might as well concentrate on other candidates instead. You don’t want that!
Now, what if you can’t make the timelines line up and so you accept the first offer … then later you get a more appealing offer from a different employer? You can back out of the first offer to accept the second one, but be aware that there can be a cost to doing that. There’s a fair chance you won’t be considered for any future job with the first employer, even if you end up wanting to work with them down the road. And particularly if you’re in a small industry, people talk, and “She backed out of an offer two days before she was supposed to start and after all the other candidates had been cut loose” can harm your reputation. That said, if the second offer is clearly better for you, you need to act in your own interests. As long as you’re clear-eyed about the potential repercussions, sometimes backing out of the first offer to accept the superior one’s the decision that makes sense. Besides, companies act in their own interests all the time. You get to do that, too.
Find even more career advice from Alison Green on her website, Ask a Manager. Got a question for her? Email askaboss@nymag.com (and read our submission terms here).
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