How To Avoid Rescinding The Job Offer
There seem to be two competing vantage points for decision-making in our society:
“You do you!”
“Lead with emotional intelligence!”
In the world of social media with countless coaches and experts sharing advice, the consensus is “companies are bad” and “individuals are to be empowered.”
Last Friday, I stumbled upon a LinkedIn post encouraging the professional in their offer negotiation and accepting job offers. The general advice from the post is as follows:
Do the best thing for yourself. Even if that means accepting an offer from one company and then rescinding that decision if the offer comes in from your most preferred company.
Caveat: Different vantage points were given with a few scenarios that can happen; however, the overarching method was you have to do what’s best for you and your family.
I don’t disagree that we all make decisions based on “what’s best for us.”
And yet I hope we can all agree that decisions hold consequences.
Today, I am strongly advocating that you don’t have to be in this position, and it's one that you should avoid to the best of your ability.
When someone is crystal clear on their contribution (the what) and has done the preparation of target companies (the where), and has an individualized job search strategy (the how), then the scenario above doesn’t happen.
I’m going to give you insights on how to hone in on the what, where, and how of your job search so you can avoid the black mark of accepting an offer and then rescinding it. But before I do, let’s explore some popular “advice.”
You’ll hear people say, “You’re the CEO of your career.”
Sure, you’re in charge of making decisions.
As the “CEO of Your Career,” your decisions will have outcomes… good, bad, and indifferent.
The “CEO of A Company” also has outcomes from his or her decisions… good, bad, and indifferent.
I’m not excusing poor leadership at companies!! And I’m wanting to save professionals from poor advice that can lead to a damaged reputation.
I think we need to stop blaming “the company” and realize companies are made up of people. Sometimes those will not be so great, but most of the time they are wonderful, lovely, awesome professionals… just. like. you.
So how do you avoid this uncomfortable scenario of having to rescind an offer that you recently accepted?
The critical thing is to start well, so let’s begin at the beginning, way before the job search activity starts:
The What
Knowing your unique contribution to your career lane is foundational to getting on the right track with your job search. The number one assessment I can recommend to show this clearly and that can help you articulate this is the YouMap® Profile.
What are your God-given, natural talents?
What are the values you hold that decisions are made from?
What skills are you most energized to do daily?
What is your personality as it pertains to work / your career?
Getting clear on these things will help you start off right in the journey to your next opportunity.
The Where
Armed with the best contribution you bring to the table, you now can narrow your focus on the company target list. There are plenty of resources available to pull this together, and one I’ll link you to is a contributing article where I and other Coaches offered outside-the-box ideas with Sarah Johnston.
While compiling these companies, keep in mind that you should gather the research and then prioritize your list.
The How
A job search strategy needs to be tailored to you and how you’re wired. This goes back to the foundational beginning of knowing yourself and how you can be the most effective in the job search. As a Career Coach, I work with my clients to craft this strategy for them, but equally as critical are the adjustments we make during the job search to ensure success.
A full-court press will be understood if you’re familiar with basketball terms. If you’re not, how that translates to your job search is to “go all-in” with the companies on your target list and entertain quality recruiter conversations as well.
For the sake of the focus of this article, we will fast forward to the time when multiple offers are coming in so you can avoid the mistake of accepting one, only to rescind that offer later.
The Keys To Receiving Offers
The ideal scenario in a job search is where interviews are happening simultaneously so that multiple offers are presented and you have some options. Notice I said “ideal” and that doesn’t always happen, but let’s proceed like you’re working with me.
Buy some time…
Offers will inevitably have questions and you need to follow up with the Hiring Manager or HR Personnel who extended the offer. Let me give you a suggested timeframe sequence:
Day 1
Company: Offer is extended verbally with the formalized information sent via email.
Job Seeker: Gratefully receive the offer and let them know you look forward to reviewing the information in more detail over the next few days and that you’ll get back to them with questions.
If you are waiting on an offer from another company, now is the time to reach out to the Hiring Manager / Recruiter / whoever is your direct contact and gracefully let them know that you just received an offer. Delicately check in on their progress and if they are your preferred company, let them know that.
Day 2
Job Seeker: Email the Hiring Manager / Recruiter where the offer was extended and ask to speak with them to clarify questions you have. (Sidenote: Compensation packages are very comprehensive and I have yet to meet a client who didn’t need time to review benefits, stock options, bonus structure, etc.). Choose the following day for availability to meet and discuss with the Company.
Day 3
Company + Job Seeker are discussing the questions about the job offer, and this is also where I would expect/suggest offer negotiation to occur.
It’s quite common that the person you’re speaking with from the Company will have to “circle back” with leadership to confirm/accept/deny the negotiated terms, which buys more time.
At this point, if you have NOT received an offer from the “most preferred company,” then that tells you something. One company is taking action (you have a job offer!) while the other is still “thinking about it.”
Day 4 or 5
Company should be getting back to the Job Seeker and hopefully, they have accepted your negotiated terms.
If they have not, or if you haven’t heard back from this “preferred company,” then empower yourself with being able to answer “no” or “maybe” to this offer.
Final Points
When you can pull back and see how the actions of companies and the people within them are actually communicating a message, it tells you something about preconceived notions around a “preferred” company and maybe it affirms them.
Permitting yourself to be honest with a company to say, “I like the offer overall, and yet I have been excited about this other company. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but I think it’s better, to be honest. I may accept, but I’d like a little time to think it through.”
If you have concerns about the company that extended the offer, and no amount of time that you buy in the process is going to erase those concerns, then empower yourself to turn down the offer.
Lastly, we do make decisions that are best for us and when we have the grace and emotional intelligence to deliver the message of that decision, we see everyone win.
