Possible job offer, what to do?

Funky_Bold_Ribena

DBGage wrote: »

Can I retract an acceptance letter? He wants a reply this Thursday but start date on the 22nd of April.

If I can retract my offer that may give me enough time.

Yes of course you can. If you get a better offer, you say 'Sorry, but I've had a better offer'.

zzzLazyDaisy

Yes you can retract an acceptance before you start. The prospective employer may not be happy but there is nothing they can do about it and it happens all the time.

However one thing to bear in mind - it is not just the salary that matters, it is also the viability of the company, and how they treat their employees. Remember that during the first two years of employment they can dismiss you on a whim and you have very little protection.

Who?_me?

I would imagine they want a decision because some other person is waiting to hear if they got the job or not. They are giving you first refusal on it, if you say no, there will be someone else who will say yes. You could always try the "so and so are offering me a post at X amount, can you match that?" they may increase your offer.
As others have said though, look at the whole picture, travel costs, holidays, job security, progression, training. Make the right decision for you.

National_Careers_Service

First of all good luck with today’s interview!

I have a couple of ideas that might help with these very important decisions your about to make and have put together a short summary to help explain why my ideas could help. Here goes:

You had a 2nd interview with a company on Tuesday but don’t yet know what the salary is. You have another interview Wednesday (today) with potentially a better job offering £19,000 a year and you don't think this 1st one will touch that.
You’ve since spoken to the 1st company and they’ve offered you the job with a proposed a start date of the 22nd of April. You’ve received the offer letter and have said you will come back to them with a decision by the end of the week but they’re hounding you for a response sooner.

It’s really important that any decision you make is the right one for your family

What a dilemma! I suppose once you’ve had this second interview you’ll have more to work with and that’s great because you’ll need factual information to help you decide whether it is the right job for you and your family. Thinking about this in more detail what exactly does that mean for you? Could it mean a decent income? Could it mean having the opportunity to progress and work your way up or is it more about stability? I wonder if writing this down would help?

Ok so we know that you’ll be thinking with your ‘practical hat on’ so to speak but what about the other side of the decision making process? Do you sometimes go with your instinct, use a little intuition or think with your heart rather than your head? Some decisions have to be made on the spot using our gut reaction and it’s easy to forget how useful this can be. Have a think about the scenarios below and how you’d react:

· If we can pretend for a moment that both jobs offered the same salary; which one would you be drawn to and why?

· What would you feel like if the first job offer was retracted?

· How would you feel if you didn’t get the second job?

I’m really keen, and I’m sure everyone else is too, to see how your story unfolds. I’ll be keeping an eye out for an update Good luck!

DBGage

So the interview went great this morning, lots of engagement and conversation. They said they will let me know Monday, I knew there wouldn't be a big enough gap of time.

Does anyone know, 100% if an acceptance of an offer can be withdrawn by me? I'm getting conflicting reports, going to ask citizens advice tomorrow as no one seems to know.

The start date is 22nd of April so of course this would give me enough time.

Funky_Bold_Ribena

DBGage wrote: »

So the interview went great this morning, lots of engagement and conversation. They said they will let me know Monday, I knew there wouldn't be a big enough gap of time.

Does anyone know, 100% if an acceptance of an offer can be withdrawn by me? I'm getting conflicting reports, going to ask citizens advice tomorrow as no one seems to know.

The start date is 22nd of April so of course this would give me enough time.

Yes of course you can. As mentioned - what exactly can they do about it? Until you start you aren't an employee.

DBGage

I looked at the offer and it's conditional on references.

I've looked at other sources saying otherwise including yougov.

How do you know I can withdraw acceptance?

Don't mean to sound rude or anything, just want to make sure.

DBGage

Apparently they can take legal action or make me work the notice period.

Jox

You haven't signed anything have you?

If on Monday the other company offer you a job with more money, you could call the first company and explain and they may up their salary offer.

If both jobs are the same salary which one would you go for?

Funky_Bold_Ribena

DBGage wrote: »

Apparently they can take legal action or make me work the notice period.

They could break both your legs and bury you in a concrete overcoat but the likelihood is pretty low.

They are more likely to shrug their shoulders and offer it to the next in line.