I’m on a job hunt and I’ve put the word out through several avenues. One of my early applications came back with an offer that passed my satisficing limits. I accepted it to tie it down and to allow me to give early notice.
Now some of my other lines of inquiry are turning up promising, competitive offers. And my brain refuses to take them seriously, it is committed to the first offer and will not take an unbiased assessment of anything else on the table.
Physically write a letter to the first offerer, thanking them for the offer but telling them you’ve found a better position, and hoping that they find another suitable candidate. Sign it.
You don’t have to actually send the letter (until you decide to take another position, and even then an email will be better), but it may help you alieve that you are not committed to the first offer.
Are there legal or ethical considerations? I mean, you’ve accepted an offer somewhere and presumably they’ve stopped their search for candidates; do you feel, or might you be legally, obliged to take it?
(I would be surprised if they had any legal case against you, and even more surprised if they had enough of a case to be worth pursuing. But if I were in your situation I’d feel quite guilty if I accepted a job offer and then took another job instead.)
No legal grounds, it is very much the equivalent of quitting within the first 90 days (I think, I’ll look it up if it matters).
There is the ethical consideration, but that is the one of the hard truths of life; employment is not secure until you’ve already been working for 90 days. And then, only slightly more so.
So, in short: it would be bad sense for them to stop searching for a candidate, as a back up should I cancel and as potential future hires. And they would be naive to think I’ve stopped my job hunt, not all lines of inquiry resolve at the same rate. It is easy for them to predict that I may receive competing offers.
p.s.: I’m not a defaulting moloch leech, I swear. The early acceptance was to allow me to give very early notice in my current position and to facilitate a smooth exit that leaves everyone happy.
I’m on a job hunt and I’ve put the word out through several avenues. One of my early applications came back with an offer that passed my satisficing limits. I accepted it to tie it down and to allow me to give early notice.
Now some of my other lines of inquiry are turning up promising, competitive offers. And my brain refuses to take them seriously, it is committed to the first offer and will not take an unbiased assessment of anything else on the table.
This is a problem. I’m going to re-read Hold Off On Proposing Solutions and Seeing with Fresh Eyes to look for solutions. Any recommendations? any recommendations from other sources?
Physically write a letter to the first offerer, thanking them for the offer but telling them you’ve found a better position, and hoping that they find another suitable candidate. Sign it.
You don’t have to actually send the letter (until you decide to take another position, and even then an email will be better), but it may help you alieve that you are not committed to the first offer.
This greatly reduced the cognitive dissonance. Thanks.
Are there legal or ethical considerations? I mean, you’ve accepted an offer somewhere and presumably they’ve stopped their search for candidates; do you feel, or might you be legally, obliged to take it?
(I would be surprised if they had any legal case against you, and even more surprised if they had enough of a case to be worth pursuing. But if I were in your situation I’d feel quite guilty if I accepted a job offer and then took another job instead.)
No legal grounds, it is very much the equivalent of quitting within the first 90 days (I think, I’ll look it up if it matters).
There is the ethical consideration, but that is the one of the hard truths of life; employment is not secure until you’ve already been working for 90 days. And then, only slightly more so.
So, in short: it would be bad sense for them to stop searching for a candidate, as a back up should I cancel and as potential future hires. And they would be naive to think I’ve stopped my job hunt, not all lines of inquiry resolve at the same rate. It is easy for them to predict that I may receive competing offers.
p.s.: I’m not a defaulting moloch leech, I swear. The early acceptance was to allow me to give very early notice in my current position and to facilitate a smooth exit that leaves everyone happy.