How to Say no After Commiting a Offer

[Muni Sammy]

I got a offer from company 01 and i comited that i will join. After Some days i got another offer which looks better than company 01.. i am planning to join in the company 02 . How can i say No to the company 01 which i given early...

Yes i do agree this is unethical behavior,but when i was initially resigned for a company 00, they told me that they will wait if things goes wrong and after resignation they said that they can't wait that really made in pressure ..See This Thread

[Pradeep bhatt]

You can tell them you

1. You have decided to continue with present company as they have now offered me the role and work that you were excepting in new company
2. If your new job is a new city you can tell them you can't relocate due to personal reasons
3. You have an offer from another company and they are offering me a higher post/responsibilities[tech lead] or you have got a chance to work with some interesting domain like telecom

Don't talk about money .

[Raghavan Muthu]

Yes thats true. Mentioning that you are being asked to go to onsite (client's place) for the testing phase as recently the implementation has taken place and being a critical resource of the project you have no other choice will definitely be of a decent and diplomatic rescue!

You can always add some pleasing statements as "hoping to be a part of Comp001's family in a near future"

Good luck

[Ben Souther]

It's good that you've acknowledged that this is unethical.
With all due respect to Prad Dip, I wouldn't add lying to the situation.

No matter how you handle it, you should do so quickly.
You may have already caused them to pass up some qualified candidates.
Any delays on your part could cause them to pass up more.

In these cases, it's always good to put the shoes on the other feet.
Imagine if the company told you that you were hired.
You quit your current job or passed on other opportunities.
Then, the company that hired you found out that they could get someone more qualified than you and decided to give the position to him.

I assume that lying to you about their reason won't make things any easier for you but any delays in letting you know that you won't be getting the position would certainly cause more harm.
[ June 25, 2008: Message edited by: Ben Souther ]

[Arvind Mahendra]

if job 02 looks better than job 01 because of salary why not go negotiate with 01 and see if they can match or better the offer of 02. ?

[Cameron Wallace McKenzie]

It's good that you've acknowledged that this is unethical.

I'm not sure if it's so unethical.

Inconvenient for sure, but there is a difference between personal and business relations. If they company lost their budget tomorrow, they would have to lay you off. They may feel bad, but it wouldn't be unethical. Similarly, you have to look out for your own best interest. This is your career. You may have family that depends on you. Your career is one of the most important things you must nature in life.

What would be unethical is lying about the situation. The thing you need to do is be honest. Let the company know early so you minimize the inconvenience to them, and be willing to offer assistance in helping them find a replacement. Don't ever burn a bridge.

-Cameron McKenzie

[Ben Souther]

Originally posted by Cameron Wallace McKenzie:


I'm not sure if it's so unethical.
...

I guess that would depend on your sense of ethics and/or your definition of the word 'commit'. For me, I wouldn't think it any more OK for me to do this to a company than for them to do the same to me.

Your mileage may vary.
-Ben
[ June 25, 2008: Message edited by: Ben Souther ]

[steve souza]

we once hired an employee who took the job and continued to look and let in 3 months. That was even worse, as we paid him to look for a job. It was personally embarrassing as our client held us accountable for them essentially paying him for little productivity while he learned. He may have had his reasons, but i took it personally.

You could bring up the dialog with them. Truthfully if they ripped my head off for bringing it up they would make my decision easier. In the way they handle it maybe you realize you would like to work for these people.

[Mark Herschberg]

I'm not a fan of this. My father in the same situation turned down company 2 and said "sorry, I already accepted another offer." In my case company 2 couldn't have me meet the CEO before company 1's deadline and the HR rep suggested I accept and then meet their CEO and potentially rescind my acceptance to company 1 if I liked company 2 better. I refused.

I once had a candidate reverse his decision. The recruiter called the next day to say his wife told him, "You have a 6 month old son now, no more startups!" I knew he had been concerned about hours for this reason, and I think he legitimately got excited and accepted without talking to his wife who then overruled him. While I was disappointed to lose him, I understood and would hire him again.

--Mark

[arulk pillai]

I'm not sure if it's so unethical.

Inconvenient for sure, but there is a difference between personal and business relations.

I agree with Cameron. If you have not signed any papers, you should look after your interests, but communicate your decisions quickly and tactfully.

[Vijay Chouhan]

If you have not signed any papers, you should look after your interests, but communicate your decisions quickly and tactfully.

I don't know about other geographies, but in India, when you accept an offer ( or commit to an offer), you do so by signing the offer letter and returning it back to the company.

[dhwani mathur]

Hi.......

I think it is the matter of your own will
because forcefully joining somewhere and
later keep thinking that i had a better offer
than this one...... may be it feels as if grass
is always green on the other side can realy
affect the persons production as well.


rest i would say is i agree with Cameron
on the whole.

One thing i would suggest is to be very honest on it
and speak to Company 01 about getting a better offer
then thiers...........if taken positively may be it helps you........

Dhwani:>Winning is not important but it is the only thing.

[Muni Sammy]

OK What Legal action they can take if we are committing the offers throw Email or Signing the offer letters?

Do they Eligible for taking any Legal Action ?

[Ulf Dittmer]

Do they Eligible for taking any Legal Action?

Probably. But the specifics depend so much on the individual situation that it's better to discuss this with a lawyer.

I agree with the others who said that you should resolve this fast.

[Muni Sammy]

as per Indian law, do they have any handle of blackmailing us after saying NO to them???. Its still a Offer Letter right, is not the Appointment letter which says you are a Employee ....

People from India, can you please throw some lights on this .

thank you

[Raghavan Muthu]

Yes, thats true. But it is not just an offer letter but with a confirmation/commitment from the candidate.

It is true that it is unethical as per the individuals but have no idea as per the law!

As all others suggested he can better let them know about his decision so that the employers may proceed further in getting the next candidate! The way how he approaches is suggested by other ranchers!

[Az Sanders]

If you have not signed anything with them (company 01) then its only a verbal agreement, not a legal contract of employment.

Ethics is an individual thing, you said its unethical to take 02's position after agreeing to take 01's, so it is.

Be honest, tell 01 that 02 has come up with a better offer, see what 01 says about that, -do not- accept attempts to have your ethics "used" against you by 01 "but you agreed", but don't disregard your ethics, chances are 01 will ask you which you want to go with, anyone with sense would prefer their employee's thinking they have the best possible, a disgruntled/disheartened employee is a source of unneeded trouble.

Good luck