If I get more than one offer...

OOH! Bummer....been there, done that.

It's the old bird in the hand thing. If they offer the Sheffield position, take it, and then wrestle with your conscience if and when the Manchester job is offered, IMO.

Think of the alternative....turn down Sheffield, and then don't get the Manc job.


Good luck, mate.

the lady or the tiger?

Thanks for your help so far. I'll just wait a little while longer (I haven't received any word from them yet) to see what others have to say.

Re: If I get more than one offer...


Sheffield: You got the job!
You: I'd like a couple of weeks to think it over. I have a few other irons in the fire and also want to discuss this with my family.
Sheffield: We can only wait one week, then we have to give the job to someone else.
You: Okay, I'll tell you in a week. Thank you.
<then, you telephone Manchester>
You: Hi, I'd like to know my status with regards to the open position.
Manchester: We haven't decided yet.
You: I don't want to rush things, but I have another offer on the table. The offer will be open for three days.
Manchester: We can't tell you that quickly.
You: I think I can get them to hold it open for five days.
Manchester: That'll work. We'll get back to you in five days.
You: Thank you.

I agree with jespah - Basically they should give you some time to consider the offer. However, a week (for get about 2 weeks) may be too long. Try to push in a nice way with the offer you want to let you know sooner - you can be honest with them. Say you prefer the job with them, but do have another offer. You can wait a week, but need to get back to them.

This is not an unusual circumstance. The thing is don't tell Sheffield about the other offer, since you prefer the other. Just let them know you need to discuss it with your family (or even you want to think things over) before making a final decision.

I know situations where people have taken the initial offer, only to renege when a better offer comes along. You could do this, but I would never suggest it. It could always bite you back in the future especially if you work in one particular industry - word could get out and you never want to act unprofessional. I know how often I see a resume of some one who used to work for here or there or who worked for some one else I know. I have told other people don't hire this person she reneged - can't trust them.

You might be "temporarily unavailable", and no job offer has to be responded to until it is officially made. Don't answer the telephone today, and leave the mail unopened. After your interview with the second firm, you can open and then delay responding to the first offer, if it is made, for a day or so. This should not hurt you, and may even raise your stock a bit.

You guys are so honest! You could also accept the first job, contingent on giving reasonable notice at the current job. You might have actually started work on job #1 before hearing interview results from job #2, by which time you will know how well you like #1. Of course, job 1 might have to be classified as one of those burned bridges if you leave for #2.

I agree with Asherman.

I'd even turn off the answering machine, so they won't think you're just not returning their calls.

Jes lays it out really well, though I can see tying Asherman's strategy in there to drag it out a bit more.

It won't surprise anyone that while you applied for a job with their company, you applied a few other places, too. That's how it works. The thing to avoid is any indication that you inherently prefer the other job, but it makes sense that you would want to find out more about your options, and a week or so is reasonable.

There is also an outside chance (nothing to plan on) that they want you badly enough that the thought of you being snatched away by another company is enough for them to sweeten the deal.

I suppose there is also a risk that they would say something like "Tell us now or forget it", more nicely worded. It would depend on how quickly they need to fill the position.

Thanks for all the info so far. I haven't received anything as of yet, despite the guy promising he'd email me if I was accepted.

I'll check the mail tomorrow to see if he sent it out in print, but it looks as if I've been rejected.

The funny thing is, typing out this message is giving me a bad case of deja vu despite the fact that I've never done something like this before.

(It didn't help that I was the only non-local guy applying for the job).

Yeah, I'd supplement what I said with Asherman's advice. There's no reason whatsoever for you to pick up a phone the moment it rings. Hey, you could be out getting your oil changed or something.

It's no great secret that a person might have more than one offer, and there's definitely the possibility of playing off on to the other although you shouldn't be too obvious about this as people don't like it (understandably so).

A kind of subtle thing I also wanted to get across, and I guess I didn't really spell out earlier, is to negotiate down out of your position, if you have to, e. g. ask for two weeks if you only need one, to see if you get two weeks but be willing to compromise down to one. If you start off by saying you want one week, the employer might try to push you down to three days -- so you need to start from a position where you can afford to budge.

One thing you can also do -- and I see it may be moot now, but in the future -- is to push any possible start date 2 weeks into the future. E. g. you're, for real, available on April 1, but you say you can't start a new job until April 15. Why? Well, it's none of their damned business. People take time out for all sorts of reasons. You were getting your teeth whitened. Your dog required surgery and recovery time. You had a planned vacation. Mom's coming over. Whatever, it doesn't matter.

And then you can use that time if you need it, to field any remaining offers/interviews. But keep in mind that the clock is ticking. So if you get an offer from Manchester while Lancaster thinks you're going to start on the 15th, at least you haven't started with Lancaster yet. And then you can say, sorry, something else came through. And then at Manch they will either meet or exceed what you're getting at Lancaster or they'll wish you well elsewhere.

This is sort of like reneging but at least you did not start the other job. Of course you should not be doing this if you have signed a contract. It's a less than perfect way of doing things -- ideally, you should not accept an offer unless you intend to take it -- but that does happen. Recognize, though, what that can do to your reputation in the industry, and only use this tactic if the other job is really, really worth it.

PS For the last 3 jobs I got, I had other possibilities. Not really offers, just possibilities. And I used those to my advantage. When I called the places I really wanted to work (within 1 - 2 weeks after an interview), to find out if they'd made a decision, I happened to oh so casually mention that I had a temp job lined up, and would start in a week, or that I'd been submitted at ___ and expected to hear within a week. It was always a week, as that's enough time for anyone to go through office channels in order to get a decision made by even the most sluggish upper management. And it was vague enough that no one thought I was angling for more dough. What I was really angling for (and, BTW, these statements were actually true) was a faster decision, even if it was a rejection, because one thing I found, particularly in the last go-'round, is that some companies are more or less constipated when it comes to making hiring decisions, and sometimes they need a little fire lit under them. If it backfires, then they reject you. So be it. If things were that precarious, and they use a reasonable request for an timely answer as an excuse not to hire you, then they weren't going to hire you, anyway.

There is a danger in not answering your phone/being so unavailable. If the company has interviewed another qualified candidate, and they can't reach you, they may simply call the other candidate before they lose that opportunity.

I don't like the idea of accepting a job and from the time you accept and start working you accept another position - I consider that reneging. In my industry where typically some one knows some one - you would definately burn a bridge. I know a person who did this that worked for me - I happen to be leaving the company at the same time so I really didn't care personally. However, if his resume showed up at my now employer, I would not recommend him.

People tend to forget, if they ever knew it, the importance of negotiating. Everything is negotiable!

Be prepared, and remember you are on stage from the moment you get out of bed the morning of your negotiation until you return home at the end of the day.
Fit your negotiating style to the style of your opposition.
Play. Negotiating is a play, and has its rules and tempos just like any television drama. You have to be in synch with it, and prepared to take advantage of openings.
You are in a stronger negotiating position than you think, and you'll never get "it" unless you ask.
People generally love to help and are flattered when their help is needed. Let the other side sympathize with you and help you to get the best deal. Foster the idea that "we are in this together".
Not all deals turn around money, look for what the other side really wants and play accordingly.
Get commitments to a lot of little, but easy compromises early in the negotiation to build a sense of commitment to the deal by your opposite number. That makes it easer to conclude tougher compromises later.
Work hard at negotiating, but NOT TOO hard.

Negotiating is something we all do almost every day, yet most people never give it much thought. You don't have to be a lawyer or a natural negotiator to be successful; you need to make only a serious effort (but NOT TOO serious) and a lot of practice. These are skills that can be learned, and most of the negotiators I've dealt with over the years weren't "naturals", they worked hard at it and were continually improving their skills. There are some excellent books and short courses available on the subject, use them. Cohen's "Everything's Negotiable" is an excellent source and can even be purchased on audio tape. For years I had this tape in the car. Evertime I drove the tape was playing. After awhile you don't consciously listen anymore, but the tape continues to impress fundamental negotiating elements on the subconscious.

good post Asherman

Thanks for the info, guys. I can't really negotiate on terms of money. The advert clearly stated what the salary was and I doubt a University laboratory that runs on grants would be able to afford giving me more.

However, the other points apply very well.

Negotiations isn't always about money. Negotiation is about finding a deal that lets all parties walk away at least semi-satisfied that they got most of what they desired. Humans desire a lot of things. Some folks just want a friendly face and some attention, and don't give a damn about time or dollars. Each of us needs to know what it is that we personally value and what we want to achieve in life. Thats what we negotiate for.

Secondly, we need to understand what it is that other people value, so we have a better idea of what we need to give in return for what we want. People are complex and often they don't know themselves what it is they really value and want. Find out and supply that need, and you stand a much better chance of getting in return what it is that you want.

Here's a question for you, and those who visit here. I suspect that answers we will get will, if adopted into your future negotiations, improve your results.

What is it that most people want that is within your power to grant in some small measure?