Multiple Offers?

[mohammedtalha]

Hey guys,

So the scenario I find myself in is quite a positive one but it's an interesting dilemma.

I will be receiving an offer letter from a small company that has a lot of travel involved (4 out of 5 days a week - out of Canada). I'm also waiting for a call back for a second interview for a large company that I should hear back early next week.

How long is the norm to accept an offer? Can I push it for a week or so, saying I want to go through it or does it kind of have to be immediate?

I'm an accountant and this will be my first move after working in the same company since graduating from University 5 yrs ago. I also have my CMA. I really would like to hear from the company I'm waiting on a 2nd interview because of its proximity to home, but the job offer I received is much much better in terms of compensation (about 5-10K Salary difference).

Appreciate your comments.

Thanks!

[damnos]

I will be receiving an offer letter from a small company that has a lot of travel involved (4 out of 5 days a week - out of Canada). I'm also waiting for a call back for a second interview for a large company that I should hear back early next week.

So it's not a multiple offer. Just to clarify
Small company - you are getting an offer
Large company - still waiting whether or not to get a 2nd interview (so you are not sure you whether or not you are getting a 2nd interview and even if you get it, not sure if you will pass the 2nd interview).

You can always try to get few days or a week to answer to an offer, though they might not be so willing to wait for too long. Always just say "need a few days to think about it" kind of phrase. Then, contact the 2nd company and say you are very interested to join their company but you already receive a very good offer from another firm - this is intended to tell them that if they want you, to speed up their process.

This might work IF you are just waiting for an offer from the 2nd company, but in your situation, the large company might be a few weeks away from giving you an offer (if at all) and I doubt the smaller company will be willing for more than a week.

Some people might say to just work for the small company and possibly quit after few weeks if you do get a better offer from the smaller company and they'll say "you need to take care of yourself" - while you do need to actually take care of yourself, I am not a fan of burning bridges and destroying relationships. Good professional relationships are very important.

[kmarcie]

Great to hear you have an offer and a potential one coming your way.

Firstly, it's not at all odd to take a while with an offer. You can certainly take a week to review it. You can even use the other potential offer to your advantage, let them know you have another offer and see if the current company can offer you anything better.

Once you've had your second interview with the other job, you can tell them you have another offer waiting and see if they can make you an offer quickly.

[thestar99]

Weird coincidence. I am on the exact boat as you. First company offered me the position still waiting for second company which is the job I want. We will see how it works out

[mohammedtalha]

You're right, not technically multiple offers, but a potential position that I might be in. I want to see if I can get that second job I really want haha. But if not, I'll gladly take the first one until the second one gets through the paperwork or whatever.

In reality, I am not sure whether I'll receive an offer even, its just that second interview would be a step further than the numerous first interviews I've done, so hopefully I'll get something by the end of next week. Not much of a negotiator, so really hoping for the best!!

Thank you all for your input btw, I'm going to ask for a few days to review the offer and advise,, should I ask them as to how long they want me to get back to them by? Or kind of leave it vague and say i'll get back in a few days once reviewed? hm...

[mohammedtalha]

Weird coincidence. I am on the exact boat as you. First company offered me the position still waiting for second company which is the job I want. We will see how it works out

haha nice! Good luck and hopefully u get the job you want and it works out well :)

One thing I feel awkward about is, what CAN I do to avoid burning bridges, the first job is never going to wait for another 2 weeks, so if I do hear about the second job's interest in me, with a relatively good offer, how can I possibly leave? or worse yet, what If its during my 2 week notice period at my current job.. lol

[damnos]

Thank you all for your input btw, I'm going to ask for a few days to review the offer and advise,, should I ask them as to how long they want me to get back to them by? Or kind of leave it vague and say i'll get back in a few days once reviewed? hm...

There are chances that if you leave it open, they'll want it as soon as possible.
When they send you the paperwork, you can just say "can i have until the end of the week (end of day Friday) to think about this" - Friday being next week of course not today.

I think a week is probably the longest most companies would wait for as they have other candidates. Unless of course you are on hiring spree and you have large talent pool such as the big boys (Amazon, Google, etc) they sometimes give you 3 months to accept an offer - but those cases are exceptions.



One thing I feel awkward about is, what CAN I do to avoid burning bridges

There really isn't much that you can do other than sticking to whatever you decide. If you join the first company and get offer a bit later, stick it out or at least give it a fair chance to see how the company and how working for them is like, rather than immediately jumping to another ship because the offer is better (and keep in mind, even if the $ is better, the 2nd company not necessarily have better environment or working condition)

EDIT:

here's one thing that you can do to try to negotiate with the first company. Tell them "I am waiting for an offer from another company, I would really love to join your (first) company though and I was wondering if we can settle for $X (with $X being higher than their original offer)"

keep in mind any negotiation has risk and they can easily rescind their offer (although highly unlikely if they like you enough to make an offer, but still a possibility however small it is).

[mohammedtalha]

here's one thing that you can do to try to negotiate with the first company. Tell them "I am waiting for an offer from another company, I would really love to join your (first) company though and I was wondering if we can settle for $X (with $X being higher than their original offer)"

keep in mind any negotiation has risk and they can easily rescind their offer (although highly unlikely if they like you enough to make an offer, but still a possibility however small it is).

hm.. thanks, Well lets hope that the first guys take really long in their offer lol i would love it if they can give it to me like late nex week, thursday or friday, then I can ask for a week from them, in the meantime, review the offer, call the 2nd company, see what they're up to in terms of my interviews.. and go from there..

It's true though, maybe the 2nd company even though seems amazing to me from the outside, maybe the work environment isn't as good as it seems.. so lets see.. what comes out of this.

Thanks again everyone!!

[thestar99]

haha nice! Good luck and hopefully u get the job you want and it works out well :)

One thing I feel awkward about is, what CAN I do to avoid burning bridges, the first job is never going to wait for another 2 weeks, so if I do hear about the second job's interest in me, with a relatively good offer, how can I possibly leave? or worse yet, what If its during my 2 week notice period at my current job.. lol

The job I wanted I did not get but its still nice to have another job as backup. I will take that for now and look for another job in six or seven months

[NutsandBolts]

In all honesty, I have been burned with employers in the past so take my suggestion with a grain of salt.

Take the first job right away, tell your new boss that there might be one or two days that you have to leave early to tie up lose ends (in case second interview happens), and if the second jobs pan out, jump ship. Unfortunately in this economy I think it would be ill advised to refuse a job in hopes of another (job) that may or may not happen. Sad to say its a dog eat dog world you need to take care of yourself.

Side note...this happened to me this week. I accepted a job for this coming June, 2 days later I got a better offer elsewhere. I politely and in person went to the employer, apologized, and made an excuse. Its not the same circumstances as you are in because this was a job 2 months down the road, and it was only two days after....but it was my full intention to leave if something better came up, or maybe I would have stayed if the atmosphere was good, who knows. I have been burned waiting for that perfect job that never came in the past, so my views on the subject is biased.

Hope it works out

I type slow

[Firebot]

Frankly the first job sounds a lot more interesting where you play a larger role along with travel, then a desk peon job in a large company. Sure it may seem to look good on a resume, but traveling internationally as part of your work looks even better. 10K extra is also nothing to sneeze at.

[mohammedtalha]

so just an update to this thread.. neither of the 2 jobs worked out, well the 2nd one hasn't really called me back, and the 1st one things didnt go as well as expected.. still on the hunt... sigh!

[damnos]

so just an update to this thread.. neither of the 2 jobs worked out, well the 2nd one hasn't really called me back, and the 1st one things didnt go as well as expected.. still on the hunt... sigh!

Thanks for the update and sorry that neither work out.
Out of curiosity though if you dont mind - you said the 1st one was "getting an offer" - was it simply that they didn't come through with it? or is it because as a result of negotiation that they cancelled?

[mohammedtalha]

Thanks for the update and sorry that neither work out.
Out of curiosity though if you dont mind - you said the 1st one was "getting an offer" - was it simply that they didn't come through with it? or is it because as a result of negotiation that they cancelled?

yeah, they actually cancelled the position "for the time being" whatever that means.. lol

[xlash]

In all honesty, I have been burned with employers in the past so take my suggestion with a grain of salt.

Take the first job right away, tell your new boss that there might be one or two days that you have to leave early to tie up lose ends (in case second interview happens), and if the second jobs pan out, jump ship. Unfortunately in this economy I think it would be ill advised to refuse a job in hopes of another (job) that may or may not happen. Sad to say its a dog eat dog world you need to take care of yourself.

Side note...this happened to me this week. I accepted a job for this coming June, 2 days later I got a better offer elsewhere. I politely and in person went to the employer, apologized, and made an excuse. Its not the same circumstances as you are in because this was a job 2 months down the road, and it was only two days after....but it was my full intention to leave if something better came up, or maybe I would have stayed if the atmosphere was good, who knows. I have been burned waiting for that perfect job that never came in the past, so my views on the subject is biased.

Hope it works out

I type slow

What he said. Except I'd do the same if it was a slow economy or not. It's a dog eat dog world. You could apply for the perfect job for you and your qualifications but you won't hear a peep from HR. Look out for yourself first. If the company blackballs you then look at the zillions of others out there. Just make sure you don't burn bridges.

P.S. saw you got burnt. Keep looking. Best of luck.