Responding to offers

Firstly, all of us in Careers would like to say a big congratulations on receiving your offer! This is excellent news and all your hard work in the application/interview process has obviously paid off!

Whether you have received one or multiple offers, choosing your path for life after university is a big decision and it is one that really should not be rushed. If you need to take some time to reflect, this is absolutely fine – you can thank the organisation for their offer and agree on a day when you'll get back to them. Most job offers are likely to be made over the phone, so it is important to get a full offer in writing and this is something that you can request, if you have not already received it.

When considering a job offer(s), there can be lots of things to think about. For instance, you might want to take the following into consideration: what the job involves, whether it supports your career goals, the prospects of the employer, what the progression potential is, the suitability of the workplace/location, the salary, and what the work/life balance might be.

In some cases, you may have received an offer whilst you are still waiting to hear back from another opportunity you applied to – again, you can negotiate some time to decide.  However, the time may come where you have to weigh up your options and make a decision before having a response to all of your offers – then you will need to decide whether it is worth risking this offer for other applications that you are waiting to hear back from. Of course, you can’t predict that you will be successful but you may feel that the other opportunity has more positive outcomes for you long-term. When you do accept a job offer, it is good practice to withdraw all your other pending applications/reject other offers.

For further study offers, you should think about: your interest in the subject, your reasoning for choosing postgraduate study, the location of the institution, your study/life balance and your current finances. It is also important to mention that in some circumstances with further study offers you will be able to accept as many offers as you received – once you have made your final decision, you should inform the provider that you wish to study with,

If you need more help with considering your offers, book an appointment to discuss this further with one of our Careers Consultants.

Being turned down for an opportunity at any stage of an application process can be difficult to deal with, especially if this had been something that you really wanted. Rejection can affect you in a number of ways and it is completely understandable to feel upset about being unsuccessful. Unfortunately, rejection is part of the application process and it is therefore important that you acknowledge this and take the time to reflect on what has happened.

The first thing to remember is that there will be others in the same situation as you: the graduate jobs market is competitive and organisations will have plenty of well-qualified candidates to choose from. One option to identify what went wrong is to contact the organisation and ask for some feedback. Whilst this may not always be possible, it is worth asking as you can receive information on your performance that you can act on going forward – remember to always be constructive and polite and not to argue about the decision.

Whether you receive any feedback or not, it is important to think about what you have learned from the process. Your reflection will help you to improve going forward and you can use the rejection to build on your strengths and work on any areas for development. If you are not getting through a particular stage of the process (e.g. you are not getting interviews, or you get interviews but are not getting offers), you may want to reconsider what you have done and think about some of the following questions: 

• Is your CV/ covering letter/application of good enough quality? 
• Do you need to improve your interview style or technique? 
• Is this the right opportunity for you? Do you have enough experience?

Do discuss in more detail with one of our Careers Consultants. They can give you feedback on your applications, help you with your interview technique or give you support on how to move forward - book your appointment.

Whether you have received one or multiple offers, you may find yourself in the position where you have to turn down an opportunity.... and this is okay!

However, before you reject any opportunity, you should work out why it is that you are going to do so. 

• For job offers, you might want to consider: what the job involves, whether it supports your career goals, the prospects of the employer, what the progression potential is, the suitability of the workplace/location, the salary, and what the work/life balance might be.
• For further study offers, you might want to consider: your interest in the subject, your reasoning for choosing postgraduate study, the location of the institution, your study/life balance and your current finances.

If you need help with considering your offers, book an appointment to discuss this further with one of our Careers Consultants.

Once you have made your decision, here are our top tips on how to reject an offer: 

• No matter what stage of the process you decide to turn down the opportunity, always do this politely and professionally as you do not want to burn bridges. 
• Let the employer know that you are rejecting the offer as soon as possible so that they can find someone else to fill the position. 
• Ideally, you should inform the employer by telephone and confirm in writing (email) after.
• Avoid reneging on an offer (accepting and then later rejecting the same offer) as this is looked on unfavourably and may impact on your chances on future opportunities with the company.

Of course, your decision to turn down a role could also come before you are made an offer: for example, maybe you have realised after an interview that this role is not one you want to work in. In this instance it could be a positive thing to withdraw from the process before the employer makes you an offer as doing so will save you both time.