Job Offer - Can They Do This?

[Cooky]

.

 

[mdsoccermom]

I am trying to figure out if they offered you a job on a Wednesday, why you would need almost a week to decide? Every job I have interviewed for has given me no more than 24-48 hours to decide, not that I ever needed more time.

They did not bully you. They have a business to run and decisions to make.

 

[crashbb]

I am trying to figure out if they offered you a job on a Wednesday, why you would need almost a week to decide? Every job I have interviewed for has given me no more than 24-48 hours to decide, not that I ever needed more time.

They did not bully you. They have a business to run and decisions to make.

I assume she is hoping that the other position for which she is interviewing will come through before Wednesday.

I'm with most of the other posters - 24 hours (even 48 hours), I can understand, but not more than that.

When I was offered my current job (it will be a year in a few days), I did ask for 24 hours. I pretty much knew that I'd be taking the job but (a) the specific salary was only given to me with the offer (I knew the minimum going into the interviews and was fine with it, and they were offering me more, so it wasn't really an issue, but still wanted thinking time) and (b) it was a big decision, so I just wanted a chance to breathe before answering.

I don't think that the potential employer is doing anything wrong.

 

[Hannathy]

I think a lot depends on the level of this job. If it is an entry level job then yes I can see wanting an answer quickly. If it is an upper/mid level management job that has had some negotiations with salary, benefits etc and has entailed a lot of interviews and searching then they may be willing to wait a week for the right candidate.

If the salary and benefits wasn't given to the candidate until the job offer then it is also usual to be given a time period to think it over. A week is long, you can ask for a week but be prepared for them to ask for shorter and then you have to decide are you willing to loose the job in order to have more time.

 

[TaraPA]

As a business owner, I can say yes, they can do this. I can also say that it's not bullying or pushing you around.

You came to them. You asked for a job. They picked you. Now you put it off, to which they agreed that you could take more time. But then, they told you that they needed a final decision. You think them giving you a timeline is being pushy? It's not. They have many other people to think about than just one employee -- especially one that doesn't even work for them yet. They have the other 50 people that applied for the same job. They have people who are being overworked at the moment because they have a position that isn't filled. They have customers who may be unhappy because it's taking too long for them to get what they're paying for.

If you take the job, or if you get another one, there's always going to be deadlines. This is just the first of many.

There's always "the other side of the coin." Hopefully you'll understand what I'm trying to say, from the employers viewpoint.

This.

I do the interviewing & hiring for our company. I can sometimes spend days & days & hours on end interviewing & calling references for potential new hires. I fully expect that these people want the job that they interviewd for, and will have an answer for me in a reasonable amount of time once I offer it. For me that would be 24 hours. Anything after that is just holding up the training process, which costs time & money. Any amount of time requested beyond that would lead me to think that you're either waiting for another offer to come in, or make me ask how badly do you really want to work here? I would also have to wonder how quickly you could make a decision or react to circumstances unexpectedly, which in my line of work is cruicial to be good at.

You have to think of it from the employer's point of view. I have no idea what field this is but in some companies they can spend hundreds of dollars, if not more, per potential employee on time spent interviewing, re-interviewing, checking references & doing costly background checks. They may feel they're being dragged along for a ride, at which point they may have to start the process all over again with someone else.

In any event, good luck with your new job!

 

[lilpeanut85]

Exactly!!!

OP - you interviewed 3 weeks ago and have had plenty of time to think about whether or not you wanted the job. As an employer, I would've expected that three weeks would be enough time to make a decision. Even with your questions, you should've known iimmediately whether it would be make or break based on the answers you received. It's not like you interviewed yesterday and they offered it to you today!

You should be grateful that they're even still considering you. If someone came back to me with that response, I would think that they were not that interested or serious if they needed close to an additional week to make a decision. It would also make me wonder if this person was capable of making quick decisions in a business setting.

Nobody pushed you ... three weeks is plenty of time to have reached some kind of decision. And don't be surprised if they decided to offer the position to someone else when you call on Tuesday.

I agree with everything the above poster said.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

As others have said, not only can they do it, but it's not uncommon to give a short deadline.

When I extend an offer, I generally give until the end of the following business day for an acceptance, and sometimes less (never more than one business day to decide). I do not want to have the candidate go in search of a counter-offer or otherwise try to manipulate my offer of employment to their advantage with their current or other prospective employer.

If you're having second thoughts about the position or feel they are being too aggressive, then I'd suggest declining the offer, but don't expect to string a company along for a week and be surprised when they are unhappy with your request, especially if the position needs to be filled ASAP (as it sounds like the one for which you interviewed is).

 

[wnissen]

The eagerness of many respondents here to withdraw the offer is curious to me. At least when I've interviewed, the differences between candidates are large, and I have felt that the second-place candidate would be a big step down. In fact, we often decline to fill the position if we can't find a suitable candidate. I guess it depends a lot on the job and the circumstances. If a company needs a cashier tomorrow, a week's delay is a big deal. However, if you're hiring a professional who will develop skills and connections over time, why pressure them? I received an offer with a 24 or 48 hour time limit on it, but that was a fast-growing technology company. I would definitely think twice about signing on at a company with that level of urgency, from a work balance standpoint. If they can't wait a week, how are they ever going to let you go on vacation?

Obviously, it's a risk to delay accepting an offer, especially when you don't absolutely need that time. Good luck.

 

[Ceila]

The eagerness of many respondents here to withdraw the offer is curious to me. At least when I've interviewed, the differences between candidates are large, and I have felt that the second-place candidate would be a big step down. In fact, we often decline to fill the position if we can't find a suitable candidate. I guess it depends a lot on the job and the circumstances. If a company needs a cashier tomorrow, a week's delay is a big deal. However, if you're hiring a professional who will develop skills and connections over time, why pressure them? I received an offer with a 24 or 48 hour time limit on it, but that was a fast-growing technology company. I would definitely think twice about signing on at a company with that level of urgency, from a work balance standpoint. If they can't wait a week, how are they ever going to let you go on vacation?

Obviously, it's a risk to delay accepting an offer, especially when you don't absolutely need that time. Good luck.

It's very possible that their #2 candidate is very strong as well. And the company may be afraid of losing that person if the OP drags their feet and then ends up not accepting the offer.

OP, you were NOT bullied. (That has GOT to be the most over-used word on this board.) I'm sorry they changed their timeline after giving you the weekend, but they didn't do anything illegal. Asking for as long as you did makes it look like you are holding out for something better, so I don't blame the company one bit for wanting you to make a decision quickly. Why should they risk losing another candidate just because you can't make up your mind in a timely fashion?

 

[Coconut36]

The eagerness of many respondents here to withdraw the offer is curious to me. At least when I've interviewed, the differences between candidates are large, and I have felt that the second-place candidate would be a big step down. In fact, we often decline to fill the position if we can't find a suitable candidate. I guess it depends a lot on the job and the circumstances. If a company needs a cashier tomorrow, a week's delay is a big deal. However, if you're hiring a professional who will develop skills and connections over time, why pressure them? I received an offer with a 24 or 48 hour time limit on it, but that was a fast-growing technology company. I would definitely think twice about signing on at a company with that level of urgency, from a work balance standpoint. If they can't wait a week, how are they ever going to let you go on vacation?

Obviously, it's a risk to delay accepting an offer, especially when you don't absolutely need that time. Good luck.

I worked in the tech industry for years and was part of interviews and I don't feel that the majority of the time the "other" candidate was so poor we would start the hiring process all over rather than hire them. In my company you generally narrowed it down to the top 3 and while one might come out the one to hire they wouldn't have made the top 3 if they were such a poor candidate we wouldn't hire them in the end. It makes no sense to me to waste the time and money to interview someone that you wouldn't hire. Also in places like Technology time is absolutely of the essence. We had projects starting, deadlines to make and being required to wait weeks (because as an employer you have to figure there might be a minimum of 2 weeks before they can start if they currently hold a job) could seriously impact our timelines and ability to meet deadlines. We weren't hiring people because we had no work to do and time to kill..we were hiring because we needed the resources to meet our customers needs.

I think what people are trying to say is that if a candidate does not appear interested (and asking for a week fits that) it is legal and possible for them to rescind the offer and most employer have a certain expectation of a 24-48 hour turn around on response time before they might feel the need to move on.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I think you're lucky they didn't rescind the offer and make it to the next person in line. If a person really wants a job they accept right away.

I always gave people 24 hours to get back to me. I never had anyone ask for more time than that but the positions I had to fill were entry level.

If someone asked for more time, I rescinded the offer and went with my #2 choice.
That's how I was taught to handle it and honestly, we couldn't wait long to get people in those positions.
Even when someone went on vacation it meant the rest of us would end up working an extra hour or 2 a day just to keep on top of the work.

Now because she did originally give you until Tuesday to respond, it is a bit odd that she said something later but maybe her boss pressured her to do that.

I hope the job works for you OP.

 

[Mad4Mickey]

Congrats on the job offer

I do hiring and I can tell you that if you had asked me for more time and you had 3 weeks to think about working for us .... I would have thanked you for your time and wished you luck . I would have been polite but made sure you understood we were now going to pass on you and I would have moved on .

I say this because I did this to someone about 4 months ago. She asked if she could have the weekend to think about it because she had another offer on the table . I explained to her that she should think about the other offer because I needed someone that really wanted to work for us and stick around . She was shocked and thanked me and then left me a long message 2 days later telling me her Dad asked her if she was nuts not taking the offer of the job LOL

 

[Poohforyou]

I don't think the company did anything wrong with asking for an answer within a few days.

OP, if you're waiting for other offers I wouldn't sit back and wait. I'd call the other people you interviewed with and let them know you got another offer but they are your 1st choice. If another company wants you they'll come up with an offer quickly. Of course it's too late to do any of that now. Hopefully you learned something through this.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Yep--they can.

I will say that if it involves a major life change--like my husband having to relocate his family of five and figure out logistics--a couple of days is okay...

But if you are waffling--yep, they can get hard nosed if they want.

And if the offer is good--sitting and waiting is NOT a good idea. There is no guarantee that another offer will come along and you don't want to sit jobless.

Through my husband's negotiation with his current job--we knew that as long as the offer was reasonable, we were taking it as he had just been laid off. We could always fix things later by further job hunting--but we could not guarantee that more offers would come along. Turns out that he is pleased as punch with the company. Hemming and Hawing could have let a great opportunity slip through his fingers.

 

[bellebud]

As a small business owner myself, I'd probably give someone 1 day to "think about it". It honestly depends on the person and the position. And I don't have to give them any time at all to think about it. But again, we're a very small business, so when I need someone, I usually needed them yesterday, as there aren't many workers to begin with. A larger firm can maybe wait a little, and possibly may have different legalities they must adhere to (?)

I also feel that someone asking for time to think about it shows me they probably won't be around long... not something I want to deal with as an employer. That would weigh heavily on whether I decided to hire them or not in the end. They may accept the job after a day, and we may have changed our minds about them in that time. Again, really depends on the person, and how much we want and/or need them, and how many other qualified applicants there were.

 

[Arielle22]

In my company several important positions have only 1 slot. So if we post an ad when an employee gives 2 week notice, it takes longer than 2 weeks to hire a replacement. So when we chose a candidate, we want them to start as soon as possible. Often a corporate VP has to go to the site and fill in the vacant position until it is filled. The last thing they want to hear is the candidate needs a week to decide.

Once you had the details you asked about, I don't understand why it would take you 3 extra days to decide. You should have know what was acceptable to you and either accepted or declined once you had the details.

No law is broken doing this. The only possible claim when an employee withdraws a job is called detrimental reliance. However you have to have accepted the position and then it is withdrawn for a detrimental reliance claim.

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

I don't see the problem in having until Tuesday to decide. They had a chance to mull things over before offering you the job, didn't they?

They sound really pushy, I'd probably take it, but if the other job came thru I'd leave pushypeople Inc. and take that one. I'm like that.

 

[Praying Colonel]

The eagerness of many respondents here to withdraw the offer is curious to me. At least when I've interviewed, the differences between candidates are large, and I have felt that the second-place candidate would be a big step down. In fact, we often decline to fill the position if we can't find a suitable candidate. I guess it depends a lot on the job and the circumstances. If a company needs a cashier tomorrow, a week's delay is a big deal. However, if you're hiring a professional who will develop skills and connections over time, why pressure them? I received an offer with a 24 or 48 hour time limit on it, but that was a fast-growing technology company. I would definitely think twice about signing on at a company with that level of urgency, from a work balance standpoint. If they can't wait a week, how are they ever going to let you go on vacation?

Obviously, it's a risk to delay accepting an offer, especially when you don't absolutely need that time. Good luck.

My experience in interviewing and hiring employees has been the opposite. Most times we've had several acceptable candidates and there wasn't a lot of difference between #1 and #2 (or even #1 and #s 2-5). My guess is that's also generally true today in a down economy with high unemployment.

I agree with most that 24 hours is OK, 48 at the outside. If you need more time than that to make a decision on something you (a) applied for, (b) interviewed for and (c) have had significant time to think about since the interview, then I probably made a mistake extending you the offer in the first place.

 

[cornflake]

I'd have been shocked if I called to offer someone a job on a Wednesday and they asked for the weekend to think about it - it's nearly a week. It'd have sounded like nothing but what it was - you were hoping for a better offer.

A day to think about it is fine, but especially given the market...

What types of questions did you ask, just btw? Because if it was you'd forgotten to inquire about salary and benefits and they hadn't been discussed at the interview I can see - I don't really see what else there'd be between the interview and the offer?

I do think calling with questions and then asking for more time (I realize it was the same time but when you called to ask questions and presumably got answers I'd have thought that should've made up your mind.) I'd have dropped you then.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

I'd have been shocked if I called to offer someone a job on a Wednesday and they asked for the weekend to think about it - it's nearly a week. It'd have sounded like nothing but what it was - you were hoping for a better offer.

A day to think about it is fine, but especially given the market...

What types of questions did you ask, just btw? Because if it was you'd forgotten to inquire about salary and benefits and they hadn't been discussed at the interview I can see - I don't really see what else there'd be between the interview and the offer?

I do think calling with questions and then asking for more time (I realize it was the same time but when you called to ask questions and presumably got answers I'd have thought that should've made up your mind.) I'd have dropped you then.

MTE