Job Interviews/Offer Stage Advice

[cyclonehomer]

Slow play B, but tell A you have an offer on the table once you get it. That will force their hand to hurry the process along.

Agreed. I was recently in a very similar position, did this, and ended up with offers from both.

It probably is a bit industry specific but generally I would think hiring managers are okay with you telling them you need a few days to think/make a decision.

Just as much as you're being interviewed, you're making sure it's the right place for you.

 

[Rabbuk]

Agreed. I was recently in a very similar position, did this, and ended up with offers from both.

It probably is a bit industry specific but generally I would think hiring managers are okay with you telling them you need a few days to think/make a decision.

Just as much as you're being interviewed, you're making sure it's the right place for you.

Your last sentence was something I wish someone had told me at 19.

 

[cyclonehomer]

Your last sentence was something I wish someone had told me at 19.

I ended up taking a while to get into my current job because I finally understood that. Plus, I feel like it helps you interview better AND stand out when you're interviewing when you have that confidence and ask good questions that that mindset gives you.

I feel like it's almost the opposite of the mentality you get taught to have, where you'll fall over yourself to please an interviewer, but does a lot of good for you in the process.

 

[pourcyne]

For your consideration: does Company B have any way to make your life hell if you accept them, and then go with Company A when and if their offer is extended to you? You wouldn't be the first candidate whose "yes" turned into a "no". Nothing's official until you have a formal offer. In writing. And you take it. I would guess in this job market that you are the one in the catbird seat. You should not have any qualms about going with the better offer, no matter in which order you receive them. If you are quite sure of A, you might mention that B is courting you as well and that you need to know if A is going to fish or go to Cabela's.

 

[JP4CY]

I always feel like a company will take longer to decide than they lead on (Company A).

 

[cowgirl836]

Try to slow play and negotiate, if it comes down to it, accept, then back out if you need to. Friend at a tech science company says a full third of the people who accept don't start.

 

[Cyclones01]

If it were me, I would try to avoid accepting offer B prematurely unless you feel you absolutely have to.

First, I would inform company A that you believe another offer is imminent. Ask if they are able to accelerate the process at all (if they really want you, they should be willing to do so). Ask what a reasonable timeframe might be.

Second, I would be honest with company B. When their offer does come, tell them you are also interviewing for other opportunities; ask if they feel that X amount of days (whatever the other company told you, plus a couple day buffer, perhaps) to consider their offer is reasonable to them.

If there is any overlap, only then will you have a decision to make. In my experience, if a company really wants you, they should be willing to make reasonable accommodations. It just depends on how competitive your job market is.

 

[Nycclone]

Was In the same situation this past summer except it was three companies.

Tell company a that b is about to offer but you’d prefer working for them and you want to know what can be done to speed up the process. In the meanwhile, slow play b. In my case, they did speed it up and it didn’t work out and I went with b. Honestly, I’m happy with b and in retrospect it was a better fit and choice then a. Just wanted a cuz it paid more but b is the better company.

 

[bozclone]

I think it also matters who you have interviewed with. My son was in a similar situation. He had one offer with a date for acceptance. He had interviewed with a plant manager at a second company. He contacted the plant manager to tell him he needed to make a decision on another offer. The plant manager had the power to make a super competitive offer the very next day. Ultimately he took the first offer, but the right person can make things happen quickly.

 

[BCClone]

You can start by returning phone calls to B the next day, not immediately. A day here and there could help.

 

[cyphoon]

Ask B for

• Details on their 401k match, if any
• A list of health insurance plans and their cost
• For health plans that have provider networks, ask for a way to research if your doctors are in the network.
• The life insurance benefit amount
• A list of all other benefits
• PTO details

When you get all that, tell B that you are going to crunch number and do your own due diligence on health providers. You will decide after that.

In the meantime, give A an ultimatum and a deadline. I don't know if you can slow play it for a week. I think you have 3 days tops.

Lastly, I would caution you not to piss B off in hopes of landing A. I have heard multiple stories about companies suddenly ghosting candidates that had been breezing through the interview process. In fact, this recently happened to me. Passed two rounds of interviews, and was told that a tech interview would be scheduled next. Didn't hear anything for a week. I reached out to the recruiter and she said, "the invite is going out today." It did not. My guess is that they had another candidate through the entire process that was hemming and hawing ... ahem, not unlike you. Maybe they kept me on the line in case that fell through.

Anyway, you don't want to lose B if A suddenly loses interest, lands another candidate, or cancels the opening because of economic uncertainty.

H

 

[ISUCyclones2015]

Just start the negotiations with Company B and see what happens

 

[cyclonehomer]

Ask B for

• Details on their 401k match, if any
• A list of health insurance plans and their cost
• For health plans that have provider networks, ask for a way to research if your doctors are in the network.
• The life insurance benefit amount
• A list of all other benefits
• PTO details

When you get all that, tell B that you are going to crunch number and do your own due diligence on health providers. You will decide after that.

In the meantime, give A an ultimatum and a deadline. I don't know if you can slow play it for a week. I think you have 3 days tops.

Lastly, I would caution you not to piss B off in hopes of landing A. I have heard multiple stories about companies suddenly ghosting candidates that had been breezing through the interview process. In fact, this recently happened to me. Passed two rounds of interviews, and was told that a tech interview would be scheduled next. Didn't hear anything for a week. I reached out to the recruiter and she said, "the invite is going out today." It did not. My guess is that they had another candidate through the entire process that was hemming and hawing ... ahem, not unlike you. Maybe they kept me on the line in case that fell through.

Anyway, you don't want to lose B if A suddenly loses interest, lands another candidate, or cancels the opening because of economic uncertainty.

H

I guess I would say it really depends.

If a place won't give you adequate time to ensure you're making the right decision (I'd say 5 days is pretty reasonable given that it will hopefully be a long tenure somewhere), is it really where you want to be? If two days are make or break for them for an unfilled position, will they have a workplace culture of every small thing being make or break? Is that where you want to be?

Obviously a lot of these things are situation dependent, but I do think the absolute best thing you can do when you're interviewing, provided you aren't desperately needing a paycheck as soon as possible, is to ensure a place is right for you. If job B was going to change their mind over the difference between 3 days and 5 days of waiting, I'm not sold that that's where I want to work I suppose.

Again, my main point being, just as much as you are interviewing to get an offer somewhere, they are interviewing to get YOUR talent, YOUR skills, YOUR experience, etc.

 

[SCNCY]

As soon as you get an offer from B, let A know you have it. It’s very possible that A already made the decision to not offer you and are following their SOP of notifying you after company A offered and received acceptance by the other candidate.

Although, it’s not uncommon for people to accept jobs, and then back out at the last minute. My company offered and received acceptance for an HR manager, but backed out the day before she started because another company offered a work from home job. Some people will discourage this as being unprofessional, but if companies can cut ties with no notice, so can employees.

My personal advice, don’t feel that a company operates at a higher level than you. View it as being on an equal playing field and don’t be afraid to treat them as they treat you, or other employees.

 

[MeanDean]

We had accepted offers fizzle out when I was in the hiring process. Not much you can do except find another candidate.

I would accept B and if A makes an offer you like versus B, tell B you have to back out. It's the reality of hiring and getting hired. They know it happens.

 

[NWICY]

This is the correct answer. Although, don't ever accept their first salary offer. They're expecting a negotiation. Ask for a higher salary, and then if they can't meet it, ask if they do signing bonuses. Or see if they can throw in more PTO. Those are all things that shouldn't come as a surprise to the employer, maybe not for every job candidate, but certainly some of them. Might allow you to slow play things a bit, as well. Just be respectful when you ask.

Instead of saying "I need more money" ask "Is there room for additional consideration regarding compensation?" Or something to that effect.

Just keep it professional and they should keep the dialogue going.

So you don't go in and Jerry Maguire it?

 

[packattack425]

I would assume any/all negotiations come after a written offer is presented, not a verbal? Do you just smile and nod at a verbal offer and ask for it in writing?

 

[ISUCyclones2015]

I would assume any/all negotiations come after a written offer is presented, not a verbal? Do you just smile and nod at a verbal offer and ask for it in writing?

I tell them to pay me more.

In my limited experience the negotiations are all verbal because a written offer takes other people to process through. The people really only want to do that once from personal "I hate doing this crap" level and just general corporate "once it's in, it's in".

 

[Tailg8er]

For your consideration: does Company B have any way to make your life hell if you accept them, and then go with Company A when and if their offer is extended to you? You wouldn't be the first candidate whose "yes" turned into a "no". Nothing's official until you have a formal offer. In writing. And you take it. I would guess in this job market that you are the one in the catbird seat. You should not have any qualms about going with the better offer, no matter in which order you receive them. If you are quite sure of A, you might mention that B is courting you as well and that you need to know if A is going to fish or go to Cabela's.

If an expression requires a link to the definition, is it really worth using?

 

[intrepid27]

I would assume any/all negotiations come after a written offer is presented, not a verbal? Do you just smile and nod at a verbal offer and ask for it in writing?

My experience as a recruiter is this is not always true. Some 9roughy 50%) of companies want verbal acceptance and negotiations done before they extend the written offer.

My advice to the OP is this. Tell company A that they are your first choice but you do expect (or already have) an offer from Company B. They should be able to give you a time frame on their decision. If company B tries to force you to make a decision, be honest about your desire to see if Company A offers. Most employers don't want an employee coming to work while wondering if they left something better on the table. And, particularly if this is a mid to senior level roel they will typically wait a couple week to land their first choice.

PM me if you want some salary negotiating advice.