Can I take another job offer if I’ve already accepted one?
February 16, 2022 2:38 AM
I’ve accepted a job offer A that I am excited about and am due to start. I’ve been engaged on another, better job B , but the recruiting process won’t finalize into a offer until after I start my job A. If I take job B after job A starts is there any way to do this without destroying my reputation at company A?
I haven’t changed jobs for a long time so this is a dilemma for me.
Job B is better in reputation, and a better fit for my work interest, and likely future growth. It is similar in compensation.
I work in an industry that has a fair amount of crossover (though it is very large with many companies/people all over). I just have a lot of anxiety on quitting the Job A, still a great company, after a longer than usual start period. It will be apparent that I had this other job B in consideration the whole time.
I am unable to compel B to work any faster on a decision, I have tried a soft push, any harder would be really pushing it. They to really want me but have some remaining meetings still.
I haven’t changed jobs for a long time so this is a dilemma for me.
Job B is better in reputation, and a better fit for my work interest, and likely future growth. It is similar in compensation.
I work in an industry that has a fair amount of crossover (though it is very large with many companies/people all over). I just have a lot of anxiety on quitting the Job A, still a great company, after a longer than usual start period. It will be apparent that I had this other job B in consideration the whole time.
I am unable to compel B to work any faster on a decision, I have tried a soft push, any harder would be really pushing it. They to really want me but have some remaining meetings still.
No - you'd effectively be deceiving company A about your intentions. They're going to invest time and effort getting you up to speed and get nothing back.
The only thing I can suggest is whether you can renegotiate your start date with A until you can get clarity from B and then make the decision. Push harder on B too though - if they really want you they will speed up the process.
posted by crocomancer at 3:16 AM on February 16, 2022
The only thing I can suggest is whether you can renegotiate your start date with A until you can get clarity from B and then make the decision. Push harder on B too though - if they really want you they will speed up the process.
posted by crocomancer at 3:16 AM on February 16, 2022
You indicated you are in an industry with a lot of crossover, so I assume you've realized this can haunt you on a much wider basis than just at company A as folks move around.
I'm not sure what the right answer is ... I'd push harder on B, or give them an explicit deadline. This is not uncommon in my industry, and the worst that can happen is they say they can't meet it. Another possibility is to go to A for a year to 18 months and then leave for B if you think there will still be a need there. Your only other realistic option is to turn down A now and gamble on B, but if you wanted to go that route, I assume you wouldn't be asking this.
posted by ExpertWitness at 4:21 AM on February 16, 2022
I'm not sure what the right answer is ... I'd push harder on B, or give them an explicit deadline. This is not uncommon in my industry, and the worst that can happen is they say they can't meet it. Another possibility is to go to A for a year to 18 months and then leave for B if you think there will still be a need there. Your only other realistic option is to turn down A now and gamble on B, but if you wanted to go that route, I assume you wouldn't be asking this.
posted by ExpertWitness at 4:21 AM on February 16, 2022
Have you signed anything saying you’ve accepted job-a? If not, then, yeah, you can decline and wait for job-b to get their shit together. It’s a dick move, to be sure, but you’ve not formally accepted the job.
That said...Does job-b know about you accepting job-a? Consider the possibility job-b is creating the slow-walk in order to monkeywrench job-a. A friend of mine recently got played by a new employer who courted them and made a fantastic offer, which they accepted. It was their dream job at a fantastic salary. A few days after handing in their resignation, the new job came back and told my friend “Our bad. We really want you for a different, lower pay, higher pressure position. See you Monday!” Basically a bait-and-switch. Luckily, the job they had just resigned from likes her a lot and gladly took them back. But, it could have just as easily poisoned them to the old job.
Anyway, this is just to say you should watch your back. Push job-b to get their shit together and make an offer, pronto. If they really want you, they will.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:05 AM on February 16, 2022
That said...Does job-b know about you accepting job-a? Consider the possibility job-b is creating the slow-walk in order to monkeywrench job-a. A friend of mine recently got played by a new employer who courted them and made a fantastic offer, which they accepted. It was their dream job at a fantastic salary. A few days after handing in their resignation, the new job came back and told my friend “Our bad. We really want you for a different, lower pay, higher pressure position. See you Monday!” Basically a bait-and-switch. Luckily, the job they had just resigned from likes her a lot and gladly took them back. But, it could have just as easily poisoned them to the old job.
Anyway, this is just to say you should watch your back. Push job-b to get their shit together and make an offer, pronto. If they really want you, they will.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:05 AM on February 16, 2022
I don't really understand. You formally accepted Job A, but are doing work for Job B right now with a vague promise of permanent position with Job B? Job B sounds shady. If you signed anything with Job A, or made commitments, then backings now would definitely piss people off. Read that ask a manager.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 6:32 AM on February 16, 2022
posted by Lesser Shrew at 6:32 AM on February 16, 2022
They to really want me but have some remaining meetings still.
That's a sign of a bloated bureaucracy that you don't want to work for. All companies I've worked for have had the ability to turn a job offer rapidly if necessary to hire an employee - and a competing job offer is evidence of that. Two days from interview to offer is easily doable. One day is hard, but I've seen it done. In one case, I saw less than four hours.
Keep in mind all of the above was true even in better hiring climates for employers than right now. Right now my company is openly encouraging us to relax our hiring standards in order to fill positions.
If they really wanted you and they were worth working for, you would have received an offer by now.
posted by saeculorum at 7:03 AM on February 16, 2022
That's a sign of a bloated bureaucracy that you don't want to work for. All companies I've worked for have had the ability to turn a job offer rapidly if necessary to hire an employee - and a competing job offer is evidence of that. Two days from interview to offer is easily doable. One day is hard, but I've seen it done. In one case, I saw less than four hours.
Keep in mind all of the above was true even in better hiring climates for employers than right now. Right now my company is openly encouraging us to relax our hiring standards in order to fill positions.
If they really wanted you and they were worth working for, you would have received an offer by now.
posted by saeculorum at 7:03 AM on February 16, 2022
First - do what you need to do professionally. If you need to start at Job A and then jump ship to Job B, its fine. Maybe you'll irritate people in the moment, but that's alright, they'll survive, and its unlikely important enough for them to hold a forever grudge.
But... your Job B needs to step up, huh? Did you say "I am going to take another job" if you don't make me an offer, and when you said that, what did they say? Are you sure they "really want you" or are they having "remaining meetings" to decide which of the candidates they'll offer? No one has remaining meetings after they've decided who to hire. Honestly if they "really want you" they can make things happen so you don't have to do this weird dance with Job A.
posted by RajahKing at 7:32 AM on February 16, 2022
But... your Job B needs to step up, huh? Did you say "I am going to take another job" if you don't make me an offer, and when you said that, what did they say? Are you sure they "really want you" or are they having "remaining meetings" to decide which of the candidates they'll offer? No one has remaining meetings after they've decided who to hire. Honestly if they "really want you" they can make things happen so you don't have to do this weird dance with Job A.
posted by RajahKing at 7:32 AM on February 16, 2022
>They to really want me but have some remaining meetings still.
This sounds like all talk, no action. If they really wanted you, you would know it because you would have a formal offer in hand, not because you heard the words "we really want you". Talk is cheap, especially when it comes to the uneven power dynamics that coming with hiring and employment.
I know job B sounds closer to your dream job, so you're primed to look at the bare facts with rose-colored glasses and hope they have your best intentions at heart. That's rarely how things work in business. I recently had to walk away from an opportunity that had the slim potential to be amazing if everything worked out just the way I wanted, but the reality is there were too many warning signs of danger ahead, so I understand the temptation.
You're excited about job A and that is the only job offer you have in hand. I would go work for Job A for a good while until you have a good reason to switch to something better. Don't be unnecessarily loyal, but also don't unnecessarily or prematurely burn a brudge
posted by Goblin Barbarian at 8:02 AM on February 16, 2022
This sounds like all talk, no action. If they really wanted you, you would know it because you would have a formal offer in hand, not because you heard the words "we really want you". Talk is cheap, especially when it comes to the uneven power dynamics that coming with hiring and employment.
I know job B sounds closer to your dream job, so you're primed to look at the bare facts with rose-colored glasses and hope they have your best intentions at heart. That's rarely how things work in business. I recently had to walk away from an opportunity that had the slim potential to be amazing if everything worked out just the way I wanted, but the reality is there were too many warning signs of danger ahead, so I understand the temptation.
You're excited about job A and that is the only job offer you have in hand. I would go work for Job A for a good while until you have a good reason to switch to something better. Don't be unnecessarily loyal, but also don't unnecessarily or prematurely burn a brudge
posted by Goblin Barbarian at 8:02 AM on February 16, 2022
I'll give you a view from someone who has been ghosted in this way multiple times over the years. Depending on when you bail on company A, and how difficult it is for them to fill, will determine just how burnt that bridge is. This all assumes a competitive search with multiple acceptable candidates. It isn't an infrequent occurrence for a candidate to accept and then retract before showing up, for exactly the reason you are asking this question. They are pursuing multiple jobs and two offers come in at about the same time. If it is done quickly, like within a few days, we will just make an offer to someone else in our finalist pool who is still available. No harm, no foul. If for some reason there is a longish gap between the offer and the start date, like a couple of weeks, the bridge is a little more burned - we've probably lost the other candidates in the pool of finalists and have to restart the search. If the search is national, that adds more fuel to the bridge burning. If you show up for work for a few days and then bail, people get really, viscerally mad. We had someone at a VP level ghost us on the day he was supposed to start, after an extended national search and a relocation; people talked about that guy for years. You didn't mention a recruiter in your scenario, but that is yet another way to make enemies if you change your mind at the last minute.
posted by BlueTongueLizard at 6:32 PM on February 16, 2022
posted by BlueTongueLizard at 6:32 PM on February 16, 2022
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posted by corvine at 3:04 AM on February 16, 2022