This week, we’re here to teach you how to politely accept or decline a job offer that comes your way. The reality of your career is that not every opportunity will come to you at the right time or in the exact manner you expect. While that may sometimes pose a great chance to be spontaneous and step out of your comfort zone, there are definitely times when it is appropriate to decline. Keep reading to find out how to do so here…

Declining a Job Offer…

Saying Thank You

The absolute most important component of correctly declining an offer is to express gratitude for the opportunity. Whether that is over the phone or through email, taking time to craft a personal thank you to the recruiters you’ve met and each interviewer will show that you took the offer seriously and maintained respect despite whichever outcome occurs. Make sure to send your thank you letter promptly (within 24 hours) of the offer in addition to your decision if you are already sure that this isn’t the right fit for you.

Providing Meaningful Reasoning

Remember, you’re not locked into any role that you apply to! More often than not, candidates are in the application process for a variety of different roles, so it is not too crazy that you may narrow down or succeed in being offered two or three different roles. Especially to our college grads, make sure to effectively explain the reasoning behind your final decision to the hiring manager so as to avoid seeming like a baseless decision. Whether you’ve decided to stay at your original role, hope to instead relocate somewhere else, have an offer with a high compensation that you cannot turn down, etc., providing additional information is a great way to verify your decision. However, make sure to always be clear and concise! There is no need to go into too much depth about which opportunity you’ve decided to pursue instead.

Maintaining the Relationship

While this aspect of a job offer conversation takes place farther down the road, we encourage you to maintain relationships with both the recruiters that connected you to the role, hiring manager, interviewers, or anyone that you especially connected with throughout the process. You never know when you may find yourself back on that job search, and upholding a chance of re-pursuing a prior role as a result of relationships you’ve worked to cultivate will prove a key to your success.

It is so important to understand that it’s completely acceptable to decline an opportunity! It is the way in which you communicate that will solidify the “terms” you leave on the company, so follow these steps and we’re sure you’ll achieve a long-term connection and positive stance!

Read about the questions to ask before accepting a job offer here!

Searching for a new position? Check out our open jobs list!