Everyone wants job offers but sometimes you get an offer for a position you’re on the fence about. What do you do? This is the situation for one of my LYJ Search students. I found the following passages useful to consider if you find yourself in this fortunate position.

From the book: Interviewing and Salary Negotiation by Kate Wendleton of The Five O’Clock Club

Get a Job Offer

Sincerely intend to turn each interview into a solid job offer. Do your best to make the position and the pay into something acceptable. Make the most of each interview. Negotiate the changes in the job itself. Suggest additional things you can do for the company – jobs often can be upgraded a level or two. Or perhaps the manager could refer you to another area of the company. You should make every effort to turn an interview into a reasonable job offer.

  • This is an opportunity to practice your negotiation skills and increase the number of interviews you turn into offers. You can always turn the job down later.
  • Getting job offers helps your self-esteem. You can say you received a number of offers, but they didn’t seem right for you. This puts you in a stronger negotiating position.
  • Even if you turn down an offer, stay friendly with the hiring manager. This may lead to another offer later that is more appropriate.
  • When you get an offer you are not sure about, say that have a few other things you must attend to, but will get back to them in a week. Then contact other companies that were of real interest to you. Tell them you have received an offer but were hoping to work something out with them. They may tell you to take the other offer – or they may consider you more seriously because the other offer makes you more valuable. Sometimes knowing you got another offer is the only thing that will make a company act.
  • You may be surprised: Perhaps what you originally found objectionable can be changed to your liking. If you end the process too early, you lose the possibility of changing the situation to suit you. Having a job created especially for you is the best outcome.