how to reject kindly a job offer

Blackpitts

hi, i've searched for a thread like this but I haven't found any, so I take the liberty of opening a new one.
My problem is that I have to reject kindly a job offer, but for some reasons the thing is bothering me a lot.
I got an offer from a company, we agreed all the details (salary,benefits etc..) I had many calls with the responsible of this new job, he is really keen to have me in his office, he said he would be really upset if i could change my mind in few weeks, but I told him that I was happy with the job. But at the moment of the resignation, my current company matched the offer, so I have decided to stay where I am and I'm really happy now, BUT i have to call or write an email to reject the offer...
any suggestions? who can help me pls? I already expect to have 2 calls from the recruiting agency and the responsible of the new job , i want to close this thing very quickly.

leeroybrown

The simplest thing would be to call the new employer and be relatively honest. Tell the new company that when talked to your current employer about moving on that they made you an unexpected and excellent offer that you couldn't really refuse. Apologise for wasting their time and effort. I would do it by phone and as soon as is convenient.

Best case the new employer might up their offer if they think you are worth it. Worst case the new employer is very annoyed about the situation but gets over it.

The only caveat is if you have signed a contract and companies rarely follow up on situations where employees break a contract they have not started.

Skyuser

Maybe they'll offer you more. Like a bidding war!

ToxicPaddy

I've had to do something like this before except it where I had found job I liked, got the offer and accepted on the basis that I read the contract and was happy on the terms etc.

Before the contract arrived, I got another job offer, better terms, better company etc.. so decided that was for me.

Went back to the recruitment consultant and informed them I wasnt taking the first job and she lost the plot, screaming down the phone at me about how much work she had put into this etc etc etc.. really went postal on me.

I hung up half way through her little tirade and decided to contact the company directly, explained the situation, the package involved etc, they informed me that they couldnt match this and wished me luck in my new job.

I also wrote them an email afterwards saying I was sorry for that I didnt accept the position, I hoped that they found a suitable candidate and that I wished them luck in the future, also explained the little hissy fit that the consultant had in the recruitment agency they used. Got a letter of apology from the recruitment consultancy a week or two later.

Most companies realise that the market is an employees market at the moment, especially in IT, I've just recently got a new job and it was a case where the best company with the best offer got my services.

Without wanting to sound harsh, you're not a charity case, you are obviously happy where you are and they are obviously want you to stay, so by all means if they want you let them pay for you.

I wouldnt go playing them off each other too much, cause both might turn around and tell you to p*ss off..

Tox

Kernel32

Business is business and if you want to reject the offer then you have every right to do so. It's the same right a company has to rescind the offer until the offer is accepted in writing. If you handle it courteously and professionally then that is all that should be expected of you.

But, on the other side of the coin I wonder why you took your current employers offer over the new one. In my opinion it is not a good idea to do so in most circumstances. There was a reason you looked at other employment opportunities. Money may have been one but there could be others. The money one has been solved by forcing your employers hand using the threat of resignation, but is that really a good thing? What about other reasons for leaving? When situations like this happen, in many cases a person finds themselves back in the same spot in 6 to 12 months.

Eoin

Kernel32 wrote:

Business is business and if you want to reject the offer then you have every right to do so. It's the same right a company has to rescind the offer until the offer is accepted in writing. If you handle it courteously and professionally then that is all that should be expected of you.

Exactly - they wouldn't agonize over how to tell you they don't want to hire you.

OP: when the agency ring, don't tell them that you have decided to stay where you are - just tell them that your current company has bettered the offer by a couple of grand. This puts the ball back into the other company's court. If they decide not to match the offer, then they have made the final decision, not you.

Blackpitts

Kernel32 wrote:

But, on the other side of the coin I wonder why you took your current employers offer over the new one. In my opinion it is not a good idea to do so in most circumstances. There was a reason you looked at other employment opportunities. Money may have been one but there could be others. The money one has been solved by forcing your employers hand using the threat of resignation, but is that really a good thing? What about other reasons for leaving? When situations like this happen, in many cases a person finds themselves back in the same spot in 6 to 12 months.

Money was the first reason actually as my salary was below the average according to what I see on the job sites. Then, there were some small issues about my role in the team at the time I was looking for a new opportunity, but in the meantime the boss is changed and he told me that the things will be changing soon, so I decided to give them another chance
By the way, I think that I will find myself in the same position in 12-18 months because I want to go back to my country and I need to save money for it as I won't find any job like this over there.
Now there is the hard part, I will write an email and ring the recruitng agency, but I don't want to play or waste their time, I'll tell that I'm happy where I am. they won't be happy, but...

Eoin

Blackpitts wrote:

Now there is the hard part, I will write an email and ring the recruitng agency, but I don't want to play or waste their time, I'll tell that I'm happy where I am. they won't be happy, but...

A professional recruitment agent would expect that a company may want to make a counter-offer, so this should not be totally unexpected for them.

So, you wouldn't make the move if the new company made an even better offer?

Blackpitts

eoin_s wrote:

A professional recruitment agent would expect that a company may want to make a counter-offer, so this should not be totally unexpected for them.

So, you wouldn't make the move if the new company made an even better offer?

Of course I would take that in consideration, I think this is unlikely though.

Eoin

Blackpitts wrote:

Of course I would take that in consideration, I think this is unlikely though.

Then let the other company make that decision. Like I said earlier, tell the recruitment company that your current company have bettered the offer that the new company have made. This is win/win for you - if the new company don't match it, then you can rest easy knowing that they have effectively made the final decision. If they do match it, then you are an even better position to negotiate with your current company.

oulu

If your current employer is only giving you a raise because you got a better offer from another company then I would still go to the other job.It would P me off that they knew all the time that you where under paid and did nothing about it.It is a bit like this insurance is up get quote say 400E ring around get 360E go back to my current insurer and say that I got 330E, if you can match that then fine if not bye bye. You should have gone back to your current employer and added at least 2K more to your new offer.Still not to late tell current employer that they will offer a final amount of 2K extra, if he matches that then stay with him if not leave.

dazberry

Blackpitts wrote:

BUT i have to call or write an email to reject the offer...
any suggestions? who can help me pls? I already expect to have 2 calls from the recruiting agency and the responsible of the new job , i want to close this thing very quickly.

This happened to me a few years ago (well 1995 actually) and it was possibly the biggest mistake I ever made - but you don't truely know do you.

Basically I was working in a company on 10k (well under paid) and got a job for 16k (which was realistic). The company I was in offered me 19k to stay -which begs the question why they couldn't have been paying me a little bit better in the first place. But the real issue came about in non-pay issues - all the promises were broken within 2 days (I kid you not) - I ended up quitting 3 months later. Be very sure that its only the money you're staying/leaving for.

Personally I rang up the other company and rejected the other - the guy sounded really p1ssed off - I just apologised and that was that - there wasn't really much he could say.

D.

Supercell

Yep, have to question why your present company all of a sudden finds you to be "worth" the same as another thats willing to take you on as a new hire*.

Your loyalty is clearly worth zero to your current employer*, I'd go with the new one, at least you are starting at the bottom rung of your new pay scale. With your present employer you will be percieved as having negotiated a rise already...

*If you didnt ask for a raise with your current employeer at your last performance review than maybe they thought you were happy at your current wage so the above comments may not be pertinent.

BC

Why did you want to leave the company in the first place? Was it just because of money? If so did you not approach them about an increase before you started job hunting?

Blackpitts

BC wrote:

Why did you want to leave the company in the first place? Was it just because of money? If so did you not approach them about an increase before you started job hunting?

the reasons of my job hunting were basically 2:
1) I had a salary below the average, I have asked for a salary review and I got it, but at the end I was just in the average*, I told them that I was quite happy with that but I was expecting more.

2) My job was really boring for quite a few months, no stimolous no improvement, so I felt frustrated. I have reported it many times to my boss but it was quite a waste of time.

Therefore I was looking for a good salary and new challenges and I got both of them with this new company. But at the end I've decided to stay here not because I'm scared (I've changed 3 companies in 7 years) of the change, but for 3 reasons:
1) my salary will be very good from October
2) my former boss is gone and I have a new one, so I hope things will get better
3) my current company is a BIG multinational one with a lot of experience in the sector, the new one is failry small and its market is just Ireland.

but we are going off topic now, I just want to know a good way to say "i'm very sorry but I 've changed my mind", but I reckon there isn't. They will be upset, but that's life.






* I did some investigation and I read many surveys about the average salary for my kind of role