Stalling a job offer in case a better one comes.....

[R.O.S.S.I]

Been unemployed for about 6 weeks now and I was offered a role this morning for somewhere i'd be interviewing. Salary is a little on the lower side of what I wanted but that is partially my fault as I expressed in an initial email the incorrect banding when asked. Fully remote role, usual holidays and medical perks, and a yearly bonus dependent on the business performance. Nothing too unusual or special for that matter. I told them that I'd like to think about it as I was actually also waiting to hear back from another couple interviews and didn't want to make any hasty decisions.

Was I right to do this? Or should I have just accepted it (or negotiated a salary bump), then declined it at a later date if the better one comes in later in the week?

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

OK this is good to know. I'm hopeful I can just iron things out this afternoon after my interview.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

Is it bad joojoo to accept a role and then a day later reject it in favour of a better one?

I've just found out that the role i interviewed for yesterday wont be able to give me an answer until tomorrow afternoon as they have one interview left but have said I am the front runner atm, and the first place that offered me a role wants to know today as they said they want to move forward with interviewing others if not.

Would I be out of line asking for another day to decide?
I know its poor form to do so, but should I just accept the first job and then reneg on it if i get offered the new one?
I ideally don't want to be without a job at the end of this as there are no guarantees i'll get offered the second one either yet.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

Yeh thats a fair point. The second job has said realistically they wont be able to give me an answer until Monday now anyway so I think i'm going to have to do the dirty and just accept the first and then poss turn it down a bit later on.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

Thanks guys. I've ended up negotiating a 10% bump on the salary for the original job and said i'd accept today, but still going to hold out for this other role next week.

Feels wrong to be going about it like this but like you say have to look after numero uno in situations like this. I may even try and use this sitch as a bargaining chip if I get offered the second role on Monday.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

I wouldn't worry, I do the other side of recruiting and wouldn't take it personally..

It's a shame neither place is exciting you to make the choice easy.. but it's better than being unemployed.. I always like to be excited about a new job before accepting, but sometimes life isn't that easy!

To be honest they both have their own pros and cons which is why i'm not just out and out accepting the first and want to see what the second one brings.

The first job is fully remote, so super easy on that front, nothing needs to change with home life, it is doing stuff that has been my bread and butter for so long, looks to be a decent global company with not that great a set of perks but does look to be possible progression to other roles. Con of it really is it would likely end up being less cash and less perks.

The second job isn't remote, is office based, however i've been thinking about the move back to an office job for a while as i'm new to the town i live in and could do with making some friends locally if that makes sense, the role is a step up in responsibility and should come with more pay too. the company and culture seems good after having a couple of interviews with the CEO and seeing the office and the perks appear better here too. Cons of that however are we'd need to find support for our puppy as my partner works shifts and i'd need to negotiate a commute every day which is a slight annoyance but not the end of the world.

So just trying to weigh up things! The big thing is do I really want to start commuting and having the hassle of finding a dog walker or similar for a couple days a week but then not have the benefit of stepping up and progressing in my career OR do I want the easy life and keep things status quo essentially.

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

I ended up getting offered the second job after all yesterday afternoon for more money so decided to accept that. The first job made a booboo with my contract (wrong salary) so I hadn't even signed that yet and then I asked another question about start date which they hadn't got back to me yet on, so as soon as I see a contract for the second role and sign it i'll tell the first job i've had a better offer!