Top Tips On How To Professionally Reject A Job Offer

Top Tips On How To Professionally Reject A Job Offer Picture the scene;  youve been looking for jobs for a while and then youre finally invited in for an interview. The job isnt exactly what you were looking for but you go along anyway and, despite still having some niggling doubts, the interview actually goes pretty well. You walk away from the interview happy but still not 100% convinced the role is the right option for you. After a few days, you get a call asking you back for a second interview.  Feeling you have nothing to lose, you go along and again, although it goes well, something just doesnt feel right afterwards. Fast forward another few days and you get another call: they want to offer you the job. Thats great news, isnt it? Maybe but maybe not. In situations like this, some candidates can put their initial nerves to one side, dive in and accept the offer. But for others, those niggling doubts are just too big to ignore and they have to go through the tricky process of telling the employer that the job theyre being offered isnt the right option for them. If youre faced with the second situation, weve come up with some top tips on how you can firmly but professionally reject a job offer from a prospective employer. Say Thank You Ask For Some Time   The first thing you need to do is say thank you for the job offer. OK, that sounds like an obvious suggestion but a lot of candidates fail to do this (even if they do accept the offer) and risk coming across as rude to the employer. Saying thanks shows that you not only have manners, but also that you have respect for the employer. Once youve said thanks, its worth asking if you can have a bit of time to consider the offer. Yes, you might already know that you dont want the job   but if you say no straight away, you risk offending the employer and making it seem like you were never serious about the job in the first place. Get Back In Touch Soon Following the initial contact, you need to get back in touch with the employer fairly soon to let them know you wont be taking them up on their offer. Why? Because its respectful and the employer has a role to fill remember, if you dont want it, they might have to start the whole recruitment process again to find someone who does. In terms of acceptable time frames, wed suggest getting back to the employer within 48 hours. When rejecting a job offer, doing it over phone is the only way to go. Why? Because its more personal and quite simply, its the right thing to do. Be Honest The best thing to do when rejecting a job offer is to try and be honest, but dont forget to be courteous and polite. Was it the salary that was an issue? The location? Say it! You never know; the employer might have a bit of flexibility on both of these fronts  and  so they might be able to offer you a revised job offer. That said; if you have a bit of an issue with the hiring manager themselves and dont feel you can work for them, keeping things a bit vague might be a better option. Why? Because the hiring manager is a person too and you never know when you might bump into them again later on in your career. For example; rather than saying you cant accept the job offer because you think the hiring manager is a bit of a fool, you could be a bit more diplomatic and say you cant accept the job offer because you feel theres a bit of a clash of personalities which you think would affect your ability to do the job. Dont Burn Bridges   Following on from the last point, its important not to burn your bridges because, like I said, you dont know what the future holds. Remember to keep things polite and professional and, as I just said, try not to get too personal when feeding back to the hiring manager. Offer To Keep In Touch If you reject the job offer in a professional way and explain your reasons clearly, theres no reason why the employer/hiring manager wouldnt be open to keeping in touch with you.