What Do I Do When I Get an Offer?
- Say Thank You Many employers will give an initial offer over the phone. Often students are unsure how to respond to a verbal offer. Show gratitude that you were selected among many candidates and express your continued and sincere interest in the position.
- Get It In Writing To thoroughly consider an offer and to compare it to others, you need to have access to the written details. Request the offer in writing when offered the position over the phone. Any employer should be able to mail or email the official documentation to you.
- Keep In Touch Even if you need time to make a decision, it is essential to keep in touch with your contacts at the company. It is reasonable for them to check in and see where you are in your decision-making process.
- Be An ACTIVE Decision Maker To make an effective decision, you may need to speak to more people at an organization, negotiate some details of an offer, consult friends and family, and/or do some self-assessment (perhaps with an OCS counselor) regarding your current and future goals. While OCS strongly believes that students should be given time to make a thoughtful decision, we also believe that a student has a responsibility to make use of the decision-making time they are given.
- Decline Offer(s) When you know you are no longer interested in an employer, withdraw from their recruiting process or decline their offer as soon as possible. Interviewing with or holding on to offers with an employer you know you don't want to work for wastes your time, wastes the employer's time, and may impact other students who are hoping for that opportunity. You can decline an offer over the phone, but be sure to reiterate your appreciation as you do so. You may also want to follow up with any person at the firm who you've come to know during the recruiting process.
- Accept An Offer Congratulations! You can accept an offer with an employer over the phone, but be sure to follow any instructions that they provide via email or mail. There is often a fair amount of paperwork that takes place to make you an official member of the team. Once you have accepted an offer, do not continue to pursue other employers. Doing so is an egregious breach of ethics that can seriously harm your reputation in your chosen field.
- Remember, It's A Small World In all your interactions with employers, always be polite, professional, and respectful of people's time. Even if you ultimately decide not to work with a particular employer, you never know when your professional paths may cross again. It is in your best interest to keep the people you meet during the recruiting process in your network; they may be your next boss or you might be theirs!
Offer Evaluation and Negotiation
When many people undertake a job search, they understandably see the end goal as receiving a job offer. Yet for many, actually reaching this point is the most stressfu l part of the search process. If all goes as planned, you will find yourself looking at a number of job offers. You might also find yourself considering other options, including
fellowships , further
educational opportunities , or
international experience for your post-graduation plans. How do you prioritize offers received, and those you still hope to? When is it appropriate to negotiate compensation packages, and how does one go about doing that?
While a job offer may seem like the highest form of flattery, don't let it distract you from following your own values, interests, skills, and goals. Think about what you have learned about the company, both through office visits and in conversation with various members of the organization. The decision to accept a job is a very personal one, and often involves both listening to your gut and taking a leap of faith. But there are still a number of things to think about , including:
- What are the potential career paths that could follow after accepting the position? What will you learn from this job? Where could those skills and experiences take you in the future?
- Do you like and respect the people with whom you will be working? Do you feel comfortable with the culture of the organization? Do people seem happy working there?
- Will you have the opportunity to meet new people in the field, and expand your network of professional connections?
- Are you happy with the geographic region in which the job is located, in terms of cost of living, climate, proximity to family, and opportunities for social life or cultural activities?
Salary While compensation shouldn't be the focus of your analysis, it is an essential component of any placement decision. Keep in mind that if you are looking at more than one type of job, you may be looking at different sets of numbers. One cannot compare, for instance, an entry level job in publishing with one in investment banking. The going rates for these types of jobs are simply too different.
Many Web sites offer a combination of salary data by job title, industry, and/or field, as well as salary calculators to help determine how salaries may be affected by cost of living in different geographic regions. Here are a few examples:
Also remember that compensation includes more than base salary. Bonuses and Benefits may seem like a minor piece of the puzzle, but they can come with a considerable price tag once you begin paying the bills. Benefits to consider include:
- Bonus Structure (Yearly, Performance Based, etc.)
- Stock Options or Profit Sharing
- 401K or Other Retirement Saving
- Paid Leave (Vacation Time, Sick Time, and Personal Days)
- Education Benefits
- Relocation Benefits
- Health Insurance
- Disability Insurance
- Life Insurance
- Mortgage Assistance
As you are making this immediate career decision, think about where it will lead you. While this may well be your first full-time job or career decision, it most certainly will not be your last. Barring unforeseen circumstances, you should expect to stay in your first job no less than two years. It will take that long for you to gain both the quantity and quality of experience to use as leverage for your next career evolution. Two years is also an important benchmark for future employers to see that your career decisions are well thought out.
Negotiating Think carefully before negotiating a job offer and seek outside benchmarks and guidance from industry research, your personal and professional network, and resources at the Office of Career Services. Competitive organizations that hire many new graduates for entry level positions, such as consulting firms and investment banks, usually offer a set package that is identical to those offered to the rest of your entering class. Unless you offer something significant in terms of additional, relevant education or experience over and above the others receiving an offer, it is unlikely that you will be able to negotiate additional monetary compensation.
Some negotiation guidelines:
- Never wait until the last minute to negotiate
- Never misrepresent yourself or a competing offer in any way
- Never get confrontational and always behave professionally
- Do research the industry to best represent yourself during negotiation
- Do get advice from parents, recent alums, professionals in the field, and/or an OCS counselor
- Do know what your deal-making and deal-breaking factors are ahead of time
Most importantly, never accept an offer and continue looking for additional opportunities. This strategy is considered an egregious breach of ethics , and can seriously harm your reputation in your chosen field. Employers in competitive fields worry about this practice to the extent that it is not unheard of for a firm to rescind an offer if they find out that you have already accepted one from another organization. Keep in mind that recruiters within fields usually know one another, and have been known to compare notes. Similarly, employers often self-police the practice of reneging on offers by rescinding any offer to a candidate who has reneged with another firm.
When you ultimately come to a conclusion, it is important to remember that it is a small world. The opportunity you don't take today may well be right for you in a few years. Being as gracious when declining an offer as you are when accepting one can go a long way towards building a network of contacts that will stay with you a lifetime.
In the end, only you can decide whether or not a job is right for you. But we at OCS are here to help, and we strongly encourage students to schedule an appointment with a counselor when struggling with whether or not to accept an offer or trying to negotiate compensation.
Reneging on Offers
Reneging on a Job Offer is considered an
egregious breach of ethics and will create an adverse relationship not only between you and the employer, but also between the employer and Harvard. If an opportunity has come along that you would like to pursue after you have accepted a job offer, contact the employer that has made you the offer and let them know about the situation and ask their advice. If you cannot amicably solve this situation, contact either the
On-Campus Recruiting Office or an
OCS counselor to talk about the situation.
