So You Accepted a Job and Then Got Another Offer
Kent R.
You’re viewing an archived post. This post was originally published by The Change Laboratory, which is now part of No Vacation Required — our platform for Everyday Fulfillment. While this content is archived, it’s still full of solid advice and timeless insights.
\When you're on a roll, you're on a roll. So, first, let's celebrate great problems to have!
Next, let's deal with the very real problem of accepting a job offer and then being offered another job (or another interview).
Here's how I recommend evaluating this conundrum:
Ask yourself why you accepted the first job? Something made you say "yes" to the offer. Was it money? Desparation? Location? Sit with that decision for a bit.
If your reason for accepting the position was less than whole-hearted, ask what it would take to keep this cycle from continuing. What if you accepted the second job and then got a third offer?
Write down all the things that make a job most desirable, from most to least important. How does the first offer stack up? How about the second?
Make the decision – tough as it may be – that most aligns with what the above exercise taught you.
It's okay to change your mind. Better to disappoint the company now than to hold on to something that won't work out in the long run (wasting the company even more money).
Going forward, know that job searching isn't like Tinder. Careers involve making tough decisions, and you should move forward in a strategic enough way so that you would never be accepting an offer that you might later need to back out of.