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I have applied to company A on 1st June and give them a joining date of 23 June (today). company A called me on Saturday Morning 22 June (yesterday) for a confirmation that I am gonna come on Monday or not so I said yes because I wasn't having any interview / offer in my hand from another company and said my current company will relieve me too.

Now I get an interview call from company B on Saturday Evening (22 June) itself and got to appear on Monday, I gave an interview today and it went well and now I need to appear for HR round.

Now my confusion is, I got to join company A on 24 June so what should I do if company B offers me some good package? How can I say no to company A in that case? I can't even say that current company is stopping me because on Saturday I have already informed them my current company had given me relieving letter. I haven't sign anything with company A but I need to sign it tomorrow.

My question is, after joining company A if company B is offering me something good then how can I say no to company A because I got to sign it tomorrow and as I am gonna recently join company A so how can I decline? And I am not in a position to extend the joining date for company A by giving some excuse.

I got to sign papers with company A and company B will gonna offer me that I am sure and company B is better too. But just in case company B won't offer (worst case) then I don't need to mess up with company A also.

gnat
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Hunt
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    "please suggest something" isn't probably going to get you the answers you want. You need to expand your question further – Mike Jun 23 '14 at 15:34
  • i did now can you please review it – Hunt Jun 23 '14 at 15:38
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    You already committed to Company A, right? So you're asking how to renege on that commitment because you got a better offer at the last minute? – Monica Cellio Jun 23 '14 at 15:45
  • Related: http://workplace.stackexchange.com/q/10940/325 – Monica Cellio Jun 23 '14 at 15:47
  • yeah thts true , i have committed orally but tomorrow i got to sign papers with company A and company B will gonna offer me that m sure and company B is better too. But just in case company B wont offer ( worst case ) then i dont need to mess up with company A also – Hunt Jun 23 '14 at 15:47
  • Since you mention a relieving letter from the company, are you in India? What might be acceptable (if annoying) in the US may be a contract violation that will cost you money in India especially if you start at Company A. When you get the actual paperwork on Monday, read it carefully or you might end up owing them several months salary if you jump ship to another company immediately. – HLGEM Jun 23 '14 at 18:37
  • ya m in india , as of now they given me one doc which is a employe confidential agreement which i need to sign – Hunt Jun 23 '14 at 23:14

3 Answers3

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Something like this happened once where I worked.

We interviewed a really good candidate after a long search and extended him an offer which he accepted. On what was supposed to be his first day, I find out the guy had called, apologized, and said he was reneging his acceptance because he had just gotten a much better offer in another city closer to home with another company.

We were all disappointed, but moved on.

If you turn around on company A immediately before your start-date, or worse, start working for them and then promptly leave it will make a bad impression. If you do this, you really have to be able to say that Company B is MUCH better for your career. In other words, if the job at company B is only marginally better than company A, it really isn't worth it.

The best way to tell company A that you're not starting or that you're leaving after a short time is simply to apologize and explain the situation. They won't like it, but they will understand. The risk here is that someone will remember your name and later-on or in future business dealings hold a grudge about it. That is a low risk for an entry position, but something to think about. And you definitely want to avoid making a habit of reneging on acceptance.

The sad reality is employers are practically asking for this kind of trouble whenever they get too pushy about demanding a start-date from candidates immediately upon receipt of a verbal offer. Really good candidates who are worth having are frequently pursuing multiple opportunities. The timing of offers is never perfect, so candidates are forced "hold-off" offers that come early so that other potential offers can be considered-- this is really hard to do in practice, so sometimes people have to go with the "bird in hand" until something better materializes.

That said, if the position at company B is REALLY worth it, you should consider jumping if company B makes a firm offer. It is not a nice thing to do, but then corporations are NOT nice to begin with and anyway they will find someone else (The phrase "everyone is replaceable" cuts both ways).

teego1967
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  • ya i understand but i got to sign company A as company B hasn't offer yet. but ya if they are offering me a very good package i got to leave company A in a week or so. Can you tell me how should i say NO to them ? – Hunt Jun 23 '14 at 16:18
  • What do you mean say "NO"? to whom, about what? – teego1967 Jun 23 '14 at 17:00
  • No to company A when i will get a offer from company B which i might accept. – Hunt Jun 23 '14 at 17:08
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Depending on when Company B makes a concrete, written offer to you, you will either have not yet started with Company B or possibly started and be within your probationary period

You will not be popular with Company A but subject to any clauses in your employment contract with Company A (disclaimer - me no lawyer, take advice if needed), it would be just like resigning from any company

I've worked in a few places where people have signed contracts but never started due to better offers and also people who started and then left after one or two weeks due to a better offer.

It's not nice and always feels a horrible thing to do but the possiblility of an offer from Company B shouldn;t stop you from signing with Company A

In this questions - How to renege implicit verbal acceptance of a job offer - the key phrase in one of the answers is

"A BIRD IN THE HAND"

Community
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Mike
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  • so should i accept the offer from Company A and when company B offers me some good offer i can simply resign it in company A and switch to company B ? – Hunt Jun 23 '14 at 16:06
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    I wouldn't. Unless it was a really good offer. Reneging is going back on your word. It violates a commitment. Though legal, it would be very bad for your career. The money had better be worth it... – Brandon Jun 23 '14 at 18:20
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First questions: are your skills rare and in high demand? If yes, you may play "hard to get" for limited time:

  • Ask company B if they are willing and ready to make really quick decision about hiring you, and when whey will make that decision. Days, not weeks. If no, go with A.
  • if you have deadline from B, ask company A for more time to consider your options (with the same deadline)
  • Accept whichever offer you like more.

Be prepared that exactly like you are considering other options, company A might reconsider other candidates, who were almost as good match as you, but more ready to start. When company has open position, they want to fill it reasonably soon - because they need it.

I wouldn't advice making such demands unless your skills are really up to snuff. If the difference between jobs in A and B are small, you are risking your good name for little gain.

Edit:

You have only interview from B. Not even job offer. You don't know if B is even interested in your skills. You don't know if they are willing to make fast decision for your deadlines. Sounds like first job, so your skills are likely not stellar yet. (not worth making exceptions just to accommodate your peculiar deadlines)

My advice: Go with A, do best job you can, and in a year or few try for B again.

Peter M. - stands for Monica
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  • problem is how can i ask for more time from company A as i told them to join tomorrow – Hunt Jun 23 '14 at 23:20
  • Ask company B about new deadline. Chances are, they will not make any commitment, and you go with A. But if they are willing to expedite your hiring process, you will ask company A for more time. Again, do this only if you have very rare skills. – Peter M. - stands for Monica Jun 23 '14 at 23:30
  • i dont have much time even to ask company B because tomorrow is the day when i need to join company A , and the reason why i am willing to join company B is they are having more amount of precious work that i am looking for compared to company A – Hunt Jun 23 '14 at 23:33
  • You have only interview from B. Not even offer. You don't know if B is even interested in your skills. Go with A, do best job you can, and in a year try for B again. – Peter M. - stands for Monica Jun 23 '14 at 23:42
  • well true but the way my interview went i m sure they will offer me something in this week only for sure and thats the reason why i am concern – Hunt Jun 23 '14 at 23:44
  • If you had interview today, you should have explained them your situation and need for quick decision. Call B today if you can, but probably it is too late. – Peter M. - stands for Monica Jun 23 '14 at 23:48
  • ya after my technical interview and i ask them for conduction HR after that but HR was busy and gave me date of some other day so now m totally stuck – Hunt Jun 23 '14 at 23:51
  • I have of 5 years of experience m not a fresher – Hunt Jun 24 '14 at 02:41