March 26, 2024, by brzms6

How to handle multiple job offers

Katie Ray, Careers Adviser in the Careers and Employability Service

Secured multiple job offers? Congratulations! It’s not a bad place to be… but the weight of making the right decision can feel heavy. This blog will explore ways to help you navigate your way to a decision. 

Evaluate your priorities: Before you can make any sort of decision, you need to reflect on what your values are. Things to consider might include, career progression, work-life balance, role responsibilities, location, or benefits package. Once defined, you can use this as a framework for your decision-making process.  

Research each company: Now you have a framework it’s time to do some thorough research on each employer. Hopefully you used the interview process to ask questions and get an overall feel for the company, so review your notes on this. Next, explore employee reviews on sites such as Glassdoor and remind yourself of each company’s mission statement and values. How do these align with yours? Finally, do you know anyone that works there? If so, reach out and have a chat, you can gain lots of insight such as culture and leadership style which you may not have been able to assess during the interview process.  

Growth opportunities: Beyond your immediate role, is there opportunity to grow within the company? While you might not be clear on your career trajectory right now, if skill development or progression is a priority, then do some further investigation. What training opportunities do they offer? Do they have a mentorship programme? What do promotion paths look like?  

Seek clarification: If you have questions or uncertainties about any aspect of the job offer, don’t hesitate to seek clarification. Reach out to the hiring manager or recruiter to discuss any concerns. If they want to hire you, they’ll be happy to answer your questions.

Go with your gut:  Trust your instincts, they’re most often right! Reflect on your interactions with each company during the interview process, how responsive were they to questions you had, and what was the overall feeling you experienced. Your intuition can guide you towards the opportunity that feels like the right fit for you. 

Communicate professionally: Once you’ve made your decision, communicate your choice professionally, ideally over the phone rather than sending an email. Express your thanks for the offer and explain your reasons for not accepting. If it helps, have some bullet points written down before you make the call. Remember, the professional world is a small one, so you want to maintain positive relationships with the companies you decline, you never know when paths may cross again. 

Handling multiple job offers requires consideration and thoughtful decision-making. By evaluating your priorities, researching each company, and considering long-term goals, you can navigate this with confidence.  

If you’ve received multiple job offers and you need some guidance to make your final decision, book a one-to-one careers appointment on MyCareer today.

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