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Job Offer Etiquette

August 15, 2014

Congratulations! You just received an email/voicemail informing you of your recent acceptance to job opportunity ‘x’! Take a to moment celebrate your victory and all you have accomplished that lead you to this point in your life. Now, it’s time to respond to their offer. Regardless of if you are accepting the position or not, there are three things that you should keep in mind:

1. Be Timely
Be sure to respond to your job offer no later than a week from its extension. If more than a week passes, the company may assume you have lost interest and offer the job to another hopeful applicant. Sooner than this is preferred; somewhere between 24-72 hours is recommended. This way, if you are accepting, they know you are eager to become part of the organization.

2. Be Gracious and Upbeat
When making your return call, whether accepting or declining the opportunity, be sure to be gracious and upbeat. Thank the caller for their time with the interview as well as reaching out to you to put forward the offer. Let them know how much you appreciate their interest in you as a potential employee, and that you are honored to know they could envision you as part of their team. Even if you must decline the offer, this will allow you to end on good terms with the company, which could benefit you in future networking opportunities.

3. If You Have Terms, Be Prepared to Compromise
Let’s say you want to accept the job- but you have a couple of stipulations you would like to put forward first. When mentioning your terms of employment, be polite and calm. You may get your list of demands, you may not. If that is a deal breaker for you, then at least the company will remember you for being courteous even when faced with rejection. If the company offers to work with you on these terms, however, your positive attitude may have been what won them over.

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