How to say ‘no’ to a job offer

One statement that is consistently supported by every job search and career expert I speak to is that a person should focus on finding the right job — not just any job. Even if you view your job as simply a means to support your family, a person still deserves to enjoy what they do at work. To get those “right” jobs, it’s sometimes necessary to turn down offers when the wrong opportunities pop up.

Some of the most awkward career interactions I’ve had over the years involved me turning down job offers. My thought is that there must be some steps a person can take to guard against making recruiters or hiring managers upset.

I reached out to the LinkedIn community to learn what strategies they suggest for tactfully turning down a job offer. While I can’t highlight all of them, you can read their comments by clicking here.

Before we get into the meat of this topic, I want to mention two caveats about turning down job offers.

First, turning down a job is often a luxury. Not everyone is in a position to say no to a job, especially if finances are stretched thin. Bridge jobs, as those necessary roles are often called, are sometimes a part of life. Don’t feel guilty if you must take a bridge job until an opportunity you want comes along.

Also, you can’t control another person’s emotions. Unfortunately, hiring managers and recruiters will sometimes reply in uncomfortable tones regardless of how you handled the situation. Though, I hope this edition of #GetHired will offer you some tips for reducing the odds of that happening.

Be honest

As with most parts of life and job searching, honesty is one of the most important pieces of the equation. 

“I found that being honest about what is making you say no is helpful and bridge-building,” wrote Kerri Twigg, a stories strategy coach. “I used to apply for jobs to see how far I would get and ended up turning a lot down. But, it didn't [burn] any bridges, and often my insight and reasons helped the company in the end.”

Honest feedback also provides recruiters and hiring managers with information in case they can come back with a better offer in the near or distant future. 

“If they so much wanted you, it means that they understand you are in demand as well,” wrote Divan Gamaliel, who is the founder of Zaphire LLC. “Honesty always wins and earns long term connections.”

Also, it’s always best to lead with honesty in case the recruiter or hiring manager somehow finds out you turned down the job or applied for a reason different from what you told them. 

Don’t keep people waiting

The hiring process at any company is serious business. Recruiters and hiring managers put in a lot of effort to create a slate of potential candidates that is eventually narrowed down to the top contenders. If you don’t want a job, telling the company early allows the hiring team to move on to other candidates before they accept offers from other employers.

“If you know you're going to turn down an offer, I would suggest telling the employer as quickly as possible,” wrote Tristan Layfield, who is the founder and head career coach of Layfield Resume Consulting.

Alexander Ratford, who is a marketing manager, wrote that he knew time was important when he had to pick one of two offers. “Saying ‘No’ to someone after you've spoken with a potential future manager, after you've started to build a relationship, is really tough,” he wrote. “For me, I had to be sincere in my response, I had to tell the truth about why I didn't choose the company, and I had to be timely.”

Ghosting isn’t an option

We’ve discussed the ghosting phenomenon in a previous edition of this newsletter. Ghosting occurs when someone you’ve communicated with meaningfully in the past disappears without follow-up or any other communication. Unfortunately, recruiters and hiring managers do this to candidates, too. Regardless of who does the ghosting, it’s not right.

“As an HR Professional, I have always appreciated candidates who have been straightforward with providing feedback early on rather than prolonging the process,” wrote Tequesta DeSouza, who is certified senior human resources professional. “Ghosting employers is by far the worst thing they could do.” 

Try to avoid a Dear John email

Email communication is sometimes acceptable when turning down an offer, such as when you’ve only had initial conversations with a recruiter or hiring manager. But you should try having a direct conversation with the person over the phone whenever possible in these situations.

“If you can turn down the offer by a virtual meeting or phone, you’ll be sure to convey the right tone and messaging as opposed to doing so by email,” wrote Stephen Lau, who is a career coach.

A phone call also offers the opportunity to leave your connection with the recruiter or hiring manager on the best terms since they can ask follow-up questions and get all the information they need about why you’d rather look elsewhere.

“Organizations put a lot of resources into the hiring process. If they are extending you an offer and you want to decline, it should be a phone call,” wrote Teegan Bartos, who is a career coach. “In the same way candidates want feedback, so do organizations.”

Be grateful

Gratitude can be difficult to muster when you’re in the middle of a difficult job search, but — as I said before — turning down an offer is usually a luxury. Many other people would be very thankful to receive the same job offer. It’s important to express that in your communication with the employer.

“Call your primary contact at the company to say ‘thank you’ and explain your reasoning for turning down the offer. You don't have to go into significant detail, but they'll appreciate the feedback,” wrote Matt Glodz, who is an executive resume and CV writer.

Sonal Bahl, who is a career coach, wrote that expressing gratitude when turning down an offer helped her. “I expressed a lot of gratitude and courteously explained why I was going in another direction. This was well received, in spite of obvious disappointment.”

What strategies do you suggest for turning down a job offer? Join the conversation.

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? The follow-up

Career advice comes in all forms — from lessons found in articles to suggestions from friends and family, for example. Some advice is better than others, however. The new class of LinkedIn Top Voices in Job Search and Careers explained in the last edition of #GetHired the best career advice they learned and taught to others. It ranges from being your own best advocate to safeguarding your mental health. Also, it’s important to know that opportunities arise throughout a person’s career, making it OK to miss one or two along the way. Here’s what people are saying about their advice.

? Other news to help you #GetHired:

Will service jobs survive the winter? The restaurant and hospitality industries were just beginning to bounce back after the coronavirus shut them down earlier in the year. Now, as the winter months arrive and the coronavirus surges back, a new study says nearly 3 million jobs could be at risk — erasing job gains from the past couple of months and threatening $190 billion in economic activity. The study, by Gusto,  says areas in colder climates could be hit especially hard, such as those in Upstate New York and Northeastern Pennsylvania. Here’s what people are saying about the data.

Help may be hard to find. A person might assume that people would jump at almost any opportunity given the state of the job market, but Amazon is finding that’s not true. The retail giant has started offering $3,000 signing bonuses at facilities in California and Illinois to hire the workers it expects to need for a mostly online holiday shopping season, reports Bloomberg. New hires at Amazon facilities in other parts of the country are getting smaller signing bonuses, according to the report. Here’s what people are saying about the news.

Here’s who’s hiring right now. As I’ve said before, we’re doing our best to connect you with companies that are still hiring during these troubled economic times. Part of that effort is a regularly updated list of companies we know to be hiring. Some of those include Amazon, Walmart and CVS Health. Click here to see more.

? Up next:

Job search fatigue is real. Whether there’s a pandemic or not, you can easily tire when submitting applications, setting up calls, dealing with rejections and just navigating the whole routine of a job search. We’ll be talking about strategies to combat job search fatigue in the next edition of #GetHired. Have you found ways to fight off that fatigue? I want to hear from you. Tell me by clicking here and leaving a comment.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to reach out to me if you have ideas on topics or questions I should address in future editions of #GetHired. You can also email me at GetHired[at]LinkedIn.com.