Saying "hold-on" to job offers

djarmpit

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This is a dumb question but if i get an interview and a job offer, is it okay to say that I want to take some time before I accept the job??
 
This is a dumb question but if i get an interview and a job offer, is it okay to say that I want to take some time before I accept the job??

Not really in this field (may depend on your area. If your in California then no). There are alot of EMTs and Medics who will take the job instantly. That in turn means the more money the company can make.
 
I declined a job offer at my current service to try a different gig at my previous service. There is a very good reason there is past tense and present tense as they reoffered the job to me 6 months later.

Depending on the timeline a service is working on, if you are a strong enough candidate, you have the latitude to take at least a weekend to make some serious decisions... That has been my experience at least with "career" services, but "job" services generally will just shoot the next fish in the barrel. Long story short, a good employer will give you time...
 
This is a dumb question but if i get an interview and a job offer, is it okay to say that I want to take some time before I accept the job??

When I was offered my job as an intermediate I asked for time to find out if it was possible to coordinate the hiring process with my school, which happens to be through the same service. She called an offered me the spot at 330 pm on a Friday and gave me until 930 on Monday morning. Also you have to take into account that my job and school are through the same agency.

You can always ask. They will either say yes you can have a couple of days or no it's now or never.
 
I wouldn't apply unless you were ready to take it right then. Unless of course you tell them I can work at such and such a date on the application, and they ask to bump that up. Then you can probably reference the date on your app. But still, unless I had two weeks notice to give someone, I think I would jump right when they offered the job.

My opinion: unless you stipulate in your application when you are available, be ready to take it when they offer. I just think it would look bad if they tell you you can start on Monday, then you ask for two more weeks before you start.
 
It is my experience that it rarely makes sense to postpone an offer. We all want to do it in hopes of something better, but it certainly sends the wrong message to HR.
 
It depends on your state's laws and the company's reputations as to how I would handle it. In many states, employers can hire and fire at will, and if the company does so, then I see it as I can come and go at will. Even in these states, some more reputable companies will give a employee notice before layoff and if I can reasonably do so, I will try and afford them that same courtesy.

If an employers insists on you accepting the job offer immediately, I would take it, but give a delayed start date if possible. They are trying to pressure you into taking a job before considering all of your options which means they are afraid of you finding a better offer elsewhere. If you had more options, but they were the best, why would they be afraid of giving you an extra week unless they really, needed someone tomorrow? I usually give a start date at least 2 weeks out. This gives me time to attend other interviews and weigh my options. I can always call back and refuse the offer and take some other one. Unethical? Maybe, but when the job market is this bad and employers are trying to game it to their favor without giving people some common courtesy, then it's them that ends up with the short stick sometimes.

That being said, there are some great employers out there and if they give you some time to review your offers, you should use that time to actually do so and accept when you are ready. Since they are giving you a week or two to consider the offer, that's another week or two they can't offer the position to someone else when they may really need help.

One company that downsized told their employees about a month and a half in advance so they would have time to find other jobs. This was a very reputable company whose owner personally told each employee that was being let go in his office of the situation. When I had to leave for some career advancement, I gave them my two weeks but offered to stay an extra 2 weeks past that if they needed me knowing they might need the help. They gladly took me up on the offer and paid me an extra $50 per diem past my two weeks for staying on to help when I could have been at home packing for my move.

On the other hand, a company that wrote me an email on a Friday afternoon saying I could do the unethical and illegal things they wanted me to do, or I could leave because "EMTs right now are a dime a dozen" got handed the "screw you" letter. I walked in 2 minutes before my shift started, handed them my resignation letter effective immediately, and started to walk out. When my supervisor told me, "Where you going? We have an ALS run pending that we need you on NOW!" I replied, "Not my problem anymore, I no longer work for this company." Boy did that feel good! I normally advocate for not burning bridges, but when paychecks have been off for 6 weeks and now you're asking me to do illegal things and jeopardizing my card, I'm leaving right now! Could I have given them the weekend to find staffing to replace me? Probably, but they didn't deserve that courtesy.
 
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