Ah, got it. Think that was such a weak reason that it didn’t even register.
The concern is real: there is a reverse culture shock for people coming back into the US after a prolong absence. Couple that with the common misconception that millenials are not used to being at their desks 9 to 5 or bossed around…
Anyway, she seems to be getting more interest after taking it off the résumé.
BB: every time I think I’ve heard everything,… 
Good luck to your daughter.
I know, alh. That was a shock, but I understand the other side’s logic. The federal jobs apparently give preference to recent Fulbrights, but we all know what happened to federal hiring recently. So private sector is what it is.
I hate to come to you all with a “problem” like this, but S’s offer gives him until Thursday, midnight to decide (offer received late Mon. afternoon.) S already had a phone interview scheduled for Tuesday morning with another company. Company #2 seems preferable due to short commute, type of work, likely growth of company. Both are pretty good/similar size, but #2 possibly a better fit. So, son went through the phone interview as scheduled. S asked the interviewer how long their process takes–because he has another offer he must decide on quickly. She said 3-4 weeks. So he pretty much assumed that was over, and he planned to accept the first offer. (Which he hasn’t officially yet.)
Today --surprise!–company #2 called him for an in-person interview, but the soonest they could give him was Monday. So S scheduled it for Monday. The document from company #1 says employment offer “expires at midnight Thursday” and “Starting date to be Monday 13th.” Right after that it says, “please let me know if this starting date is not possible or is inconvenient for you.”
Would it be reasonable for S to ask to extend the “expiration date of the offer”/starting date of job for a few days–to go through the interview with company #2? Would this look bad? If no offer there or it didn’t look good after all, he would be happy to take the first offer. OR should he cancel the interview with company #2? I’m thinking of the fable of the dog and bone. . . He doesn’t want to lose the first offer by looking for something better–which might not even be an offer. Especially after 10 months of waiting. Yet he’d like to look at #2.
Any thoughts?
Funny how these companies can magically move up their interview date when they know you have another offer! Is there only one in person interview with company #2, or will he have to pass a number of interviews?
Similar situation with my son…he countered with asking for either 7K more, or another week to decide (since he had another interview), and they gave him the 7K. He figured that the worst they could say was no. It would seem pretty harsh to rescind the offer just for negotiating, which I think they expect.
Ask for an extension on the first offer - companies are usually good on this. Also be honest with company 2 and say up front that he has another offer on the table and needs them to decide quickly (in a tactful way).
My daughter had a situation like this last year. She had an offer from one company and another one was close to that point. She was honest with both and company 2 accelerated its process to accommodate her and company 1 gave her a few more days to answer. Ended up taking the offer at company 1 once she realized after an interview at company 2 that the first company was a better fit.
You know what they say when it rains it pours!
Yes, it’s funny how attractive they become when they have another offer!
I have a kid looking, too, so I’m commenting here so the magic fairy dust spreads to her, too. Not in CS, though.
Thank you. S asked a few questions (about work hours, benefits, etc.) of company #1, which were answered. He also asked for about 5K more since he is staying on OUR health insurance, and that was the amount the company would contribute if he were on their plan. They said they couldn’t increase the offer based on that, but that he could make a counter offer–though any increase would have to be based on merit or experience. S couldn’t tell if they were almost “suggesting” he make a counter offer with some justification (GPA, program reputation?) and that they would give it to him that way. Or just letting him know that since he has no measurable merit or experience, it’s probably not worth asking, though he is certainly free to do so.
If I were the HR person and trying to save money for the company, I would not tell the applicant “you can make a counter offer”–especially to a young/naive kid who might not think of it on his own. I would just say, “No, sorry. We can’t do that.”
What would you do?
From an employer point of view, an employee can change into or out of the company plan (due to beginning or ending coverage with a family member’s plan) during the open enrollment period, so basing pay levels on how the employee is likely to use benefits could result in them being “incorrect” after the next open enrollment period.
thanks ucb–that’s pretty much what she told him–that he would still be eligible for the insurance. (Though he is 23 and will stay on ours as long as he can).
What would a reasonable extension on the decision be? S was thinking about asking for a week. Should he tell the 1st company that he had another interview already scheduled? Or just ask for “a few more days to decide?”
Does he have in writing the offer with:
a. Description of the benefits (a significant part of the compensation)?
b. Any employee agreements that he will be expected to sign? A non-disclosure agreement is expected; in some states, non-compete agreements are common. Both should be looked over carefully, particularly non-compete agreements that could force him to be unemployed for a while after leaving the job (see the discussion in other threads about non-compete agreements).
If not, time to get such things and look them over before deciding should be reasonable.
busdriver11 wrote: "He figured that the worst they could say was no. It would seem pretty harsh to rescind the offer just for negotiating, which I think they expect. "
That’s what my son thought when he received a deadline to reply to an offer from company A by Monday (4ish years ago), but wanted to wait to see how an interview went with company B on Friday of that week. He asked for and was granted a 1 week extension. He received word from company A on Wednesday that they were rescinding their offer, as they had already filled their multiple openings with other applicants. He did receive an offer from company B, but decided it was not a good fit and declined.
That is awful, SnLMom! I hope it wasn’t a company that he really wanted to work for.
busdriver11, If both offers had been on the table at the same time, he would definitely have accepted the offer from company A. He was very disappointed when they rescinded.
This all took place during the fall of his senior year and another offer came along from a company very similar to company A which he accepted that November. He is still working for that company 4 years later, so it all worked out!
I really feel for these kids (and their parents) who are still looking for a job almost a year after graduating.
I’m glad it worked out for him, SnLmom! Four years, he must really like his company. But I can see if he got the offer so early, why he would want to talk to other companies, and not just accept the first offer without negotiating.
@SnLMom, no telling whether Company A may have flaked on your S and not worked out as they failed to keep their promise to him by rescinding his offer. That seems quite unprofessional of them and I’m glad he ended up at a place he has been happy and productive.
Our S was offered a few jobs when he was in his SR year, but his 1st choice was to try to get a job with industry instead of the govt. he was able to get them to extend the time by which he had to give them an answer and went for an interview at a firm on their site. While he was interviewing there, they were frantically making phone calls to be sure they had money to pay him.
He opted to choose the best fit of his other offers and has been there ever since. They even gave him credit for his two summers of prior work and called it two years of experience.
Best of luck to all our young adults as they find their jobs and start their careers.
@BunsenBurner no problem for my girl with her Fulbright on the resume and LinkedIn. She felt both jobs liked the actual experience. And the endurance.
Thanks, @tpcrd66 ! He is having a great time, but it has been a bit of a gut check. Do what he really wants to do, or do what he thinks he should? I know that if he wanted a job out of this experience he could get one, but would it be where he wants to be and what he wants to be doing? Not so sure.
@busdriver11 re: post no. 230 I think it’s interesting that you wouldn’t encourage your child to spend more time on his true love. 