<p>Wonderful holiday gift: dd just graduated and sent about 8 resumes to start testing the job market. We all expected her job hunt to take some time, as we know many in her field that have been looking for a long time. However, she was quickly contacted for interviews by 4 firms, and already given 2 job offers! She declined the first, and is interested in the second, but prefers to at least finish the interviews that were scheduled, before committing to any. Because of the holidays, theres no way for her to finish the other interviews until after the first week in Jan , but the offering firm wants her to start then. (These are all small companies, not large corporations.)</p>
<p>Ive never been in such an enviable position, so dont know what to advise. Is it common for recent graduates to evaluate their options before committing? What is an acceptable time frame? What does she tell the offering firm(s)?</p>
<p>She may want to get the details of such things as benefits, relocation aid if applicable, and what they expect her to sign upon starting. In particular, she should be very careful if they want her to sign any non-compete agreements.</p>
<p>I know my daughter was able to ask some of the firms who gave her her offers to agree to extend the time they want a response by to give her time to finish offers. This is an industry where competition for candidates is often heavy so they were willing to give her the extension because they know that candidates often have multiple interviews and deadlines to juggle and being inflexible is unreasonable. </p>
<p>It sounds like these people really like your daughter so it is definitely worth the time talking to a CAMPUS LIAISON or the ORIGINAL RECRUITER (whoever it is that your daughter has the most contact with about the job offer) to inquire if an extension is eminently possible!! I don’t know right how a noncompete clause would come up in regards to talking about extending deadlines but it will DEFINITELY be a potential issue when she does feel ready to make a decision upon employers</p>
<p>Personally, I think she should take the job immediately.</p>
<p>She shouldn’t assume that it is inevitable she will get more offers. It may be shear happenstance that she got two offers already - the odds seem against her getting a third one, especially as the interview process can drag on in some instances.</p>
<p>Edited to add: Of course, if she really doesn’t like the job she’s had offered to her (for whatever reason), that changes the scenario.</p>
<p>The OP’s daughter has already graduated, and the quick time frame here suggests that she did not apply for the job through on-campus recruiting. That changes things.</p>
<p>Its difficult to give relevant advice on this type of situation. </p>
<p>I’ve always told upcoming graduates that there are roughly two types of firms. One is a larger firm with established recruiting policies that runs campus interviews and has a * systematic * way of adding employees. The other is a smaller firm that often simply decides it needs someone now…so who’s available. </p>
<p>The difference is that if you walk into the big, systematic firm at a time when they aren’t in their hiring cycle, there aren’t any jobs. For the smaller firms, you could get an offer, but it might not be there in two weeks. You just don’t know. Its not managed the same way. </p>
<p>OP’s daughter may be benefiting by being off-cycle here in terms of the competing resumes that these firms are seeing. Or it could be that the nature of the job (sales?) is that there are perpetual openings and turnover, and you can have a job whenever you want it.</p>
<p>It doesn’t seem unreasonable to explore options before committing though.</p>
<p>Most schools work with their alums . . . . forever! It’s worth a call to her university’s career center to talk to an advisor and get some guidance.</p>
<p>“She declined the first, and is interested in the second, but prefers to at least finish the interviews that were scheduled, before committing to any.”</p>
<p>Why? To be nice? </p>
<p>She should not put her current offer in jeopardy in order to attend an interview. Period. (Small exceptions if she hates the place and would not take the offer anyway.)</p>
<p>She should also know that the companies that she is interviewing with may not extend an offer for several weeks. How long is she planning on stringing Company1 along?</p>
<p>She either wants that job or she doesn’t. To me, when someone I offer a job to hesitates I always regret offering them the job in the first place. No one wants to be someone’s back up plan or in case something better doesn’t come along position.</p>
<p>I’m a small business, when I hire someone it’s always because we need more help. Now. Not down the road, a few months from now, when someone can interview everywhere else in town.</p>
<p>There also seems to be a bit of an entitlement issue. While college graduates need not be desperate, the idea of asking a hiring company to sit tight while you interview - the job equivalent of putting a proposal on hold so you can go on a first date - is problematic. It indicates that she is not attuned to business realities, or thinks that its okay to have the people there do her job while she flits around, figuring her life out.</p>
<p>Is this about making a good, thoughtful career decision, or is this about her ego?</p>
<p>Has she actually interviewed with the other firms? Is one of them such a plum employer that she would risk the bird in the hand? Does she have reasons to hesitate regarding the job she has been offered? Does she KNOW that those reasons would not exist at the other 2 firms?</p>
<p>I’m inclined to say she should take the job and start in January. It is a first job. It’s a place to start building a career. It is unlikely that she will stay there forever. If the other companies are interested in her now, they are likely to be even more interested in her after a year or two of experience.</p>
<p>All the firms are quite small (8-12 employees total). It is in the arts, so starting salaries are typically low, with limited benefits. Rarely are there recruiters, contracts, non-compete clauses, etc. However, first positions can directly influence future growth.</p>
<p>I don’t think there’s a feeling of entitlement. In fact, she was quite surprised by the quick responses so far, and recognizes this as a great dilemma to have. She declined firm A due to distance and type of work (they contacted her rather than in reverse). Firm B is looking for immediate help, and offered a position, but wants a quick decision. Firm C literally contacted her for an interview within hours of Firm B’s offer. Firm C has an very good local reputation, and growth potential, but as mentioned it is only a request for an interview at this time, not an offer. They want to wait until after the holidays to interview, since many of their staff are away.</p>
<p>She, too, is concerned about jeopardizing the offer from B when there is no offer yet from C. The dilemma is that she feels firm C might be a better start for her career, so would like the opportunity to speak with them before committing to firm B. The timing just isn’t working.</p>
<p>You’re saying these are “firms” in the arts. Are they non-profits?</p>
<p>A lot of the advice above applies to large companies. Small non-profits are often trying to fill a hole when somebody leaves, and staff covering that gap are already overworked. I actually got my job because my organization needed a temp to get work done while they were hiring - the hiring process was taking too long, and they couldn’t have the position sit open. They ended up keeping me and not making an offer to any of their finalists.</p>
<p>Give how long an actual interview process can take, I think it’s a little inconsiderate and can jeopardize your daughter’s offer to wait for the next interview. It’s not waiting until the beginning of January, that’s just the first interview. There could be two or three interviews and a reference check over the course of several weeks before she knows anything.</p>
<p>I would actually turn to Firm C first and ask if they can give her a timeline and explain that she does have an offer. If they have many candidates and she is not at the top of the pool, they may be able to give her a sense of that. If she is really one of their top candidates, they may be able to find a way to expedite the process to make sure they have a chance to talk to her.</p>
<p>The way I handle this is to let the candidate know that we are very interested in them. We typically will give a short reasonable extension - like a week - if the candidate has been on interviews and is waiting for offers. We don’t want a candidate to accept the position because of our deadline. </p>
<p>However, beyond that, I’ve let candidates know that we need to continue our search, so we are formally withdrawing the offer to allow us do that. If they decide they want to work for us before we’ve filled the position, I will reopen the offer with no penalty.</p>