When you are looking for a job, you do not just apply to one company and wait. You often send out the resume to more than one company hoping that some of them would revert for an interview. Maybe more than just a company offers you the opportunity to try for the post. What do you do in such cases? You weigh your option and finally choose the one that best suits your needs. But what do you do with the rest of them? How can you reject the job offer without sounding rude?
This is not social media where you can reject requests from people without letting them know about the same. This is an industry where you want to keep working. So, even if you are turning down one job because you have a better one right now, you should do it the right way. You do not want to create a bad image for yourself in that company since you might need a job again.
We live in a world where nothing is permanent, not even your job. You can easily be thrown out and replaced by someone who asks a less salary but does the same work. So, having a job does not give you the liberty of keeping the recruiter waiting for your reply on offer. You should wait for the right time to decline the job offer and let them know why you cannot accept their proposal. You can have your reasons not to accept it. Maybe the job was not what it looked like. You went to take the interview for the post of a senior editor, but they handed over some social media tasks to you. Such things might not seem very pleasant to you and you would hate that place right away. But even then, try to maintain your composure and keep a smile on your face.
You have to be the best of yourself even though the company you went to is not doing so. It can never be a bad idea to be polite to a recruiting manager. It is a small world where jobs are highly unstable. You cannot be sure of keeping off the roads to that same person again. Do not close the doors for yourself when you walk away.
It is not so difficult to decline a job offer letter, but it can be uncomfortable to deal with. It is okay to feel that way. Let us tell you that you are not the only one who would rather ignore the calls of the company than pick up and tell them once that you do not want to come and work for them. It is rather relieving for you as you won't get their calls anymore and also for them as they can strike you as a candidate from their list now. So do the right things while you turn down a job offer. Read on as we will share some tips to renounce the job proposal.
#1. Answer Their Call
Once you decide not to take up the position, you should not let the calls go to voicemail. We know you must be thinking that are we asking you to do the tough thing now that you do not even need the job. You would rather just drop a text or email let them know you are not taking the work. Yes, you can but it would not look so genuine like a conversation on call would. You can convey your apology for rejecting them in a better way when they hear you feel bad about it. It will look a lot more professional than writing a one-liner email to them.
#2. Write A Follow Up Email
Although you have already informed them about your decision, it is always professional to drop a formal email to them about the same. Put in all the contents, including the appreciation for their effort, the apology for not accepting and your reason to do so. If you have a friendly connection with the company, then you can go ahead and offer other contacts to them. But do the good deed of writing down a professional email instead of just a 10-word kiddish message.
#3. Keep Your Tone Friendly
Even if you are just going to ask them to find someone else for the job as you have already found one, just do not try to sound rude on calls. Maintain a friendly tone with them telling them you would not be accepting their offer. Avoid being negative even if you hated their process and the company itself. Just be a decent person and thank them for reaching out to you.
#4. Be Direct
We know that you want to keep some options open for yourself even if you do want to accept them immediately. We do this as a security measure for the time we lose our job. But that is not a professional way to keep the recruiter waiting for your response while you do not let them know the truth. It is not fair for the company as well as other candidates who want the job. So take the effort of telling them about your decision of rejecting the offer so that they can go ahead and make their decision too.
#5. Offer Other Contacts
You applied for the job of a company but the job was just not the one you were looking for. Therefore, you cannot accept their job offer. Suppose you applied for a post in your favorite food outlet as you just admire their brand name and reputation. But instead of offering you to be the chef, like you thought, they want you to manage the accounts for them. You want to be connected with them but the role does not fir your skills. But you might know someone from your circle who is fit for this. So while you write in an apology not to accept the job, you can offer to send them contacts of people they can reach out to. This will maintain a friendliness even though you are not going to work for them.
#6. Appreciate The Effort
You should be considerate for the time the HR has spent in conversation with you as you are not useful to them anymore. Yes, it is definitely a part of their job to devote time to candidates, but it will make you look decent to thank for the effort and time spent on when you say no to their company. That person might have skipped their lunch time to go through your profile as you looked like a good candidate to them. So, heartfelt thanks can make them feel attached to you while understanding that you cannot join their offices.
#7. Give Your Reasons
You should not just decline the offer while keeping the recruiter wondering why you did not take up the position. They did a lot of work while arranging the interview for you. So, the best you can do is be honest about your reasons to not accept the offer. Avoid saying negative things about the concerned company if that is your reason not to join. So do not tell them that you did not like the boss you were going to work for or that the place is too small according to you. Just keep it decent enough saying that the workplace did not meet your present requirements.
#8. Don't Keep Them Waiting
You have to turn down the job offer while keeping yourself in their good books. Not getting back to them for days while you are still deciding what to do is not such a great idea in this case. You can feel nervous about telling them about your not taking the job. But do not wait for a month before you reveal the news to them. If they are keeping their hopes on you, it is better to tell them about your decision as soon as possible rather than keep them holding on you. This way they can go back to other candidates and get the vacancy filled.
#9. Leave Opportunities Open
In the end, the whole idea of being friendly is to not close the doors for yourself in that company in case you are without a job again. So make sure that they like you even when you are not accepting the job proposal that they are offering. Do mention that you would love to work with them if you get the opportunity next time so that they know you might contact them again in the future. This will keep your relationship intact in the industry.
While looking for a job is stressful, turning one down is even more troublesome. We hope that our advice about how to turn down a job politely works out well for you. Let us know in the comments below if you have any suggestions for us.
Also if you had any similar encounters in your life where you just could not find the right way to decline a job offer but eventually did something, do share your experience about it. We would love to hear from you.
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Great post Mitali :)