Multiple offers are becoming more common in the current job market. If your job search is successful, you might face this unfamiliar situation.
Consider these possibilities:
- One company wants an answer about its offer while the other is finalizing theirs. What should you do?
- One company has extended an offer, but you have a final interview with another firm tomorrow. What do you do without sabotaging your chances at one or both companies?
Manage your thinking
The answer lies in not getting caught up in “what-ifs.” Instead, manage the current situation as it stands. You can’t control all the what-ifs. Don’t invest your emotions and time wrestling with them.
Decision-making guidelines:
Money aside, which job do you prefer? Consider the company itself and the people you will work with.
Which company is best for your career? For your lifestyle?
Remember, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
Manage your behavior
Typically, there’s no need to tell a company about your job search status. But, this is one of the times when you may want to be transparent with the companies making offers. Knowing your situation, they’ll better understand why you want to speed up the process or allow more time.
Having multiple offers generally increases your market value. This may lead to companies coming back with more competitive offers.
But, if you leave them uninformed, it may raise a red flag with any company waiting for an answer. They may conclude you’re flakey or indecisive.
Never go dark on a company. That often pushes them to go to their second choice.
If you’re grappling with multiple offers, congratulations, but understand that just as the situation is enviable, it can also be unpredictable.