Turning down an accepted job offer
Discussion
Hi all,
TL;DR I accepted a job offer which I’m meant to start next week, but I think I made a mistake. How bad is it to turn this job down before I even start?
I was feeling rather stuck in a rut in my job for a while. I went from being a contractor in my technical/engineering field, to perm, and took on a supervisory role.
Long story short, the management structure meant that I was burning myself out and generally unhappy.
I secured a new job at a prestigious company, with good benefits like healthcare, contributory pension, cheap Mercedes car scheme, life assurance etc. The money is reasonably good, but the shift is quite unsociable and may well affect my home life.
I think in hindsight I only accepted the job because I felt stuck and needed to get out and I was flattered this big name in the industry wanted to hire me.
I’d scared myself off contracting again because of the ever tighter regulations. But now I realise that in the short ish term, contracting again would really suit me, as we’re trying hard to save some money. There is and pretty much always has been stacks of contract work out there in my line of work, and I already have 3 ongoing contracts waiting if I decided to go down this route again. Contracting in the job I do is as close to stability as it gets really, so no problems there. I am also fairly young and do have time to settle down In to a comfy role in the future, but could do with chasing the money for a while now.
It’s a small industry, and I’d hate to burn my bridges with the company I’m due to start at, but just can’t help but think I took the job in haste and want to be a weekly paid contractor again to get some money behind me. How bad is it to turn a job down at this stage? I am starting next week, I accepted the job 3 weeks ago. Is this a massive no no, or will it cause a little inconvenience and be fine? I know there will realistically be minimal repercussions for me aside from struggling to get in to this particular company again, but I really hate to be so inconsiderate and let them down. Figures wise if it helps, with holidays and sickness taken in to account, I’d be anywhere between 10 and £20,000 better off per year net with a contract role than the perm role in question.
Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated, particularly if you have been faced with a similar situation and have any words of advice
Thanks
John
TL;DR I accepted a job offer which I’m meant to start next week, but I think I made a mistake. How bad is it to turn this job down before I even start?
I was feeling rather stuck in a rut in my job for a while. I went from being a contractor in my technical/engineering field, to perm, and took on a supervisory role.
Long story short, the management structure meant that I was burning myself out and generally unhappy.
I secured a new job at a prestigious company, with good benefits like healthcare, contributory pension, cheap Mercedes car scheme, life assurance etc. The money is reasonably good, but the shift is quite unsociable and may well affect my home life.
I think in hindsight I only accepted the job because I felt stuck and needed to get out and I was flattered this big name in the industry wanted to hire me.
I’d scared myself off contracting again because of the ever tighter regulations. But now I realise that in the short ish term, contracting again would really suit me, as we’re trying hard to save some money. There is and pretty much always has been stacks of contract work out there in my line of work, and I already have 3 ongoing contracts waiting if I decided to go down this route again. Contracting in the job I do is as close to stability as it gets really, so no problems there. I am also fairly young and do have time to settle down In to a comfy role in the future, but could do with chasing the money for a while now.
It’s a small industry, and I’d hate to burn my bridges with the company I’m due to start at, but just can’t help but think I took the job in haste and want to be a weekly paid contractor again to get some money behind me. How bad is it to turn a job down at this stage? I am starting next week, I accepted the job 3 weeks ago. Is this a massive no no, or will it cause a little inconvenience and be fine? I know there will realistically be minimal repercussions for me aside from struggling to get in to this particular company again, but I really hate to be so inconsiderate and let them down. Figures wise if it helps, with holidays and sickness taken in to account, I’d be anywhere between 10 and £20,000 better off per year net with a contract role than the perm role in question.
Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated, particularly if you have been faced with a similar situation and have any words of advice
Thanks
John
Indeed, fairly normal by all accounts, although not good practice!
A lot of people go for a few different jobs and while waiting to hear, accept the first offer incase they don’t get offered the others.
As you say though, you may not be welcome there in future depending what the HR or hiring manager is like.
A lot of people go for a few different jobs and while waiting to hear, accept the first offer incase they don’t get offered the others.
As you say though, you may not be welcome there in future depending what the HR or hiring manager is like.
We have people who start and leave after a few days sometimes which is even worse. The paperwork and processes we have to go through to get AD accounts, email, folder access, etc. all tied to a specific user is horrendous. If you genuinely don't want to give the offer a chance it's best to say now, apologise and maybe say after consultation with the family, the unsociable hours have raised doubts about your suitability. Then apologise again.
least you hadnt started then had the remorse.
years ago i was offered a new job and on day 1 got told id have to spend a week with different people in the office so a good 6 to 8 weeks in all plus a time down in London for a few days on induction . 3 hours in we get to 12 noon and I slowly picked up my bag and said "see you later" and walked out. couldnt do it. i didnt have remorse when I got there but just couldnt hack the months of BS I would have to endure with people in the office that I would have nothing to do with on a day to day basis. I wasnt told any of this at interview. Call me an anti-social old fool but I just thought I can do without this and I left. didnt explain myself just said I'm off to lunch....never went back.....I just wanted to get stuck straight into what I was told was the job. Probably not one of my most mature decisions.
years ago i was offered a new job and on day 1 got told id have to spend a week with different people in the office so a good 6 to 8 weeks in all plus a time down in London for a few days on induction . 3 hours in we get to 12 noon and I slowly picked up my bag and said "see you later" and walked out. couldnt do it. i didnt have remorse when I got there but just couldnt hack the months of BS I would have to endure with people in the office that I would have nothing to do with on a day to day basis. I wasnt told any of this at interview. Call me an anti-social old fool but I just thought I can do without this and I left. didnt explain myself just said I'm off to lunch....never went back.....I just wanted to get stuck straight into what I was told was the job. Probably not one of my most mature decisions.
It happens - if the job doesn't feel right, there is no point taking it. Just be honest with the company.
It happens the other way too (I accepted a job earlier in the year - only for it to be pulled from under me).
Even if you started - the chances are you'd be on probation. This probation is a two way street and I have known people who get to the end of it and have said "actually - the job isn't for me".
It happens the other way too (I accepted a job earlier in the year - only for it to be pulled from under me).
Even if you started - the chances are you'd be on probation. This probation is a two way street and I have known people who get to the end of it and have said "actually - the job isn't for me".
Thanks for your replies all.
So I did it. I wasn’t provided with a contact number and the reception kept telling me the HR woman was in a meeting, so I emailed it through. I was very polite, apoligised and thanked them for the opportunity.
All sorted now and I feel a lot better. New contract position starting on Monday.
So I did it. I wasn’t provided with a contact number and the reception kept telling me the HR woman was in a meeting, so I emailed it through. I was very polite, apoligised and thanked them for the opportunity.
All sorted now and I feel a lot better. New contract position starting on Monday.
I did something similar, was 2 weeks away from starting the new job and got a better offer which in hindsight was significantly better all round.
So I did the dirty deed which wasn't too bad, the, sting in the tail was about a month later I became a customer of the company whose job I turned down after accepting. As it turned out I was going to spend a lot time at their premises being a constant reminder as well.
Reactions varied from 'oh it's you!' and a sulk that lasted a while (years) from one person but others were fine and we still have the occasional joke about it today. Still doing business with them nearly 20 years later.
So I did the dirty deed which wasn't too bad, the, sting in the tail was about a month later I became a customer of the company whose job I turned down after accepting. As it turned out I was going to spend a lot time at their premises being a constant reminder as well.
Reactions varied from 'oh it's you!' and a sulk that lasted a while (years) from one person but others were fine and we still have the occasional joke about it today. Still doing business with them nearly 20 years later.
I did it once.
I was offered a job with a government body, which I accepted (to start in 4 weeks time) and then just after my acceptance I was offered a different job which I liked the sound of (and the salary) much more than the other job.
So I had to do what you did and phone them, apologise, and say I wouldn't be starting.
But here's the very strange thing that happened. They expressed that they were disappointed that I wouldn't be joining them, and I then suggested to them that I could solve their recruitment problem as my friend was looking for a new job, and he was very similar to me, same age, similar education etc and that they should speak to him.
Amazingly they did call him, he went to see them for a brief chat, and they gave him the job instead.
I found it very odd that a government department would do something so spontaneous and 'rule breaking' as that, but they did, and it all worked out very well.
He's still there 10 years later.
I was offered a job with a government body, which I accepted (to start in 4 weeks time) and then just after my acceptance I was offered a different job which I liked the sound of (and the salary) much more than the other job.
So I had to do what you did and phone them, apologise, and say I wouldn't be starting.
But here's the very strange thing that happened. They expressed that they were disappointed that I wouldn't be joining them, and I then suggested to them that I could solve their recruitment problem as my friend was looking for a new job, and he was very similar to me, same age, similar education etc and that they should speak to him.
Amazingly they did call him, he went to see them for a brief chat, and they gave him the job instead.
I found it very odd that a government department would do something so spontaneous and 'rule breaking' as that, but they did, and it all worked out very well.
He's still there 10 years later.
Lord Marylebone said:
But here's the very strange thing that happened. They expressed that they were disappointed that I wouldn't be joining them, and I then suggested to them that I could solve their recruitment problem as my friend was looking for a new job, and he was very similar to me, same age, similar education etc and that they should speak to him.
Amazingly they did call him, he went to see them for a brief chat, and they gave him the job instead.
I found it very odd that a government department would do something so spontaneous and 'rule breaking' as that, but they did, and it all worked out very well.
He's still there 10 years later.
You would be amazed...it can take months to get a Civil Service job application spec and vacancy through Stages 1-3 (internal) to Stage 4 (external). If you then lose someone you have to start all over again - so you would clutch at pretty much any straw to avoid standing a gap!Amazingly they did call him, he went to see them for a brief chat, and they gave him the job instead.
I found it very odd that a government department would do something so spontaneous and 'rule breaking' as that, but they did, and it all worked out very well.
He's still there 10 years later.
I worked at Formula 1 company for a while. The number of people (a quarter?) who said they were coming and never even turned up was amazing. The only constant was that they were young and coming from outside the UK.
Reception was sat there with all the paperwork to sign and their own personalised badge ready to go. Nothing, 2 or 3 days later “oh I have started somewhere else….”
This doesn’t include all those who rang up the day before to say they weren’t coming. They tried to get me to sign paperwork to say I would stop looking for another job when I accepted theirs. I refused. They were paranoid about it.
Reception was sat there with all the paperwork to sign and their own personalised badge ready to go. Nothing, 2 or 3 days later “oh I have started somewhere else….”
This doesn’t include all those who rang up the day before to say they weren’t coming. They tried to get me to sign paperwork to say I would stop looking for another job when I accepted theirs. I refused. They were paranoid about it.
bucksmanuk said:
I worked at Formula 1 company for a while. The number of people (a quarter?) who said they were coming and never even turned up was amazing. The only constant was that they were young and coming from outside the UK.
Reception was sat there with all the paperwork to sign and their own personalised badge ready to go. Nothing, 2 or 3 days later “oh I have started somewhere else….”
This doesn’t include all those who rang up the day before to say they weren’t coming. They tried to get me to sign paperwork to say I would stop looking for another job when I accepted theirs. I refused. They were paranoid about it.
You would think working in Formula 1 would be quite an exciting and interesting job, but clearly very few people think of that aspect.Reception was sat there with all the paperwork to sign and their own personalised badge ready to go. Nothing, 2 or 3 days later “oh I have started somewhere else….”
This doesn’t include all those who rang up the day before to say they weren’t coming. They tried to get me to sign paperwork to say I would stop looking for another job when I accepted theirs. I refused. They were paranoid about it.
My friends daughter is looking for a 12 month placement after doing 2 years Engineering at Cambridge.
She was 'head hunted' and offered to go and work for McLaren F1 and in their road cars Technology Centre for 12 months with the offer of a permanent job after she finished at Cambridge.
She didn't even want to go for a look or a chat. Just said she wasn't interested.
Lord Marylebone said:
You would think working in Formula 1 would be quite an exciting and interesting job, but clearly very few people think of that aspect.
My friends daughter is looking for a 12 month placement after doing 2 years Engineering at Cambridge.
She was 'head hunted' and offered to go and work for McLaren F1 and in their road cars Technology Centre for 12 months with the offer of a permanent job after she finished at Cambridge.
She didn't even want to go for a look or a chat. Just said she wasn't interested.
I worked in F1 for 6 years, glad to be out now. It was a bit of a money trap and a great experience In many ways but most people stay in F1 instead of working for a normal company just so they can tell people they work there, just for the ‘prestige’ of it, and more or less no other reason. My friends daughter is looking for a 12 month placement after doing 2 years Engineering at Cambridge.
She was 'head hunted' and offered to go and work for McLaren F1 and in their road cars Technology Centre for 12 months with the offer of a permanent job after she finished at Cambridge.
She didn't even want to go for a look or a chat. Just said she wasn't interested.
Lots of my former colleagues would travel 80 miles each way from Derbyshire to do night shifts instead of working for smaller companies near home and their families, just for the name.
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