A second-year student who I admire asked me some tough questions this past weekend. The headline: what is the CDC’s “official” position when a student receives multiple offers? (This student is an optimist, I might add.) More specifically:
- If I have multiple offers what is the CDC’s position on accepting/declining an offer?
- What are my ethical obligations to the larger Darden community and to myself?
- When is it appropriate to hold one offer and look for another?
- How does returning from an internship with an offer differ from receiving one during SY recruiting (if at all)?
Just to make sure we are all on the same page, the background for the question is something like this: a student gets a “good” offer early in the process, but decides to continue looking, thus taking precious interview slots and possible offers from classmates, only to turn them down and take the original offer. Perhaps another Darden student is denied the opportunity to even compete.
My answer, first of all: see a career consultant for counseling. We are available for confidential advice if you are struggling with any of the above questions—either as the recipient of multiple offers, or as the “runner up” in too many cases.
Secondly, these are tough questions and the answer is highly dissatisfying, “it depends.”
Each individual has to make his/her own decision based on the facts relevant to his/her individual situation. It is difficult to know what factors a person is using to make decisions on offers. The upside of multiple offers is that one makes an informed choice by comparing one to another. Creating options is a reasonable motive for continuing in the process even if you have an offer. Sometimes it is only possible to know how much you like one offer when you have another to which to compare. You can try imagining if you had the other offer, but I have found that I cannot truly understand how well an offer fits versus another offer until I have both in hand. So getting multiple offers is not a bad thing.
The downside is: if you get more than one offer, you will have to turn down one. You risk burning a bridge that you may want to cross some day. And you may burn a bridge for the school. At the least, you may take an opportunity away from a classmate.
But the questions are fair ones to address, so here are some principles:
- Assume positive intent of your classmates. Don’t be too quick to judge their motive in seeking a second offer. Professor Bob Conroy, as head of the FY program this year, gave this piece of advice to the incoming class last week during orientation. “We must all assume that the student in question has appropriate motives to continue.”
- Use your life themes to make your decision. Make your decision on which offer to accept on things that are important to you, not just superficial things that are obvious to others. If by all outward appearances, a job is worthy of accepting, but you know it does not meet a couple of critical themes, you should continue seeking.
- Timing may make the “optics” worse than they really are. Many times a student gets a great offer, but does not take it immediately because his first choice of companies will be visiting or making an offer just days or weeks later. This timing issue forces one to sit on an offer longer than he/she really wants to. Is this okay? I say yes: if your first choice is still to come, then a reasonable choice is to hold out.
- Never keep more than two open offers. When the third comes along, you should immediately be able to turn down the least of the three.
- Avoid turning down a “marginally acceptable” offer until you have another in hand. While this may seem obvious, you don’t know what will happen, especially in this market, so be cautious.
- Take the offer as soon as you make a decision. Turn down others immediately upon confirmation of your acceptance (in writing). Sounds simple, but sometimes just a few days can mean the difference between another student (especially a classmate) getting an offer.
- Additionally, if you want to create options, be sure to create options that address a “gap” in the first offer. Just getting another offer in the same type firm with all the same “trimmings” will just create confusion for you and animosity among your classmates. But if you go after a second offer from a firm that addresses a gap (for example: a different geography, a radically different culture, a different industry group), then you and your classmates will more easily distinguish why you continued seeking.
- Don’t angle for the offer once you are certain you will turn it down. Situation: a student will work hard for offers from multiple companies. The offer comes from the preferred of the two. The student continues to seek the other, so he’ll have a choice. My advice: once you are certain you will take the preferred, drop from the others. Some companies have an allocation of OFFERS, not accepts, to Darden, and your withdrawing from the process may allow another to get an offer.
- Do unto others. Simple principle. Treat your classmates the way you would want them to treat you. Think about how your decisions impact them.
- When you return from your internship with an offer, evaluate it versus your life themes. If it fits, take it. Why shop around? This is a company that test drove you for three months and still wanted to buy the car. They love you. They’ll high five in the halls when you call in your affirmative reply. If you hold out and shop the offer, and respond in December the day of the deadline, they’ll be cursing your name and thinking of ways to make your start up miserable (because you made them sweat to get the answer, and put their reputation on the line). If it doesn’t fit well, then you should have a targeted search to find the company that fills the gap in the offer you received.
But there is a counter argument.
I know first year policies of other top schools which implore students to get one offer, take that offer, and exit the process. Rationale goes something like this: quick acceptance of an early offer (in the first year) is a win-win-win. It’s a win for the company. The company feels great about the student and the school. They have hired a great student, received a positive answer and worked with the school in a positive interaction. It’s a win for the school. The company is satisfied because they’ve accomplished what they set out for. Finally, it’s a win for the student. They have a summer with one of their target firms. The company is pleased that they accepted. The other firms, while not satisfied that they have lost you, have saved face by being able to make an offer to another person at your school. And you have become even more esteemed in their minds, as another firm got you first. Theoretically, the company will be after you next year, and also more of your classmates will have jobs.
The flaw in this argument, in my opinion, is it doesn’t reflect human nature and the need for choice in order to reinforce the correctness of a decision. I believe it is important for us to have a choice. It increases our confidence that the decision is the right one. How much choice is needed is certainly up for debate.
A couple of process recommendations:
- Be open and candid in the process, with both your classmates and your potential employers. Help your classmates understand why you are doing what you are doing. They’ll ask tough questions that will only help you refine your thinking. Also, keep employers informed of what you are doing and why. If you are continuing your search to address a gap, then perhaps they’ll be able to address the gap for you.
- Don’t negotiate until you are ready to accept. Don’t negotiate with more than one party. For more information read my position paper on negotiating or watch the Negotiation multimedia module on the Darden Career Development Portal found under the Career Management/Post Offer.
Hope this helps. Happy to discuss.