You’ve applied for several jobs in the Customer Service field in top positions in various companies hoping to snag one. In a day’s time, you’ve heard back from three, now what? You have to figure out how to turn down two out of three of these top companies without stepping on toes or leaving a bad impression. Just how do you do this?
First of all you need to show respect. You don’t want to burn any bridges or be considered unprofessional. Plan what you are going to say. Write it down and read it out loud several times. It will give a positive impact on the employer and also let you think again why you don’t want the job. Reading it again will either affirm or make you reconsider your decision.
Quickly contact the person who offered you the job. They are waiting to fill the position and the sooner they know you refused it, the sooner they can move until to next candidate. Be courteous. You must be professional and courteous at all times. You never know, you may want to be reconsidered for a job there some day in the future. Network and be sure to thank every person that interviewed you.
You need to offer a specific reason why you are refusing the job. You can explain that the other job has better hours, or location or a clearer path that will follow to a promotion. If you felt that your lack of skills was the concern, explain that you didn’t want to disappoint them and not deliver what was expected. Don’t make it seem that the position was beneath you or you didn’t give the offer serious thought. Make sure the other person understands that you both respect the organization and the person who considered you.
Be diplomatic. You don’t have to mention the details of the other job and what they offered you. You don’t even have to mention if there is another job offer if you don’t care to. You could just say that this job was not quite what you were looking for at this time. You can let the hiring manage know that you were impressed by their organization and carefully considered their offer before refusing.
Remember to value your reputation. Do not refuse the job just because you were playing games with your present boss. That always has a way of backfiring. You shouldn’t even be interviewing if you weren’t serious about being hired in the first place.
Always follow up your phone call with a follow up letter or an email to confirm in writing what you spoke about over the phone.
If you keep the relationship cordial and open and another position comes along that might be more suitable, then you’ve covered all the angles and are in good standing. Not a bad idea, wouldn’t you say?
If you’ve had several jobs offers at once, how did you handle it?
By Linda Lee Ruzicka
Linda Lee Ruzicka lives in the mountains of Western PA , happily married and with her 6 cats and three dogs. She has been published in Twilight Times, Dark Krypt, Fables, Decending Darkness, Writing Village, June Cotner anthology, The Grit, Reminisce , the book, Haunted Encounters: Friends and Family. She is an Affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association. She also does freelance work for Beyond and for CSJobs.com. More of her blogs can be found at CSJobsblog.com.
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