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So lets say I have offers from 3 companies, let's call them A, B and C. I'm interested in the offer from company B but I really don't know how to turn down the offers from company A and C. I'm afraid that I'd burn bridges if I turn down the other offers.

Any advice?

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  • If we may ask, on what basis are you turning down the offers from A and C? Is it just money?
    – NoneDB
    Commented Jan 15, 2020 at 7:53
  • @Zoinks Company B already offer first and the benefit is good (based on insurance , salary,workplace)
    – Jacqueline
    Commented Jan 15, 2020 at 8:10

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Unless you signed a contract from company B I wouldn't reject the other offers just yet. Instead I would consider asking some more questions at companies A C to learn more about the role, but ultimately, to give you some extra time until you secure company B.

You can only keep this up for so long, so if you still haven't signed with B then you need to make a decision that you're going to stick holding out with B, or consider actually accepting A or C.

If you don't care about A C, then simply tell them that you have already accepted another offer that you just couldn't refuse and thank them for considering you. You shouldn't look bad in their eyes, and this gives you the opportunity to reach out to them in the future.

Otherwise if you don't mind jumping ship to A C, you can accept one of them, or play it risky by giving them a counter-offer while you wait for B. Trying for a counter-offer may fail spectacularly though and you run the chance of losing out in all companies!

Congrats on the offers, and best of luck.

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  • I should have read this before commenting on another answer. +1
    – Justin
    Commented Jan 15, 2020 at 12:13
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Tell them the truth. It won't burn anything down. It will just show that you're a sought-after employee. They'll probably ask to connect to you on LinkedIn. They may even make you a counter-offer.

And if you're paranoid, like I am. If they ask the name of the company who won you over, just give out a very generic description of what the company does without giving the actual name of the company. At least, that's what I would do. The person here suggests you should name the other company sometimes.

On a side note, please don't accept any offer until you've actually read the contract they sent you. If they haven't sent a contract yet, it doesn't count yet.

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    +1 just give out a very generic description A good advice I got from Kalzumeus is to say A peer organization. This makes the competition think the other company is a similar industry and close to their size. That might encourage them to counter-offer, and still you're not revealing anything about them.
    – rath
    Commented Jan 15, 2020 at 9:36
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    From the same article you linked: No bullshit, no huff-puffery. Just telling the truth and asking for what you want. There’s tremendous power in honesty and directness. Take advantage of it. - thanks for that
    – rath
    Commented Jan 15, 2020 at 9:42
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    @rath, If you liked that one, make sure you read his first article. That one is really good too! haseebq.com/my-ten-rules-for-negotiating-a-job-offer
    – Stephan Branczyk
    Commented Jan 15, 2020 at 11:27
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    On a side note, please don't accept any offer until you've actually read the contract they sent you. Agree. You should probably also not respond (turn down) to A and C until you have received and actually read the document from B.
    – Justin
    Commented Jan 15, 2020 at 12:12
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You don't have any bridges to burn!

Going back to company A and C and say you have accepted another job. You don't need to explain more than that. You have never had any commitment to those companies, you never built any bridges with them to burn.

Burning bridges is something you can do between yourself and your current employer / Client, not every random job you applied for.

This is just how it works in business, if a client takes offence then you don't want to work for them anyway.

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    And, when you turn down an offer, be sure to say something like "thanks for your time and your confidence in me." It's always good to acknowledge the effort a company put into deciding to hire you.
    – O. Jones
    Commented Jan 15, 2020 at 12:49
  • This is a good answer, but you can "burn a bridge" by them not ever wanting to talk to you again, if you are disrespectful, dishonest, or otherwise do something actively to make them mad. If you are honest and polite, and they are still mad at you for turning them down, you probably didn't want to work there anyway.
    – computercarguy
    Commented Jan 15, 2020 at 17:01
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In my opinion, simply ask A and C that you've got offer from B that gives you more than what A and C are offering - if they can offer something better then you may finalize with them else you can reply on these lines:

"all the best to them, you would definitely consider working with them in future."

P.S. Companies know and accept that potential employees might have more than one offer and most of them wouldn't mind you rejecting them, but it should be on a strong basis like Money or Job role, etc.

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  • Money is not a "strong basis" for making a job decision. It should be the last thing to look at when all other things are equal, the tie breaker. I understand that there's a lot of people who simply need more money, or are greedy and take whatever is offered highest, but money doesn't make for a happy work place, a good job, a fulfilling career, or nice co-workers, even if it does pay the bills.
    – computercarguy
    Commented Jan 15, 2020 at 17:04
  • @computercarguy Yes you are right but again my reference was to OP's question. The things you mention like happy work place, nice coworkers, etc. are something you can't judge before joining a company, so you can't choose X over Y and tell these reasons to the other company.
    – NoneDB
    Commented Jan 15, 2020 at 17:15
  • Using a site like GlassDoor, you can get a good idea of what it's like to work at some companies. Most of the interviews that I had that were successful also included a tour of the facilities, so I was able to gauge what the atmosphere was like as they walked me around. Also, paying close attention to the interviewer and the people working to and from the interview conference room is often a decent way to judge those things. And sometimes there's enough people in the community that's worked for them and you can ask them directly.
    – computercarguy
    Commented Jan 15, 2020 at 17:34

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