How to decline after signing when I get a new good offer [duplicate]

Question

I have applied to company A on 1st June and give them a joining date of 23 June (today). company A called me on Saturday Morning 22 June (yesterday) for a confirmation that I am gonna come on Monday or not so I said yes because I wasn't having any interview / offer in my hand from another company and said my current company will relieve me too.

Now I get an interview call from company B on Saturday Evening (22 June) itself and got to appear on Monday, I gave an interview today and it went well and now I need to appear for HR round.

Now my confusion is, I got to join company A on 24 June so what should I do if company B offers me some good package? How can I say no to company A in that case? I can't even say that current company is stopping me because on Saturday I have already informed them my current company had given me relieving letter. I haven't sign anything with company A but I need to sign it tomorrow.

My question is, after joining company A if company B is offering me something good then how can I say no to company A because I got to sign it tomorrow and as I am gonna recently join company A so how can I decline? And I am not in a position to extend the joining date for company A by giving some excuse.

I got to sign papers with company A and company B will gonna offer me that I am sure and company B is better too. But just in case company B won't offer (worst case) then I don't need to mess up with company A also.

Answer 1

Something like this happened once where I worked.

We interviewed a really good candidate after a long search and extended him an offer which he accepted. On what was supposed to be his first day, I find out the guy had called, apologized, and said he was reneging his acceptance because he had just gotten a much better offer in another city closer to home with another company.

We were all disappointed, but moved on.

If you turn around on company A immediately before your start-date, or worse, start working for them and then promptly leave it will make a bad impression. If you do this, you really have to be able to say that Company B is MUCH better for your career. In other words, if the job at company B is only marginally better than company A, it really isn't worth it.

The best way to tell company A that you're not starting or that you're leaving after a short time is simply to apologize and explain the situation. They won't like it, but they will understand. The risk here is that someone will remember your name and later-on or in future business dealings hold a grudge about it. That is a low risk for an entry position, but something to think about. And you definitely want to avoid making a habit of reneging on acceptance.

The sad reality is employers are practically asking for this kind of trouble whenever they get too pushy about demanding a start-date from candidates immediately upon receipt of a verbal offer. Really good candidates who are worth having are frequently pursuing multiple opportunities. The timing of offers is never perfect, so candidates are forced "hold-off" offers that come early so that other potential offers can be considered-- this is really hard to do in practice, so sometimes people have to go with the "bird in hand" until something better materializes.

That said, if the position at company B is REALLY worth it, you should consider jumping if company B makes a firm offer. It is not a nice thing to do, but then corporations are NOT nice to begin with and anyway they will find someone else (The phrase "everyone is replaceable" cuts both ways).

Answer 2

Depending on when Company B makes a concrete, written offer to you, you will either have not yet started with Company B or possibly started and be within your probationary period

You will not be popular with Company A but subject to any clauses in your employment contract with Company A (disclaimer - me no lawyer, take advice if needed), it would be just like resigning from any company

I've worked in a few places where people have signed contracts but never started due to better offers and also people who started and then left after one or two weeks due to a better offer.

It's not nice and always feels a horrible thing to do but the possiblility of an offer from Company B shouldn;t stop you from signing with Company A

In this questions - How to renege implicit verbal acceptance of a job offer - the key phrase in one of the answers is

"A BIRD IN THE HAND"

Answer 3

First questions: are your skills rare and in high demand? If yes, you may play "hard to get" for limited time:

• Ask company B if they are willing and ready to make really quick decision about hiring you, and when whey will make that decision. Days, not weeks. If no, go with A.
• if you have deadline from B, ask company A for more time to consider your options (with the same deadline)
• Accept whichever offer you like more.

Be prepared that exactly like you are considering other options, company A might reconsider other candidates, who were almost as good match as you, but more ready to start. When company has open position, they want to fill it reasonably soon - because they need it.

I wouldn't advice making such demands unless your skills are really up to snuff. If the difference between jobs in A and B are small, you are risking your good name for little gain.

Edit:

You have only interview from B. Not even job offer. You don't know if B is even interested in your skills. You don't know if they are willing to make fast decision for your deadlines. Sounds like first job, so your skills are likely not stellar yet. (not worth making exceptions just to accommodate your peculiar deadlines)

My advice: Go with A, do best job you can, and in a year or few try for B again.