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I have received a verbal offer and have verbally accepted the offer for a new position within the same company where I currently work. The written offer is contingent on a reference from my current supervisor. This just happened Friday at close of business.

Before this happened, I was already in the interview process for a different position, also within the same company (large company but same HR department). I had been given a technical problem to solve and am scheduled for the second round of interview to present the solution of the problem on Tuesday.

So...can I still go to the interview on Tuesday or is that a no-no? I have already solved the technical problem and think I did a kick ass job on it. I realize at this point I am probably bound to taking the other job, but I want to at least present the solution and go interview for networking purposes as I think I'd definitely be interested in working for or even collaborating with those folks in the future. And in the off chance that the verbal offer from this other place doesn't turn into a written offer, I want to still have another option.

But I don't want to risk upsetting the people who gave me my verbal offer and have my verbal offer rescinded if they find out that I went for this other interview after accepting the verbal offer.

One solution I thought of is to call HR Monday morning and explain the situation honestly and ask them if they think it's acceptable to go to this other interview or what do they suggest I do?

Is that a good way to go (calling HR) or is it even a bad idea to call them?

Please advise on this sticky situation.

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  • You're not being clear: do you want the job for which you accepted the offer? Is that job your first choice? What's your motivation for continuing the process with the second job - are you looking for a plan B, and how does that plan B compare to your current position in terms of your preferences?
    – Vietnhi Phuvan
    Commented Mar 29, 2015 at 15:50
  • I want the job that I verbally accepted but since it's just a verbal offer I want to keep my options open until I have a written offer. I don't know enough about this other job yet to know if I would prefer it, so my main motivation for going to the interview is to keep my options open and to network for future opportunities.
    – user162381
    Commented Mar 29, 2015 at 16:07
  • @user162381 it would be worth editing that information into the question to make the question 100% clear.
    – ChrisF
    Commented Mar 30, 2015 at 11:34

3 Answers 3

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  1. Ask for written confirmation of the verbal offer. The written confirmation has to include the position title you are going to have, the start date, your new location and the name and contact of whoever you are reporting to.

  2. In the meantime, continue with the interview process for the second position. Abort the process the minute you get written confirmation for the first position. Since you already did the homework for the second position, you might as well hand in that homework. Simply let them know that you are aborting the process shortly after you get the feedback for the work that you handed in.

  3. Don't say anything to HR until events have developed, i.e. you have a written confirmation letter in hand about the verbal offer, to the point where you can give a straightforward narrative to give to HR - that should take maybe a couple of days. Say anything to HR while your status is still unclear and events are still in flux and you will have nothing but a frustratingly convoluted narrative to give to HR. So just wait for the couple of days until you have your ducks lined up and then initiate contact with HR and get your communication over with.

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I have been in a similar situation. I applied to several open positions in my company. Each situation develops at their own pace. At some point one of them was ready to commit and I was told that I had 72 hours to accept the position and remove myself from consideration for the other positions I had applied for.

I would expect a large company to operate in a similar fashion. They should make a formal written offer with a deadline, and a set of conditions you have to meet. Until they issue the written offer you can keep any internal applications open.

HR may not know the timeline for the different positions. Some parts of the hiring process are under their control others are fully under the control of the people you will be working for. I have seen situations where steps you think can be done in a few hours stretch our for two weeks because that is the way that manager operates.

Until that final offer is received you need to keep all options open. I would not even hesitate to keep applying if new openings popup.

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I think it's a good idea to discuss this with your HR department. I'm sure that this type of situation happens occasionally in larger organizations and your HR rep should be able to give you guidance. Doing this also demonstrates to everyone concerned that you are trying to be up-front and honest when dealing with the problem.

If your interview is Tuesday, you should contact HR as early as possible on Monday morning to give them time to make any necessary contact with the managers involved.

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