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I am in a situation where I am serving notice period as I have an offer in hand, but I am trying to find out if I could get some other offers as well.

But the problem that I am facing now is, during the initial discussion with recruiting team I have informed them that I have already received an offer for company X with salary Y and looking out again If I could get better opportunity (Reason for sharing this is they are explicitly asking about looking for another offer with an offer already in hand).

After the initial discussion I am not communicated with further details, especially with further technical rounds of interview. This has happened with almost all the companies that has discussed with me. I can say 95% of the discussion has ended up in only one discussion.

I would like to understand what could be happening in my situation? Does the recruiting team not consider the person who is already having an offer?

The scenario is in the Indian IT industry and I have received an offer letter from company X but not accepted it.

EDIT: As this was my first change of company in my professional career I was not aware of few things which shouldn't done. I do hear people saying that they do have multiple offers in hand before they finalize with appropriate one. Hence I have tried the same as I was unaware of not doing such things.

Thanks to each of one you as the discussion has helped to get to know few things.

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    Did you accept the offer or are you just telling them you accepted the offer? If you're just saying that, you should stop immediately. If you did actually accept the offer, look at the terms of your contract. If it's "at will," you could probably still change your mind though it wouldn't make you look very good. Either way, if you're considering other options, don't tell the recruiter you've already accepted an offer.
    – AffableAmbler
    Commented Jul 12, 2017 at 16:27
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    Just FYI, in the Indian IT industry (which is where I presume the OP's story is based), the word "accepted" usually carries a different meaning. I have "accepted" offer X could mean "our negotiations have come to a conclusion, and I accept that X is the salary to be entered in my offer letter". Agreeing to actually turn up for the job happens later. It is not uncommon to "accept" an offer without agreeing to join. So it just comes down to the difference in language, don't make a big deal out of it. :) @Here_2_learn Please clarify what you mean by "accepted".
    – Masked Man
    Commented Jul 12, 2017 at 17:14
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    You say you haven't actually accepted the offer but have received it, per MaskedMan's clarification. If you haven't accepted for certain yet, why are you serving notice period? Have you told the recruiting company that you have accepted or just that you have received? Is it possible they are getting confused as we are?
    – David K
    Commented Jul 12, 2017 at 18:22
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    @PagMax Anyway, this discussion is just the result of ambiguity over the meaning of "accepted". If by accepted, we mean accepting the job, then there is no disagreement.
    – Masked Man
    Commented Jul 13, 2017 at 7:09
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    @Here_2_learn, regarding your edits, it is absolutely okay to have multiple offers and select the best one. All I meant was accepting (i.e. telling the company I will join on so and say day upon receiving the offer letter) and then not join. As long as you have not reached that stage, you can certainly look for better options.
    – PagMax
    Commented Jul 14, 2017 at 8:38

3 Answers 3

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I wouldn't say "No, never", but I wouldn't expect it to be done very frequently.

If you tell someone that you have accepted another offer, but are still looking, you are going to look unreliable. Negotiating, looking, considering, no problem. Accepted???

Consider this scenario -- you are at a Friday afternoon interview, your phone rings just as someone pokes their head in the door and asks if your interviewer can come give some urgent assistance. The interviewer tells you to take the call, he'll be back in a minute. A minute later he walks back in through the door and over hears you say "I accept your offer. I will resign effective today, and start work Monday morning."

Unless there is some special reason to want you, and nobody else, he's going to shake your hand, say congatulations and goodbye. Not continue the interview.

A recruiter, internal or external, is basically going to take the same approach -- they don't want you to quit THEIR position, before you take it, it makes them look bad.

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    +1--These hypothetical scenarios are a really good way to illustrate a point.
    – AffableAmbler
    Commented Jul 12, 2017 at 16:55
  • @enderland is there some norm or more in Indian culture that makes it more acceptable to break an employment contract prior to starting? I'd be interested in knowing this. :-)
    – AffableAmbler
    Commented Jul 12, 2017 at 22:55
  • Sorry @AffableAmbler, my comment wasn't clear, the OP being in India meant that the original wording meant the OP hadn't accepted the contract but merely had received an offer. After some back/forth in comments this was clarified.
    – enderland
    Commented Jul 12, 2017 at 22:56
  • @enderland: He is serving his notice period and has agreed to a salary, I'm not convinced that everyone will believe he hasn't made a commitment.
    – jmoreno
    Commented Jul 12, 2017 at 23:48
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I would like to understand what could be happening in my situation?

It is difficult to say. It could be just that you are not good fit for the position or it could be because they are not able to match/better your existing offer, even it works out.

Does the recruiting team not consider the person who is already having an offer?

There is no written rule but it is possible that they do not want to pursue on ethical basis. (They themselves would not want people who they send out official offer letters to start looking for another job!!)

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  • That's not a matter of ethics - it's a matter of money. It's absolutely fine to not accept the first offer but to take a better one.
    – gnasher729
    Commented Jul 14, 2017 at 7:46
  • Yes @gnasher729 it is fine to NOT accept an offer and take another. What is not fine (and what I thought is OP's situation) is to accept and offer, i.e. receive the offer letter from the company and then send an email to them that I accept and I will join from 4th Aug, and then start looking for a new job
    – PagMax
    Commented Jul 14, 2017 at 8:35
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Recruiting a person is a time consuming process. The recruiter gets (big) money for the one success, and loses money for all the candidates that don't get a job through him.

The closer you are to getting a job elsewhere, the less likely it is that they will make money by getting you a job, so obviously they are less interested. Normally you would start with several recruiters, each having the same chance initially, and then the first company makes an offer, and you wait a bit to get other offers. But starting a new application from scratch when you already have offers is not in the best interest of a recruiter - unless they have a company on hand that is looking for a candidate very urgently and you look like a good fit.

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