How common is this? What is considered acceptable vs unacceptabe? Anyone have a good story from either side of the table?
Wow. times have changed. our own ditchdigger is reneging on job offers. the economy has surely turned around AFers.
MBA q 
live from class
Seriously frowned upon in MBA programs. Firms will stop coming back if people reneg. You are screwing over your current classmates and future students. I’m sure it happens in the rela world. Not prudent though - you never want to burn bridges. Still, if i accept a job at $60K one day and get an offer for $120 the next, I’m renegging
So everyone has their price. Any candid or accepted way to reneg wo burning a bridge?
there’s no “reneging wo burning bridges” unless you become a CEO one day and own that place, but i’d kindly call the person who offered me the job, explain the situation, thank him/her and never look back.
if you accepted and now you are backing out then i think you have burned the bridge. if you have not accepted then its okay i guess.
Yea, it definitely burns the bridge and leaves a bad impression. However, some bridges in life don’t lead to nowhere and if you gotta burn em, so be it. I know a few people who have done this, some are successful because they made the right decision to renege, some are not.
I reneged once. I’d accepted a job, and when I told my current employer, I was unexpectedly countered for a better job and better $$. Def made the right decision although I didn’t make any friends. I was going through a headhunter and he was super POed, but must have got over it because he called me a couple of years later to follow up and see if I was still happy in my job (apparently he had some openings he thought I’d like, but I wasn’t interested).
I’ve had a job offer reneged by the firm. It was pretty devastating at the time given the firm’s reputation but I don’t think the role was really that great. There was confusion over my cum GPA and my major GPA. My major GPA was on my rez and was very good, while my cum GPA is less than impressive and I didn’t put it on my rez. I never lied or misled them about my grades but they have a firm policy on cum GPAs.
I personally would have no problem doing it if I was not in grad school. Your employer will lay you off as soon as times get tough. You gotta look out for number one. Would not do it in grad school, though. You will alienate the community – and screw over your buddies.
Aside from during MBA recruiting, I believe it is acceptable to renege in certain industries, including finance. If you’ve gotten a better opportunity and don’t think you’d ever care to work for the firm that made you the initial offer, then go ahead and do what’s best for yourself and don’t look back.
nolabird032 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I reneged once. I’d accepted a job, and when I > told my current employer, I was unexpectedly > countered for a better job and better $$. Def > made the right decision although I didn’t make any > friends. I was going through a headhunter and he > was super POed, but must have got over it because > he called me a couple of years later to follow up > and see if I was still happy in my job (apparently > he had some openings he thought I’d like, but I > wasn’t interested). I dont really view this as reneging. Thats part of the game. Every firm knows it. People shouldn’t really be upset if you accept a counter offer that is better than they can offer. Not saying people won’t be upset about it, but most senior people in this industry know thats how things work.
Agreed with FIAnalyst. If they are so upset about your considering a counter-offer, they should just pay you more.
buyicide Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I personally would have no problem doing it if I > was not in grad school. Your employer will lay > you off as soon as times get tough. You gotta > look out for number one. > > Would not do it in grad school, though. You will > alienate the community – and screw over your > buddies. +1 Business is eventually business
We had a guy at my company “renege”…sort of. He actually took the job, went to work there for 2 days I think, then came back to our company where he was only to be a short timer (corp was moving to another country)…got 10 months severance time, but certainly burned a bridge at the other company. However, I think they were also less than up front about certain conditions of his employment (and apparently, this happened with the person before him in the same role).
Ethically it could jeopardize your reputation in the industry especially if you’re in a senior position. For a junior/entry level position, although it may harm, it is of insignificant impact. At the end of the day, the best offers win, that is what auction is all about. That’s right, you could even auction yourself.
psn0706 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I’ve had a job offer reneged by the firm. It was > pretty devastating at the time given the firm’s > reputation but I don’t think the role was really > that great. There was confusion over my cum GPA > and my major GPA. My major GPA was on my rez and > was very good, while my cum GPA is less than > impressive and I didn’t put it on my rez. I never > lied or misled them about my grades but they have > a firm policy on cum GPAs. You had a lucky escape. What a pathetically rigid, bureaucratic mentality the firm has. They find a candidate they like and offer them a job and then renege due to a technicality that would have zero impact on your ability to do your job. Talk about not being able to see the wwoodd for the trees. The fact that you highlighted the firm’s ‘reputation’ suggests this is a BB too. Their loss.
I agree with Numi and FIAnalyst. One guiding principal to bear in mind, is that if the company found someone better for cheaper, they’d kick you to the curb and wouldn’t think twice.
I’ve reneged twice at two different stages of my career. The first time burned the bridge and the hiring managers only speak to me now at trade shows. The second time, turned it down and ended up in the exact same position a few years later after having been laid off. So it can really depend on the strength of relationships and professional reputation.