
Ask HN: Can I decline a job offer already accepted? - gmen
I accepted a job offer from a US company X, and while waiting for them to send me the contract, I received a better offer from US company Y.<p>Now I would like to go with company Y, but I already accepted the offer from Company X (I did not sign anything, I accepted it via email).<p>Is it legal to decline the offer from company X after accepting it? 
Do I risk anything?
======
patio11
Totally legal. Your main risk is social opprobrium. There exists a social norm
that you not do this, and it may be considered unprofessional behavior by the
people attempting to hire you. People do talk, so I'd weigh the possibility of
burning those bridges over the relative certainty in the differences between
offer Y and offer X.

In my younger days, I would have flatly advised against it for mostly karmic
reasons, but having seen the general tenor of business relationships and how
many companies treat not-yet-signed employees, I am unable to muster any moral
outrage against an employee who terminates a negotiation despite that
negotiation appearing to be in late stages.

~~~
MarkMc
I have to disagree: It may be legal and in your self interest, but I don't
think you should reneg on your offer. You should treat others the way you want
to be treated, which means honouring the email agreement.

And if you do withdraw your offer to company x, don't complain if company y
withdraws its offer to you.

If you stick with company x then show them the job offer from company y at
your next salary review. It is great leverage in negotiating a higher salary.

~~~
barry-cotter
He's not dealing with pre Lou Gerstne IBM, or a Japanese keiretsu. He's
dealing with a company that has no loyalty. I appreciate that you may remember
a time when company loyalty wasn't the punchline of a joke but noon under 30,
probably noone under 40 did.

~~~
davelnewton
You don't know anything about the company and its "loyalty", you're guessing.
(Unless you're not, in which case, you should disclose that you have inside
information.)

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stevewilhelm
If it truly is a better job and you are clear and honest with company X they
will be disappointed but shouldn't begrudge you for taking the other offer.

But I wouldn't make a habit of declining offers after accepting. The US tech
community is smaller than you think and you wouldn't want get a reputation of
not being true to your word.

If it is just a better offer in terms of money or shares, you can tell company
X the details of company Y's deal. Company X might not be aware of current
going rate and may be willing to match company Y's offer.

~~~
codezero
Totally agree. As long as it's not just a "higher" offer, going with the
company you really think is better for you (both financially and technically),
is always the right move. Even if you accepted the offer, it's OK to rescind,
like Steve said above, just be honest and direct, yes it's awkward, but it's
definitely more awkward for you than the company that made you the offer. If
Company A was a really small company, be extra communicative as recruiting is
hard for small teams :)

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chatmasta
It's legal. Ignore the people here saying it's "bad karma." What does that
even mean? Presumably you'll be working for this company for a few years. You
should pick the one you like the most. It's your next couple years, not the
company's. They can always extend an offer to the next person in line.

That said, be careful, because there are extenuating circumstances. People do
talk, especially in the same industry and city. Still, I highly doubt hiring
manager at Y would reneg your offer if he heard from X that you chose Y over
X. If anything he'd be happy!

Also note that if you got this job through your school's career network
(alumni or otherwise), they may have policies in place that prohibit reneging
on offers, and blacklist you if you do. Even then, though, you didn't sign
anything.

I'm of the opinion that you should do what's best for yourself. This is your
life, and the job will affect its foreseeable future. Make whatever decision
you will regret the least in two years.

"If you can project yourself out to age 80 and sort of think, “What will I
think at that time?” it gets you away from some of the daily pieces of
confusion."

\- Jeff Bezos on deciding to leave Wall St to start Amazon [1]

[http://bijansabet.com/post/147533511/jeff-bezos-regret-
minim...](http://bijansabet.com/post/147533511/jeff-bezos-regret-minimization-
framework)

------
davismwfl
I am not a lawyer, but from what I know it is not illegal to accept an offer
and then decline it later before you have signed an agreement. For that
matter, from my knowledge nothing generally would stop you from "quitting" the
job on day 1, except you may create an upset employer.

You could simply go back and say something like:

"Hi Company X, as I am sure you realize I applied to multiple openings when
looking to take my next position. And while I have been waiting to receive the
contract from you I was contacted by another firm that showed interest and
already received the contract from them. I greatly respect your time and
efforts, but I feel this other offer is a better fit at this time for me. This
has no reflection on your firm or offer, but I feel I might be a better fit
with them, and I hope you understand. I hope we can work together in the
future, thank you for all your hospitality"

I do think you have to be 100% up front about what you are doing, but
companies get it, and this is a competitive market. You may burn a bridge here
though at least with this company, so just be aware of that. In the end
though, if you make it more about yourself and are up front, you likely won't
create any major issues.

Just my 2 cents.

~~~
chatmasta
This is the best advice in the thread. Straight-forward honesty is often the
best move in situations where you (think you) might be hurting
(inconveniencing) someone. If you're worried about saying this, consider the
fact that it means _way_ less to your hiring manager that you spend the next
two years at his/her company, than it does to you.

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adventured
It's completely legal to decline offer X, and instead take offer Y.

If you're certain it's the best opportunity, do not hesitate to take offer Y.

However, also, be honest with company X about what happened. You don't owe
them a huge explanation, these things happen all the time. Simply let them
know that while waiting for the contract, you received a better offer and have
decided to take it. Company X may even upgrade their offer to you as a
counter.

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ssharp
If you haven't signed any binding contract, you aren't under any legal
obligation.

Early on in my career, around a decade ago, I gave a wishy-washy acceptance
that I backed out of a couple of days later. I felt bad doing it, but the more
I looked at the company, the less I wanted to work there. I still regret the
way I handled the situation but don't regret the ultimate decision.

------
arisAlexis
sure it's bad karma but just be flat out frank with them, apologize, forget
about it, have a nice new life with Y.

US and especially silicon valley is very clear about the rules of the game,
and the rules is that there are no bad moves only illegal ones.

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hiring_sucks
I've done it.

Under the terms that were given to me by company Y, I simply could not accept
it. So I accepted the offer from Company X over the phone and they were to
send me the paper work.

When I called Company Y to let the know, they changed the offer to be more
favorable towards me after initially accepting the rejection. The terms were
significantly better than Company X.

I told Company X about the new situation, and gave them a day to decide what
they would want to do. They decided not to match the offer from Company Y.

I think company's understand that the talent pool in tech. is highly sought
after and sometimes they win and sometimes they lose.

After all, this is business, right?

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MeHighLow
It is certainly not an illegal move and you shouldn't really be burning any
bridges. Surely they will also have backup candidates they can call in case an
offer to you falls through.

However, if you had signed the contract with company X, then got a better
offer from company Y and you decide to leave, then you might have burnt some
bridges.

Best policy is to be be honest and tell them what's up. They should understand
you're trying to maximize your opportunities

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zhte415
Appreciate the connection and chance X is giving. By phrasing the question in
a very position based nature (legality, contract, risk) I'm worried you may be
framing out and sacrifice the relationships or interests with X. Seek
agreement this is a good opportunity, but you appreciate the opportunity with
X. Don't make it sound superficial. The short term cards are in your hands,
longer term you may well meet again people from Y.

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JoeAltmaier
You have no problem. Many states are at-will employment, which means you can
leave for any reason or no reason. If they have not paid you anything, then
you own them nothing - employment is about the money, and until money changes
hands, there's no obligation.

This is an extremely common occurrence. Folks take jobs all the time and never
show up. My old boss at Intermec complained that 1/3 or more of the people he
'hired' never showed.

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jenkstom
Most companies have a "probation" period for the first 30-90 days. The idea is
that if it isn't working for the company or the worker, they can end the
relationship without drama. You're just doing it even earlier than that. It
will cost them less for you to drop out at this point than after you have
actually gone through the process of being hired.

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mattwritescode
You are allowed to change your mind just make sure you are doing it for
yourself and not looking through recruiters tinted glasses.

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gjvc
"If you tell the truth, you never have to remember anything." \-- Mark Twain

Don't sweat it.

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marylu
hello,i am a new comer

~~~
loumf
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