Can i say yes to a job, then say no the next day?

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Hey guys, im a new grad as of may

Been looking for jobs for a month and a half, applied at all the major hospitals in the area, VA's, and LTC's.

Im wanting a hospital job, but that not happening at this time, however i had two interviews at different LTC's centers. Not my favorite place to work but ill take it for now.

The first place i applied just called me back this morning and offered me a job, which is great and all, and i said yes ill take it because its just tough to find a job.

Now the question i have is the other LTC interviewed at im guessin will call me back and offer me a position also, now i mean theres no guarantees they will, and that why i said yes to the first one. i like the 2nd place better, and its only half the drive of the other one.

Ive been scheduled for fingerprinting and physical next week, and orientation starts Wednesday. If i get this other job soon, can i call them back and say hey thanks for offering me the job, there is another one that works better for me? Will i get in trouble?

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You may be shooting yourself in the foot should you ever need to go back to that place for work, or if the person offering you the job remembers you should you meet again, but that risk is up to you. Not to mention that the second place may not give you an offer, or it might go bad immediately.

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You may be shooting yourself in the foot should you ever need to go back to that place for work, or if the person offering you the job remembers you should you meet again, but that risk is up to you. Not to mention that the second place may not give you an offer, or it might go bad immediately.

Do you think it would help i try and explain to HR my situation, or do you think they would revoke my original offer if i told them i would like to switch to a different LTC if they call me here in the next few days?

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If you tell them you are considering another employer, you will probably be told to go with the other employer, but in a nice way. The first employer needs somebody who will honor a commitment and be ready to start work soon, not when, or if they feel like it. It would be better for you to say nothing now; if you accept a second job offer, then resign from the first job. This happens all the time and the employers expect this sort of thing. What they would not care for, is the stringing along type of behavior. They assume when you go to work for them, that you want to work there.

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If you haven't signed a contract with that hospital, then I don't see why it would be a problem saying no the next day to that offer. I know that it is hard to decide on a job offer when you are still waiting for others to call. This happend to me, I decided to take my first job offer because I wasn't 100% sure that others would call.Eventuall they called, but I was okay with my decision. What you might also do is to ask the hospital to postpone the starting date, that way you can wait to hear from other hospitals. Good luck :)

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Do you think it would help i try and explain to HR my situation, or do you think they would revoke my original offer if i told them i would like to switch to a different LTC if they call me here in the next few days?

I wouldn't say that.Employers don't want to hear that.

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Thanks for all the help, hopefully the second employer will call me back soon, and i can go from there i think it depends on how quick they call me back... if they even offer me one that is :)

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If you choose to accept the second offer, PLEASE, for the love of all that is good and holy, offer the first employer two weeks notice. They likely won't take you up on it, because it's silly to keep you in orientation for two weeks to not use you, but offer them the courtesy. It's far more professional to do that than to leave them high and dry. Then, if you would ever need them, you'll have a good track record with them in the future.

Explain to the second LTC that you'd prefer to work with them but that you'd already accepted a position (they'll understand in this lousy market) and you'd like to extend the other facility the courtesy of two weeks. Tell them you'll happily get back to them with your available-on date as soon as you've talked to facility #1.

Voila. Professional across the board, and you're happy.

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Specializes in multispecialty ICU, SICU including CV.

This probably goes without saying, but hindsight is 20/20. If you have offers on the table and are still waiting to hear from others, it's usually not the best idea to accept an offer you might not want. You should have tried to hold them off a little and asked when they needed a final decision by to buy you some time for the other facility to get back to you with an offer.

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If timing works and you hear from the second employer with an offer before you start your fingerprinting and orientation at the first place, there is nothing wrong with calling the first place to rescind your acceptance. The best way to do it would be to politely share with them that while you originally accepted the offer of employment, your situation has changed and you will not be able to fulfill your obligations.

They may ask you why, and what you tell them is up to you. Most employers recognize that job hunters have applied for more than just their job and these things happen. You may not be considered in the future for a job at that employer, but that is a risk you take.

I worked in HR for 10 years before returning to school for Nursing. I believe that you have to do what's best for you in the most professional manner possible and if an employer doesn't understand that, then maybe you don't want to work there. AS long as you don't do it frequently and get a reputation for being a "job hopper" you should be ok.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

If the 2nd job offer comes quickly -- it would be far better to decline the offer of the first place before they have invested much in you. Do so as quickly as possible to give them a chance to find a replacement as soon as possible.

Do NOT give them a big explanation. Simply say that your situation has changed and you have decided to decline their offer at this time. If pressed, you might say that another possibility has opened up that you were not expecting. Do not tell them that you "played them" in any way, accepting their offer when you knew you were going to back out if the other thing came through. That's insulting to them and they will take offense.

The worst thing you can do to the first place is to start the job and then resign. That wastes their resources (employee physical costs, orientation costs, etc.) and they will be angry about that. It will give you a bad reputation. If you're going to quit, let them know ASAP so that they don't waste resources on you.

Did you tell the 2nd place that you needed an answer quickly because of another job offer? Telling them that they are your first choice, but that you don't want to string the other place along, doesn't make you look bad in their eyes. If you say it right, it can make you look like an honorable person who is trying to do the right thing -- the type of employee they want to hire.

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Specializes in Psych.
This probably goes without saying, but hindsight is 20/20. If you have offers on the table and are still waiting to hear from others, it's usually not the best idea to accept an offer you might not want. You should have tried to hold them off a little and asked when they needed a final decision by to buy you some time for the other facility to get back to you with an offer.

Please really 'hear' what this poster wrote and learn from your mistake. It's about being respectful. An employer had a need they were trying to fill and offered you an opportunity to satisfy a need you had to fill. You definitely don't ditch them by saying 'this other thing works better for me'. :uhoh3: Keep in mind that you may now have created extra work and expense for them by flaking on them (they may have turned away their second choice, may now have to re-advertise, etc.) Use this situation you've created to sharpen your business etiquette skills and figure out how you can exit out of this as graciously as possible.

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