Why would an employer retract a verbal job offer?
April 18, 2009 by admin
Filed under Job Search
sad_discover asked:
I’m a pre-k teacher (NOT a daycare worker) and recently interviewed for a position. I was offered a job on the spot but was asked to think it over & call them back. I decided to accept the offer but because I would have my own child enrolled at the school I asked them to consider an increase given that I was only getting a 25% discount & because I would be working part-time I was going to almost break even. I called several times trying to get in touch with my interviewer & finally received a call back from her assistant saying they were not looking for part-time applicants at this time. WTF?!
I since interviewed for a different company & was offered a job. They, however, didn’t even offer a 25% discount. I wrote them a counter offer letter inquiring if they were willing to work something out between salary & tuition but that I did want the position. They wrote back with a lengthy explanation and retracted their previous verbal offer. Are they all just assholes or is it me?
To clarify, I am not seeking a part-time slot for my child. I am willing to pay the full-time rate minus some type of discount even though my child will only be there part-time.
Just to make another clarification… I’ve always been upfront and told these companies that I will require care for my child and asked what type of consideration can be given financially. They’ve always told me that will be taken into consideration but yet somehow it seems to ‘slip their minds’.
Best Answer:
I won’t make a judgment about either you or your potential employers. Both of you were looking out for your best interests. I will give you a possible reason behind what may have gone wrong with the two interviews and a suggestion on how to avoid it in the future.
Despite the assertion by many that you should negotiate during job interviews, I’ve found that this is not looked on too favorably in many cases. This type of interaction, from what I’ve seen, works better when a company comes looking for you, as opposed to you looking for them. Upper management seems to have more luck negotiating for a new position than those of us on the lower rungs.
That said, everyone has things they’re looking for in a job. I would suggest that you discuss your requirements while you are still in the face-to-face interview versus waiting until they make a job offer. This will give them an opportunity to weigh everything out and discuss options with you. You may find that they have different options that you would find agreeable.
My feeling is, that your potential employers thought they had a deal when they offered you the position. Then, when you asked for something in addition to what had been discussed, they felt that the deal had been broken. I’m guessing that the companies you interviewed with felt they didn’t have the time to try to hash out a deal, so they rescinded their offers.
If you lay out what you’re looking for up front, you may not get as many offers, but I’m guessing that you won’t have the offers you get pulled out from under you, either.