What to Do When Your First Job Offer Wasn’t Your First Choice

Job searches can be unpredictable – you can never be certain if your next offer will come tomorrow or in a matter of days, weeks, or more. This can make it tough to know what to do when an offer materializes without being exactly what you're hoping for. Should you take the job? Keep looking? Both? Read on for three things to consider when your first job offer isn't your first choice.

Job Appeal

Ask yourself: just how different is this offer from your ideal working situation? If you haven't already, make a list of attributes that your perfect job would have, including non-negotiable "must-haves" and also "nice-to-haves" about which you can be more flexible. How appealing is this particular job when compared to that ideal? How does it compare to other jobs and offers you've had in the past?

While most jobs probably aren't completely perfect in every way, this might give you an idea of just where this job falls on the spectrum between "missable" and "too good to pass up."

Urgency

How urgently do you need the income this job would provide?

If you're unemployed, need to leave your current job quickly, or need income right away, that could influence how patient you can be. If you do need to make a move right away or would rather not risk spending time without the income the job would provide, there's nothing wrong with accepting it and continuing to look for something better.

If possible, looking for a job while already employed can help you avoid this concern to begin with. The reduced urgency can help you make more well-reasoned decisions without desperation, and it may also translate into greater leverage in negotiations with the prospective employer, who will need to make a case for their offer being an improvement over your current position and may believe that already-employed candidates are easier to make a case for.

Whether you need work right away or not, consider the new opportunity in that light. Could it make a good platform from which to secure something better?

Opportunity Cost

Every opportunity also comes with an opportunity cost – the alternatives that you miss out on for accepting it. Depending on the situation, the value of these opportunities could be high or low. What’s the opportunity cost of accepting this offer?

Do you need to leave a job to take it? Is there something else you'd rather do while looking for a better job opportunity? Would taking this offer involve relocation, and is that a positive or negative? How long would you need to work at the new job before getting up to speed? Would taking the position (even if for a limited time frame) make it impossible to accept any other opportunities that could come your way? Would it make it easier or harder to find a better job you'd love?

Take these and any other opportunity cost factors relevant to you into account.

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