How long can I keep a job offer before making a decision when applying to a solicitors firm for a legal job?
How long can you leave an offer of a legal job hanging on for?
Here's the scenario - you have one definite offer from a firm, and a couple of interviews elsewhere in the next few weeks. The first firm want an answer quickly - they are a bit edgy about the whole thing, and have pushed you to say yes or no.
How long can you leave it before you have to give them a positive answer one way or the other?
The answer is not simple, but usually we advise honesty in part - ie you tell the firm you have a couple of interviews elsewhere, and you are waiting for the outcome of these before making a decision. Always convey your decision to both parties - including the one you have decided not to accept, so that everyone knows where they stand. What you don't want to be doing is letting the agency hang on waiting for you to come back to them before giving any further information. We find some candidates think that if they ignore all messages left for them - whether telephone, email or in writing, eventually the firm will go away, and that is the end of that. However, what they often forget is that the firm they have done this to will come up during their career, and the lawyers will remember that candidate solely for the failure to give a decision...
Jonathan Fagan, MD of Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment - no.1 online legal recruitment agency - save time, skip the legal job boards and register with us! www.ten-percent.co.uk/register.htm
Here's the scenario - you have one definite offer from a firm, and a couple of interviews elsewhere in the next few weeks. The first firm want an answer quickly - they are a bit edgy about the whole thing, and have pushed you to say yes or no.
How long can you leave it before you have to give them a positive answer one way or the other?
The answer is not simple, but usually we advise honesty in part - ie you tell the firm you have a couple of interviews elsewhere, and you are waiting for the outcome of these before making a decision. Always convey your decision to both parties - including the one you have decided not to accept, so that everyone knows where they stand. What you don't want to be doing is letting the agency hang on waiting for you to come back to them before giving any further information. We find some candidates think that if they ignore all messages left for them - whether telephone, email or in writing, eventually the firm will go away, and that is the end of that. However, what they often forget is that the firm they have done this to will come up during their career, and the lawyers will remember that candidate solely for the failure to give a decision...
Jonathan Fagan, MD of Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment - no.1 online legal recruitment agency - save time, skip the legal job boards and register with us! www.ten-percent.co.uk/register.htm
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