Your First Job Offer: Accept or Reject?Your First Job Offer: Accept or Reject? | | | 
What do you do when the first job offer you receive doesn’t turn out to be the “dream job” that you have in mind? Many new graduates spend a great deal of time in deciding if they should grab the opportunity that comes first, or wait for better job opportunities to come.
As neophytes trying to enter the professional world, fresh graduates are filled with great aspirations and far-reaching goals. Many of them already have ideas on where their career paths are headed to and what they really want to do in life. Most IT graduates may want to become software developers or network administrators, HRM graduates would want to work in five-star hotels and resorts right away, and Business graduates would want to make it big in the corporate world.
But sometimes, reality does not match expectations.
So while waiting for their dream job to come, some job offers that come first will be turned down, and they would spend months just staying at home or hanging out with friends. During this time of unemployment, they also have to deal with pressure from parents, friends, and their batch mates who may end up getting hired faster than them.
This is a scenario that many of us are familiar with; some of us might have experienced this first-hand. Job hunting may be incredibly frustrating sometimes. The good news is that there are ways to avoid it.
Before you submit your résumé to apply for a job, it is important to take time to fully understand the description of the job and to conduct good background research on the company that you are applying to. Make sure that the position fits your skills, abilities, personality, and career goals.
Likewise, when you receive your first job offer, it is important to carefully evaluate the offer so that you won’t regret your decision later on. While it is sometimes wiser to decline a job offer, keep in mind that the last thing you want is to end up not getting hired at all. Here are some things that you may think about when deciding whether to accept or decline your first job offer:
1.) The possible opportunities offered by the job may be worth the try.
Your first job offer may not turn out to be the job of your dreams, but you may also want to consider the skills you will develop while on the job, the company’s reputation, the compensation and benefits, the various people you will meet, and the experiences that may eventually help you land your dream job in the future.
2.) Consider your other options, or the lack thereof.
Do you have active job applications in other companies? It may help to list down all your active job applications with their pros and cons to give you a better perspective of your career options. Determine which factors are more important to you, and consider the level of probability that some of these companies may actually not call you back at all.
3.) It may be best to make a practical decision.
If you think your first job offer is not the right job for you, and your gut is telling you to turn it down, it may be a good idea to pay attention. However, you should also consider the time it would take before a new job offer comes to you. Can you afford to wait for a few more weeks, or months? Take note that it would take more interviews before you get another job offer, and some companies take longer to screen and process job applications.
It may seem easier to decline a job offer than it is to resign from a job that you have already accepted. But with the increasing number of new graduates competing for a limited number of job opportunities, job offers are becoming harder to come by. So give yourself some time to think things over very carefully, sort out your priorities, and carefully plan your strategy while you are still in the early stages of your career.
Whatever job offer you get, there will always be a better job out there. The time you’ll spend waiting and hoping for your dream job offer may also be used to learn what you can from the first job opportunity that comes to you. As the Rolling Stones song goes, “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find – you get what you need.”
Sources:
“Take the first offer or wait for my dream job?” by Cora Llamas
“How to Evaluate a Job Offer” by Alison Doyle
“Should I Take The First Job Offer?” by Matt Milano
“Deciding Whether or Not to Accept a Job Offer” from Dummies.com
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