Articles From the Team
What do I tell my recruiter if I’ve changed my mind after accepting a job offer?
In an ideal world, your job search should go a bit like this…
You decide you want to leave your job. You attend an interview for another job and you quite like it. They like you and they offer you the role; you accept and everyone lives happily ever after. A great situation, right? Maybe, if we’re talking about ‘people’ in video games and The Sims…
What happens when you introduce real people to this scenario? People with the ability to make decisions and change their mind?
We’ve all been there! We’ve all had regrets in life about decisions made and it’s no different in your job search. Things change quickly and some element of what seemed like the right decision at one time might be no longer.
Pick up the phone
If you’ve secured the role through a recruitment consultant, then give them a call to discuss what’s changed in detail. Contrary to popular belief, recruitment consultants need to sleep at night, so ‘that call’ to inform them you’re reneging on an accepted offer isn’t seen as an opportunity to turn on the sales pitch and try and change your mind!
Be honest
Be open and transparent. Don’t do this via email as it might come across as avoidance, which isn't a good look in terms of professionalism and might impact a recruiter’s desire to work with you in the future. If you’re happy with your decision, you should have the confidence to tell a recruiter in detail (over the phone).
When you register with a recruitment agency to aid you in your job search, you’ve effectively commenced a professional relationship. On this basis, if a recruitment consultant calls you, definitely don’t ignore them!
Consider how you frame the ‘rejection’
In summary, of course, it's OK to change your mind after accepting a job offer. Life isn’t black and white and you’re responsible for making the right decisions for you, not anyone else. What’s not OK is if it's dealt with in a non-professional manner. You must consider how you’re going to handle the situation of letting people down and frame the ‘rejection’ in the right way.