Negotiating Offer Timelines
Congratulations on receiving an offer! This guide provides tips and considerations for requesting more time when deciding whether to accept or decline an offer. If you would like to thoroughly discuss your offer at any time, please reach out to your career coach to discuss the details and develop a strategy to negotiate.
| ✓ DO’S | ✘ DONT’s |
|---|---|
REQUEST You want to ask for a possible extension, not demand it. | WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE Be proactive if you will need more time, but don’t ask for more time simply to see what else. |
LEAN ON THE POLICY You can mention the 2 week or October 15th policy, but be aware that a company does not HAVE to honor that. | ASK FOR MULTIPLE EXTENSIONS You want to request an extension once, doing so consistently looks poorly on you and is hard on the company. |
PRIORITIZE Know what offer/company/role is your top choice. This can help decide if an extension is really necessary. | ACCEPT AND RENEGE Once you accept an offer, you should not be continuing your searching or applications. Reneging should NEVER be your backup plan. |
BE PROFESSIONAL
You want all of your communications to not only illustrate a high level of professionalism but also that you are a team player and considering what is best for both the company and you.Ultimately, the hiring and decision timeline remains in control of the company or organization.
DON’T Demand: “As you know, the Feld Center has a policy of having all summer offers staying open until October 15th, I will make a formal decision by then”.
DO Request: “Thank you for the official offer for X! I’m extremely excited about the opportunity. In regard to the acceptance date, I was hoping for something more in line with the Feld suggested timeline of October 15th. Would this be something the team and company could be amenable to?”
BE REASONABLE
When asking for an extension, ask for a timeframe that is reasonable to the organization and your process. Asking for too much time can convey a disinterest in the role/company. You’re also making the hiring process more difficult for the company as they need to know whether they should continue recruiting efforts and/or revisit applications. Keep in mind, this can affect their relationship with the school.
Unreasonable: “I’m in the middle of midterms and then will have finals, would it be possible to extend this deadline from October 15th to January 1st?”
Reasonable: “I’m extremely interested in this opportunity and would like to thoroughly review the offer. I’m currently in the middle of mid-terms and was hoping to have an additional two weeks to go over everything. Would that be an acceptable timeline for a final decision or what might work better for the organization if two weeks isn’t feasible?”
CONSIDER THE OPTIONS
Asking for an extension typically only has two outcomes: Yes or No. Think about what your choices would be for each outcome. Be prepared to turn down an offer or accept it if they cannot grant an extension. Keep in mind that once you accept an offer, you should no longer continue your job search and/or remove yourself from any further interview processes with other companies. It is better to turn down an offer you genuinely aren’t interested in than to renege on the offer later. You should NEVER accept an offer as a contingency plan.
