John Deere Letter
A Boaltie asks, "how do you go about rejecting an offer?"
Answer: Call one of the attorneys you interviewed with, probably the one who gave you the offer or recruited you. Sometimes firms may inquire where you are going. Don't take this the wrong way, it's just one of the ways of gauging the legal market.
Answer: Call one of the attorneys you interviewed with, probably the one who gave you the offer or recruited you. Sometimes firms may inquire where you are going. Don't take this the wrong way, it's just one of the ways of gauging the legal market.
Labels: OCIP/Employment
posted by Armen Adzhemyan at 11:17 AM
12 Comments:
Yeah, I don't know about that. I just called up or e-mailed the recruiters and let them know. Nobody seemed to be offended or surprised or anything. I feel like the attorneys aren't exactly sitting on their hands waiting to hear from us. The only time I called an attorney directly to turn down an offer was if they had pointed reached out to me throughout the process. Otherwise the recruitment personnel tells everyone who needs to know and that saves me and the lawyer time.
Speaking of...
Post-call-back thank you notes - email or hard copy? to each attorney or to the recruiting coordinator (asking him/her to thank the others on your behalf)?
(I know the CDO says to send hard copy to each attorney, but that seems like overkill, like something that would have died out ten years ago, and like a total waste of postage. But hey, I may be wrong.)
Disco Stu wrote this a few years ago, it still applies:
Thank-you notes, that people say are important, are worthless. I received offers from just as many firms that I didn’t send thank you notes to as the ones I did. Save your time after an interview and relax.
Take it from a former hiring manager: Thank you notes have value for two reasons.
One, while no one is going to ding you because you didn't send one, there are those who might ding you because you didn't. If someone is on the fence about you, a well-written note can often put you over the top.
Two, thank you notes are valuable when they genuinely thank people. If you get an offer and take it, the people you thanked are your future superiors and colleagues. Sending them a note showing them you appreciate the time they have taken to meet with you is one of the first steps in what in some cases will be a long professional relationship. Why not start that relationship on a good note, and not with the person privately speculating whether you are unappreciative jerk?
If you look at notes not just as a means to get a job but as a genuine sentiment, they will be very valuable.
"...while no one is going to ding you because you didn't send one, there are those who might ding you because you didn't..."
?????
" . . . and not with the person privately speculating whether you are unappreciative jerk?"
?????
If you really want to send thank you notes I think email is fine. Most firms make a decision about you within a day or two, so your old-fashioned mail might not get there in time.
Send basically the same email to everyone, and make sure to (1) change the name of the person, and (2) add a sentence that was specific to your interview with that person, to make it more personal and less form letter.
AND SPELL CHECK!
4:32, you're a smart kid. Don't you think maybe the guy meant to write "no one is going to ding you because you did send one..."
On the jerk comment though, I'm with Patrick. Strange.
I would be curious to see which former/current hiring partners take the time to view this blog. Good thing all my negative comments are anonymous.
Did I just say that?
As a former hiring partner, my advice on declining an offer is that you can (1) send a nice email and/or call the Recruiting Coordinator if you didn't get courted by any in particular, or (2) if someone at the firm went out of their way to recruit you, you might call that person. Be upbeat. Praise the firm. Thank them for the process. If they ask why, have a short stock answer such as "it was the geography," "it was the subject matter of the xyz group," "it was about the firm size,"or something like that. Try not to sound critical or self-defensive.
John Steele
I just wanted to add that if you're declining a callback, probably go with (1). Approach (2) is better suited for declining after an offer that follows a callback.
John Steele
Dear (Firm),
Getting to know you over these last few weeks has been a pleasure. I've enjoyed every moment we spent together - the phone calls, the long lunches. You really are remarkable and I have a tremendous amount of respect for you. I hope this doesn't come as a shock to you, but I just don't see us together long-term. I'd like to say it's a result of your geographic location, but if I'm honest -- well, it's really your firm size.
I wish you all the best. I'm confident you'll find someone to take my place.
Fond regards,
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