When you decline a job offer politely, it indicates a high level of business etiquette. But what remains as a big question is – “How to Decline a Job Offer politely?”
When you do it with grace and politeness it doesn’t leave a bitter aftertaste with a would-be employer. Nor would you have much to regret about it by doing so politely.
So how to decline a job offer politely? Continue reading. Because I’ll be providing you with some valuable tips and ideas on this topic.
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How to Decline a Job Offer Politely – Why this Question Arises?
As I mentioned earlier, there are countless reasons why you could turn down a job offer. Here I will discuss some of the most common ones that I often come across in my role as a Human Resources Manager.
- How to Decline a Job Offer Due to Low Pay and Perks
If the pay and perks that a new employer is offering are lower than what you presently get from the current employer, it’s natural that you would decline a job offer.
Nobody wants to settle for a lower salary and perks unless there’s a very strong reason to go for such jobs. It also happens to be the most common reason why people turn down job offers.
Here, the fault lies entirely with you. That’s because you didn’t negotiate your salary and perks at the interview or on another occasion. Instead, you might have asked for pay “as per company scales” or something like that.
In such cases, the employer makes a job offer that goes in line with their overall pay scales and budget. Less pay and perks the your present job are indeed a reason for turning down a job offer.
How to Decline a Job Offer in this case? Politely express your gratitude for the opportunity but state that the offered salary and benefits do not align with your financial needs. You can also mention that you would be happy to consider any revised offer in the future.
- How to Decline a Job Offer After a Poor Interview Performance
Poor performance at the job interview might also be one of the reasons for an employer offering you lower pay and perks than what you’re currently getting.
Here too, it’s worth examining your performance to find what went wrong. The main reason is usually our inability to project our skills and work experience properly.
The very fact that an employer has made a job offer is a clear indication that they’re interested in hiring you. So what went wrong? Sometimes, we send feelers that we’re too eager to get that job and neglect the salary aspect while forgetting to bargain for the pay and perks altogether.
It is always smart to negotiate for your salary when you think you have relevant qualifications for the position. And when the offer letter arrives, it’s not exactly what you expect. In such cases, declining a job offer politely is the best decision you can make.
How to Decline a Job Offer in this case? You can acknowledge the employer’s interest but mention that you have decided to continue your job search for an opportunity that better matches your skill level and professional expectations.
- How to Decline a Job Offer When Using it for Salary Negotiation (Saber Rattling)
By saber rattling, I mean that you’ve gone for an interview and got an offer. You intend to use this offer to negotiate for higher pay and perks with your present employer. And it is given.
This is a wrong practice by any yardstick. I suggest that no employee should ever engage in saber-rattling by appearing for an interview for jobs they don’t wish to take while intending to use the offer letter as a bargaining chip or pawn.
Unfortunately, thousands of employees indulge in this unacceptable practice every month. In such cases, you might have to turn down another job offer.
And if that’s your case, then by all means you must know how to decline a job offer politely. At least you would have left the doors open to join that prospective employer at a later date if the situation arises.
How to Decline a Job Offer in this case? Be professional and avoid mentioning your current employer. Simply express your gratitude and state that after careful consideration, you have decided to stay in your present role.
- How to Decline a Job Offer Due to Harsh Terms & Conditions
The pay and perks on the offer letter are superb and just as you wish. However, the terms and conditions of work are rather harsh. And you find that you’ll land from the proverbial frying pan into the fire if you take the new job.
Such harsh terms and conditions could be multitasking despite not having skills, excessive domestic or foreign travel, long notice periods, and various kinds of clauses that would render working there very difficult and leaving the job even harder.
In such cases, the employer is at fault. They’ve to make an offer that conforms to the Department of Labor laws without any ambiguity.
Some employers however flout these rules in a roundabout manner to avoid penalties under the law for harsh terms and conditions. After all, they have experts to draft your offer letter. In matters like these questions like how to reject an offer letter should not stop you from turning down a job offer.
In such cases, I would recommend you turn down the job offer politely, though the employer is purely at fault.
How to Decline a Job Offer in this case? Politely inform the employer that while you appreciate the offer, the job's conditions are not the right fit for your professional goals. You can thank them for their time and consideration.
- 5. How to Decline a Job Offer Due to Relocation Issues
And finally, the inability to relocate to a new city or foreign land is also one of the main reasons why people turn down job offers. If you find yourself in such a position, inform the would-be employer politely.
That’s because you would have known that the new job involves relocation. Yet you made efforts to attend the interview and fared well.
That’s the reason an employer selected you out of a few candidates for the job. Now you’ll be disappointing the employer with your refusal to join. Here the thought comes into play “How to decline a job offer politely?”.
Often, people are unable to relocate for various reasons. Sometimes it could mean shifting the whole family to a new place, admitting kids to a new school, and moving away from relatives and friends.
This can be very inconvenient for most people. Even if the terms and conditions are superb, you might simply not wish to leave your current location.
Therefore, it’s best to stick with the present employer while turning down a job offer gracefully and politely. There’s nothing wrong in such cases. Because, as humans, you have every right to select where to stay and with whom to work.
How to Decline a Job Offer in this case? Mention that relocation is not feasible for you at this time. Express appreciation for the opportunity and request to stay in touch for any remote or local opportunities in the future.
- How to Decline a Job Offer Due to a Poor Company Reputation
Let’s consider that you’ve just found that your new employer has a poor reputation in the market for many reasons.
Of course, you would wish to safeguard your interests in such cases. Therefore, the best thing is to turn down a job offer given by such an employer politely.
Remember, there’s no point in working with an employer known to violate labor laws, has high attrition or staff turnover rates and the workplace is full of discontented employees as a result you really need to know how to decline a job offer politely.
You’ll be harming yourself by joining such an organization. Hence, decline the job offer but do so calmly and with due etiquette so as not to hurt anyone.
How to Decline a Job Offer in this case? Avoid giving negative feedback about the company. Instead, simply state that you have decided to pursue other opportunities better aligned with your career goals.
5 Tips on How to Decline a Job Offer Politely
Now let’s come to the big question: How to turn down a job offer politely or gracefully?
As I mentioned earlier, there could be countless reasons for you to turn down a job offer. However, I always suggest people turn down a job offer politely for one main reason.
An employer would have spent some amount of money on your recruitment process. Usually, this runs up to $4,000 per employee.
The cost includes everything from advertising a vacancy on job boards, shortlisting Resumes, and inviting you for an interview.
These costs occur in the form of paying job boards and man-hours spent by the organization. And when you turn down a job offer, you’re wasting the company’s money.
Therefore, it’s best to turn down a job offer politely. And here’s how to do it.
1. Address Your Letter to the Right Person
Always address your letter turning down the job offer to the right person. This means the person whose signature and name appear on the offer letter has a professional way of writing on how to decline a job offer
Write the name in full followed by the designation and name of the company with full address. Use this pattern even if you’re sending an email to the person.
And if you don’t have their email ID, you could use the general one of the company. In such cases, write the subject as “For Attention of Ms./ Mr.” This ensures it will reach the right person’s desk.
And if you’re sending a letter by mail, follow the same format as for email. I suggest that people should send both, an email and a letter by mail for that personal touch.
How to Decline a Job Offer in this case? Use the hiring manager’s full name and designation to ensure your email or letter reaches the right person.
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2. Subject Line
You might believe that writing a simple subject line such as “Turning down Job Offer” or “Inability to Join Your Services” is adequate. No, it’s not. And get this very clear. Because such words sound impolite and terse.
Instead, use words such as: “Sincere Regrets for Inability to Join Your Services from (date) at (designation). This sounds more courteous and is accurate.
Because the person who’s signed your offer letter might not be able to recall which post or role you were selected for. This happens commonly when a business is hiring for multiple vacancies at the same time.
Therefore, when you mention the designation and date, the manager in charge is immediately able to refer to your application letter and interview documents to take the necessary action.
It also enables them to make an offer to another job seeker whom they would have called for an interview.
How to Decline a Job Offer in this case? A well-worded subject line ensures professionalism and maintains a positive relationship with the employer.
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3. The All-Important Body of the Letter
The body of the letter, meaning what words you use to turn down a job offer politely is the most important. And it is the most difficult to write as well. Therefore, follow these simple tips that I suggest.
Never mention the real reason for turning down a job offer if you were merely saber rattling, the prospective employer offers harsh working conditions or has a poor reputation in the market for any reason.
In such cases, you can simply say that you’re unable to join because of prior commitments. And by doing so, you’ll not be lying. That’s because your prior commitments are with your existing employer. If you’re jobless and turning down the offer, you can write this as well.
However, writing the body text assumes a newer meaning when you’re turning down a job offer because you fared poorly at the interview, and the salary and perks the offer letter mentions are lower than your expectations.
In such cases, you can put across that very clearly and politely. For example, you could say clearly that the salary and perks on offer would entail drastic changes in your family and your lifestyle.
You could also say in a very apologetic manner that such changes aren’t possible. At the same time, leave the doors open for re-negotiations for salary and perks. Often, an employer can reconsider the pay they were offering if you put it across clearly.
I always point out that the very fact that you were at an interview shows that an employer is interested in your services. And if they truly want you, they will invite you or call you to negotiate a larger salary with better perks. You can opt for them if it suits your needs.
How to Decline a Job Offer in this case? Keep your explanation simple and to the point while expressing gratitude for the opportunity.
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4. End by Showing Regrets
Always end your email or letter by saying that you regret you cannot take the offer. Whatever the body of your letter or email turning down a job offer contains, always express regret.
As I said earlier, the organization has spent some money on your hiring process. Hence, expressing regrets is one way to turn down a job offer politely. At the same time, also apologize for any inconvenience that your inability to take the job.
The would-be employer deserves your apology because they had to spend in terms of the hiring process both in cash and in terms of manpower for the interview and sending the offer letter.
How to Decline a Job Offer in this case? Apologize for any inconvenience caused and acknowledge the effort the company put into the hiring process.
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5. Leave Doors Open
As an HR professional, I always emphasize leaving doors open with any employer. That’s because you might have to work for them at some point in time. An organization consists of humans.
And all humans are prone to bad decisions. Therefore, the management of an organization could change which could lead to better working conditions and a healthier reputation in the market.
Therefore, leaving doors open ensures you can apply again for another or the same position at the organization. And that’s possible only when you reject a job offer gracefully.
Who knows, you might also be the person who could drive the change in that business at some point in time at a later date.
You might have got an idea by now for your doubt on how to turn down a job offer politely and why you should do it gracefully. Declining a job offer might sound simple but it has a lot of reasons attached to it.
How to Decline a Job Offer in this case? End on a positive note, thanking the employer and expressing your interest in staying in touch for future opportunities.
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Final Thoughts on How to Decline a Job Offer
There are no hard and fast rules on how to decline a job offer, but handling it with professionalism ensures you maintain a positive reputation in your industry. Some people simply don’t send a letter or email rejecting an offer, but this is not advisable.
Studies indicate that women usually send a letter or email or both to turn down a job offer while men tend to take it easy and just call up the would-be employer.
Merely calling the phone and speaking to the person at that organization to turn down a job offer is impolite and speaks ill of your business etiquette. Therefore, the best thing to do is send both, an email and a letter by mail.
This will not only leave doors open for other opportunities with the same employer but also give a good impression of your business etiquette and professionalism.
Sometimes during our careers, we may have to turn down a job offer. This could be for any reason. However, if you come across a situation where you’ve to turn down a job offer, the best way to do so is politely.
By following these best practices on how to decline a job offer, you maintain professionalism, keep future opportunities open, and leave a positive impression on the employer.
Ashwin (Win) Honawar is an accomplished journalist and poignant author with 33 years of experience. He is renowned for his daredevil journalism and engaging narratives that explore various facts of human life and the resilience of the human spirit.
