How to Back Out of an Accepted Job Offer

Anonymous writes:

I accepted a job offer over the phone and now, a week later, I have decided that I do not want this position after all. I am supposed to start next Tuesday, a week from now. How do I go about declining this offer now?

The Career Doctor responds:

The most important rule is to tell the employer as soon as possible. Don’t fret over the change too much. Just as with buying an expensive product, we often experience cognitive dissonance — sometimes referred to as buyer’s remorse — where we will uneasy about whether we made the right choice. And if you feel that strongly about the job or the employer not being a good fit for you, then you need to unaccept the offer.

The fastest way, of course, is to simply call the person who made you the offer and tell him/her you had a change in heart and cannot now accept the offer. For cowards like me, I would write a polite letter (or email) to the hiring manager, expressing my appreciation in the job offer and in the confidence the company saw in me, thanking him/her personally for the time spent with me, and then informing him/her that I have to rescind my acceptance and decline the offer.

Whatever communications method you use, you want to be sure to express your appreciation and offer apologies for changing your mind. You can’t rebuild the lost trust — at least not in the short-term — but taking this approach you are also not completing blowing up the bridge.

Job-hunting is a small world and you just never know when someone from your past is going to resurface with a later opportunity. So, be gracious and be quick. The sooner you can let the employer know of your new decision, the better.

Finally, just be certain that declining the offer is what you really want to do — because once you reverse your decision you will not be able to go back and accept it again.

See our sample letter for rescinding an accepted job offer.