Declined a job offer - Can I take it back?

[Tejas Prathamesh]

Hi All,

I was recently offered a job from a consulting company. The compensation was good and the location and type of work were not a problem either. However, I demanded a higher salary, which they refused and offered me some other incentives. I declined their offer. On retrospection, I feel that I have made a mistake. I now think that I should have given myself some more time and should have thought again before finalizing my decision.

I know that the opening still exists. What are the implications if I now go back to them, and agree to join with the same salary which they offered me earlier? (I know this sounds foolish and understand that this is definitely not the way one should start his/her new job. But still... )

Thank you all for reading this and appreciate your thoughts on this.

Regards,
Tejas

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Tejas,
The only way to know for sure is to ask them. I would be hesitant to hire someone who did that though. It shows the person thinks he is settling.

[Campbell Ritchie]

Try by all means. They might offer 80% of their original salary.

If you have managed to decline an offer, that's it. You are supposed to negotiate the package; when you had what appeared to be the best achievable, you turned it down. Case closed.

[Henry Wong]

Jeanne Boyarsky wrote: It shows the person thinks he is settling.

Agreed++. The first 3 months are critical. It is unlikely that a person will be very productive during this period. And the company will likely have to train too. So... the last thing anyone wants is hiring someone who is already looking to leave when something better comes along.

Henry

[Tejas Prathamesh]

Thank you Jeanne, Campbell and Henry for your responses.

I called them up today and managed to bag the job again! They haven't changed (reduced) their offer. A lucky escape and a very important lesson learnt - be extremely careful while making career decisions.

Regards,
Tejas

[arulk pillai]

Next time ask for more time if undecided than to decline the offer. Companies generally don't mind waiting for the right candidate. Congratulations.

[Tejas Prathamesh]

Thanks Arulk.

[Deepak Bala]

A very lucky escape indeed since your position was weakened. Congrats