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[Icky Thump]

Originally Posted by Atticus Grinch

Question: Is it fair play for a prospective employer to tell a candidate who is evaluating other offers “don’t accept any offers until you talk to me”, and then not extend any offer at all?

Imagine that the candidate in question was a finalist for two positions, neither of which is perfect, and with uncertain terms for compensation among other things. Employer #1 tells Candidate to hold off on accepting any offers from Employer #2 until he gets a chance to counter. Candidate gets pressure from Employer #2 to accept the offer, but agrees to wait because Employer #1 is still selecting. On the drop-dead Friday that Candidate gives for an offer, she waits until 3:00 pm without a call, so she sends an e-mail saying she will go with Employer #2. Employer #1 responds with an e-mail saying that he regrets he is unable to make an offer. This leads me to conclude Employer #1 was just trying to keep a fish on the line as long as possible, but doing so by implying that an offer of some kind was forthcoming. Which is surprising, since an answer that “Sorry you felt you had to take the other offer but we're still evaluating; we’re sorry we couldn’t meet the timeline but we understand” would have also been an acceptable answer (and seems safer from an EPL standpoint, FWIW). Only giving a “no” answer at that stage makes it seem like the answer was already no, making the “don’t accept elsewhere before talking to me” seem weird, unless it’s now something employers say just to string people along.

(I’m not asking because I’m on the market; this relates to a someone I’m advising. I’m mostly curious whether people on the demand side of the labor equation think this is fair play.)

Dick move. Correct response to a "don't accept an offer" BS is "I am sorry, but when I make a decision it will be final. If you have a concern you need to give me your best offer now."