Already accepted an offer. HELP! Forum

[Anonymous User]

I already accepted an offer for 1L summer that I am happy with - BUT I just got an offer for a highly competitive federal internship. I am getting mixed feedback from people on whether or not I am allowed to back out on the acceptance. My gut tells me that I should not, but my fears about OCIP/the economy are telling me that the Honors Internship will boost my resume for the fall. I really don't know what to do. The second offer is close to my family and more in line with business law, which is what I want to do after graduation.

Help!

[voice of reason]

They offered, you accepted; the deal is done. It's not right to back out now.

20/20 for next time something like this happens: when you got the offer, you should have called the internship agency, told them you had an offer, and asked them to expedite their decision.

Just be happy with your offer. If you won the highly competitive internship, you'll get other opportunities in the future.

[Anonymous User]

They offered, you accepted; the deal is done. It's not right to back out now.

20/20 for next time something like this happens: when you got the offer, you should have called the internship agency, told them you had an offer, and asked them to expedite their decision.

Just be happy with your offer. If you won the highly competitive internship, you'll get other opportunities in the future.

Thanks. I did follow up with them - and got no response for several weeks. I mean, not even an email to say they acknowledged my follow-up. You're right. I am just panicked that it would have made me a better candidate for firms in the fall, since my current internship isn't business related.

[edgarderby]

They offered, you accepted; the deal is done. It's not right to back out now.

20/20 for next time something like this happens: when you got the offer, you should have called the internship agency, told them you had an offer, and asked them to expedite their decision.

Just be happy with your offer. If you won the highly competitive internship, you'll get other opportunities in the future.

This is advice is good for everyone that isn't OP, and bad for OP.

[Renzo]

They offered, you accepted; the deal is done. It's not right to back out now.

20/20 for next time something like this happens: when you got the offer, you should have called the internship agency, told them you had an offer, and asked them to expedite their decision.

Just be happy with your offer. If you won the highly competitive internship, you'll get other opportunities in the future.

This is advice is good for everyone that isn't OP, and bad for OP.

Right. Just like doing the ethical thing as always good in the abstract and never good when it comes to you specifically.

[edgarderby]

They offered, you accepted; the deal is done. It's not right to back out now.

20/20 for next time something like this happens: when you got the offer, you should have called the internship agency, told them you had an offer, and asked them to expedite their decision.

Just be happy with your offer. If you won the highly competitive internship, you'll get other opportunities in the future.

This is advice is good for everyone that isn't OP, and bad for OP.

Right. Just like doing the ethical thing as always good in the abstract and never good when it comes to you specifically.

Depends on whose ethics. Actually, even under a "common good" analysis, OP should take the job he wants the most. The employer isn't going to care as much as the OP is going to be happier. And then someone else will get his other job, so there is no net loss of happiness.

I don't see the downside here. Unless when you change your mind, you use racial slurs targeted at original offeror.

[Anonymous User]

I tend to agree with edgar over here, I think you can be honest and say you were very interested in the position but another opportunity has come up and you would hope to be considered again when you apply next year. I suppose the same thing could be said with the other group, if they want you once they may want you again, but if you think this new place could get you ahead, don't jeopardize it by 'being nice'. I would call them not email them though, sound more genuine and gauge their response, see if they're the type to hate you and get you blacklisted all over town or something..

[rando]

Your 1L employment really won't matter that much in 2L OCI. Just have something interesting to talk about and back it up with good grades

[Fark-o-vision]

0L, so I have no experience that counts for anything, but I have had some experience applying in an industry that is not only highly competitive, but also very prestige based. The general rule in that industry seems to be that as long as you do things in a timely manner you aren't going to burn any bridges. Just be honest. Let them know that you're honored they picked you, but that an opportunity more in line with your current career goals came up. As long you let people know early, they don't seem to mind. If you were two weeks into your program, then it might be a bad call.

Take all that with a grain of salt, because I have no experience with the legal profession. Still, I don't see why it would be all that different. If this is a summer gig then they have plenty of time to offer it to someone else.

[Anonymous User]

I tend to agree with edgar over here, I think you can be honest and say you were very interested in the position but another opportunity has come up and you would hope to be considered again when you apply next year. I suppose the same thing could be said with the other group, if they want you once they may want you again, but if you think this new place could get you ahead, don't jeopardize it by 'being nice'. I would call them not email them though, sound more genuine and gauge their response, see if they're the type to hate you and get you blacklisted all over town or something..

I'm going to push your grandma down the stairs.

Anonymous posts are fun.

[Renzo]

They offered, you accepted; the deal is done. It's not right to back out now.

20/20 for next time something like this happens: when you got the offer, you should have called the internship agency, told them you had an offer, and asked them to expedite their decision.

Just be happy with your offer. If you won the highly competitive internship, you'll get other opportunities in the future.

This is advice is good for everyone that isn't OP, and bad for OP.

Right. Just like doing the ethical thing as always good in the abstract and never good when it comes to you specifically.

Depends on whose ethics. Actually, even under a "common good" analysis, OP should take the job he wants the most. The employer isn't going to care as much as the OP is going to be happier. And then someone else will get his other job, so there is no net loss of happiness.

I don't see the downside here. Unless when you change your mind, you use racial slurs targeted at original offeror.

So you would see nothing wrong with the employer calling up the OP and saying, "yeah, we know we told you that you had the job, but we found someone we like better, so good luck to you."

[gossipgirl]

This is advice is good for everyone that isn't OP, and bad for OP.

Right. Just like doing the ethical thing as always good in the abstract and never good when it comes to you specifically.

Depends on whose ethics. Actually, even under a "common good" analysis, OP should take the job he wants the most. The employer isn't going to care as much as the OP is going to be happier. And then someone else will get his other job, so there is no net loss of happiness.

I don't see the downside here. Unless when you change your mind, you use racial slurs targeted at original offeror.

So you would see nothing wrong with the employer calling up the OP and saying, "yeah, we know we told you that you had the job, but we found someone we like better, so good luck to you."

This happens in both finance and consulting, albeit not because they found someone else but because 2 weeks before you start, they realize that their financial situation means that they cannot bring you in. I have known several friends that declined offers only to have the one that accepted take away the offer literally a week or two before they were supposed to begin.

If the OP or anyone feels more secure with another offer than the one that they accepted, I don't see why they shouldn't take it. Employers won't think twice to revoke your offer.

[Anonymous Loser]

I stopped reading at "net loss of happiness."

As this all boils down to a line on the resume and perhaps ~3 minutes of conversation during an interview this fall, why not simply stick with the job you have, which sounds as it will give you practical experience that is more in line with your future goals, and find some tactful way to indicate that you were selected for this "Honors Internship," whatever that might be.

[kn6542]

I would call them not email them though, sound more genuine and gauge their response, see if they're the type to hate you and get you blacklisted all over town or something..

You likely wouldn't be able to actually gauge that at all.

[Posner]

.

[underdawg]

don't retract

yes, employers sometimes revoke job offers. while what is good for the goose is good for the gander, in this case, the gander can kick the goose's ass...or is it the other way around...wtf is a gander anyway?

never mind. in any case, 1L job is not hugely important, and wouldn't it be nice to just take the job you accepted and not have to worry about any future backlash that might or might not come?

[Posner]

.

[Renzo]

This happens in both finance and consulting, albeit not because they found someone else but because 2 weeks before you start, they realize that their financial situation means that they cannot bring you in. I have known several friends that declined offers only to have the one that accepted take away the offer literally a week or two before they were supposed to begin.

If the OP or anyone feels more secure with another offer than the one that they accepted, I don't see why they shouldn't take it. Employers won't think twice to revoke your offer.

I never said it doesn't happen. My point is that if this happened to you, would you ever consider working for that same company? Would you recommend it to your friends, or would you badmouth them to everyone who would listen?


Why would you start your legal career by demonstrating that your word is no good and you don't care about who you inconvenience?

[Fark-o-vision]

I stopped reading at "net loss of happiness."

As this all boils down to a line on the resume and perhaps ~3 minutes of conversation during an interview this fall, why not simply stick with the job you have, which sounds as it will give you practical experience that is more in line with your future goals, and find some tactful way to indicate that you were selected for this "Honors Internship," whatever that might be.

Turning down the second offer could be a great interview story, should the topic arise somehow (i.e. tell me about a difficult decision you had to make, etc.)

I change my answer, but only because of this. I still strongly disagree that it shows poor character. People take better jobs in real life all the time, even shortly after accepting another one. If the law community is especially juvenile, I suppose it could be a problem.

Still, I hate that question at interviews. It always makes me think of how pampered and simple my life really has been.

[Renzo]

. I still strongly disagree that it shows poor character. People take better jobs in real life all the time, even shortly after accepting another one. If the law community is especially juvenile, I suppose it could be a problem.

I'm going out on a limb here, but you're a 0L, aren't you.

[gossipgirl]

This happens in both finance and consulting, albeit not because they found someone else but because 2 weeks before you start, they realize that their financial situation means that they cannot bring you in. I have known several friends that declined offers only to have the one that accepted take away the offer literally a week or two before they were supposed to begin.

If the OP or anyone feels more secure with another offer than the one that they accepted, I don't see why they shouldn't take it. Employers won't think twice to revoke your offer.

I never said it doesn't happen. My point is that if this happened to you, would you ever consider working for that same company? Would you recommend it to your friends, or would you badmouth them to everyone who would listen?
Why would you start your legal career by demonstrating that your word is no good and you don't care about who you inconvenience?

Let's say you graduate from law school and like a lot of people in this economy, you have a tough time getting a job. Somehow after a month of searching, you get a job for 70k. You're forced to accept it because of your unemployment situation.

A week into your job, someone picks up your resume at a Big Law firm and offers you a job for 160k.

Do you not take it because you don't want to demonstrate that your word is no good and you don't care about who you inconvenience?

(This situation is not implausible. My friend at Princeton had it happen to him. A recruiter at Goldman HK called him up after finding his resume in a pile and offered him a job. As you can imagine, he had a tough decision.)

[Fark-o-vision]

Admittedly. See above post. Also explains my admission that I don't know the particulars of legal hiring, and fully admit that the people running law firms could be children. I just don't know. If you're saying they do operate on a much more petty level than other employers, I'll defer to your judgement. My own (and my wife's) professional employment history suggests that employers understand you have to take the best opportunity offered to you, and that your choosing one over the other only indicates a professional preference. Again, the key is to handle it in a timely and professional manner.

[Renzo]

This happens in both finance and consulting, albeit not because they found someone else but because 2 weeks before you start, they realize that their financial situation means that they cannot bring you in. I have known several friends that declined offers only to have the one that accepted take away the offer literally a week or two before they were supposed to begin.

If the OP or anyone feels more secure with another offer than the one that they accepted, I don't see why they shouldn't take it. Employers won't think twice to revoke your offer.

I never said it doesn't happen. My point is that if this happened to you, would you ever consider working for that same company? Would you recommend it to your friends, or would you badmouth them to everyone who would listen?
Why would you start your legal career by demonstrating that your word is no good and you don't care about who you inconvenience?

Let's say you graduate from law school and like a lot of people in this economy, you have a tough time getting a job. Somehow after a month of searching, you get a job for 70k. You're forced to accept it because of your unemployment situation.

A week into your job, someone picks up your resume at a Big Law firm and offers you a job for 160k.

Do you not take it because you don't want to demonstrate that your word is no good and you don't care about who you inconvenience?

(This situation is not implausible. My friend at Princeton had it happen to him. A recruiter at Goldman HK called him up after finding his resume in a pile and offered him a job. As you can imagine, he had a tough decision.)

I have also never said that people shouldn't worry about their own interests. But such behavior does reflect poorly, and will burn bridges. Think of it like defaulting on a loan--sometimes its the right thing to do, but it always looks bad.

Just make sure that whatever bridges you burn are worth less to you than what you gain by burning them. In the case of a 1L job that won't really matter in the long run, contacts and a good reputation outweigh a slightly more prestigious resume line item.

[gossipgirl]

This happens in both finance and consulting, albeit not because they found someone else but because 2 weeks before you start, they realize that their financial situation means that they cannot bring you in. I have known several friends that declined offers only to have the one that accepted take away the offer literally a week or two before they were supposed to begin.

If the OP or anyone feels more secure with another offer than the one that they accepted, I don't see why they shouldn't take it. Employers won't think twice to revoke your offer.

I never said it doesn't happen. My point is that if this happened to you, would you ever consider working for that same company? Would you recommend it to your friends, or would you badmouth them to everyone who would listen?
Why would you start your legal career by demonstrating that your word is no good and you don't care about who you inconvenience?

Let's say you graduate from law school and like a lot of people in this economy, you have a tough time getting a job. Somehow after a month of searching, you get a job for 70k. You're forced to accept it because of your unemployment situation.

A week into your job, someone picks up your resume at a Big Law firm and offers you a job for 160k.

Do you not take it because you don't want to demonstrate that your word is no good and you don't care about who you inconvenience?

(This situation is not implausible. My friend at Princeton had it happen to him. A recruiter at Goldman HK called him up after finding his resume in a pile and offered him a job. As you can imagine, he had a tough decision.)

I have also never said that people shouldn't worry about their own interests. But such behavior does reflect poorly, and will burn bridges. Think of it like defaulting on a loan--sometimes its the right thing to do, but it always looks bad.

Just make sure that whatever bridges you burn are worth less to you than what you gain by burning them. In the case of a 1L job that won't really matter in the long run, contacts and a good reputation outweigh a slightly more prestigious resume line item.

So it's dependent on the OP's net gain in the situation, correct? This is far different from the principles of never reneging that a lot of people espouse. For the most part, I think we're in agreement though; if the OP feels that his career prospects will increase to such a level that it outweighs any loss of trust he may suffer from the affected group, he should take the new offer.

[Renzo]

So it's dependent on the OP's net gain in the situation, correct? This is far different from the principles of never reneging that a lot of people espouse. For the most part, I think we're in agreement though; if the OP feels that his career prospects will increase to such a level that it outweighs any loss of trust he may suffer from the affected group, he should take the new offer.

I don't think its different, just more nuanced. "Pay your debts" is good advice; "don't pay your debts if it will lead to your financial ruin, and you are willing to suffer some damage to your reputation" is also good advice and not really inconsistent with the first statement.