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I have an offer from a firm but it is one of my least favorite among the ones I have done a callback at. How long do I wait before notifying the firms that I have an offer from somewhere else and thus have a deadline? My deadline is September 23. I was thinking Tuesday but I'm not sure...

As soon as possible. This will cause the others to speed up in their decisions about you.

My fear is that they will just say no right away when I tell them.

Anonymous User wrote:My fear is that they will just say no right away when I tell them.

Having an offer makes you more desirable. Tell them ASAP.

Anonymous User wrote:My fear is that they will just say no right away when I tell them.

This won't be something that encourages them to reject you. Quite the opposite, they'll recognize that another firm thinks you're qualified and they may be influenced positively by that. If they would reject you on the spot, then they'll almost certainly reject you later so get it over with instead of dragging it out.

Important thing to do is to make sure they realize you're serious about them. "I have an offer from another firm. I am, however, holding the offer open in order to explore my options with Firm X."

Would you suggest an email or a phone call?

BarCliff wrote:Would you suggest an email or a phone call?

I think that's up to context and desire. If you're really, really sure you want to work at a firm, or if you haven't heard from them in awhile, a phone call may be better. Otherwise, I think an email is preferred.

Use your best judgment.

Citizen Genet wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:My fear is that they will just say no right away when I tell them.

This won't be something that encourages them to reject you. Quite the opposite, they'll recognize that another firm thinks you're qualified and they may be influenced positively by that. If they would reject you on the spot, then they'll almost certainly reject you later so get it over with instead of dragging it out.

Important thing to do is to make sure they realize you're serious about them. "I have an offer from another firm. I am, however, holding the offer open in order to explore my options with Firm X."

I concur in the result and rationale of this post.

Firms deal with this every year, and they know what's up. I'm also of the opinion that it'll help your chances, but at the very least, I don't think it is going to weigh negatively for you if you notify them of a looming offer deadline. You should notify firms ASAP to give them as much time as possible, but they know that you can't just wait on an offer while hoping to hear from other firms in that time.

How do you word that email?

Dear X,

I just wanted to check on the status of my application. I have a couple of other offers I am considering and I am on a deadline. Do you know when I might know by?


Awkward

Dear X,

Thank you for inviting me to visit the firm last week. I just wanted to reiterate my interest in (firm name) and ask when I might expect to hear back from the firm. I have received another offer, which requires a response by (date), so please contact me at your earliest convenience regarding the status of my application. Thanks again, and I hope to hear from you soon.

This:

Anonymous User wrote:Dear X,

Thank you for inviting me to visit the firm last week. I just wanted to reiterate my interest in (firm name) and ask when I might expect to hear back from the firm. I have received another offer, which requires a response by (date), so please contact me at your earliest convenience regarding the status of my application. Thanks again, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Is better than this:

Anonymous User wrote:Dear X,

I just wanted to check on the status of my application. I have a couple of other offers I am considering and I am on a deadline. Do you know when I might know by?

Should you wait until it is closer to the offer deadline date? 3 weeks away seems like you just want to know

I asked my career advisor this and he said doing this implied you would take an offer from the firm you were calling/ emailing over your current offer.. He said not to do this if this wasn't the case because our city's legal market is small and I don't want to burn bridges.

I of course had already called the firm I like equally or even a little more than the one I have an offer from, and emailed the one I like equally. Thoughts on whether you agree with my advisor???? (Hoping I didn't mess up bigtime)

Will firms every press you to find out where the offer is? I'm concerned about telling a smaller firm about an offer at a larger (higher ranked) firm out of fear they might auto-ding me if I inform them assuming I'll go the bigger firm anyway.