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[please do not out me mods]

I know it is quite late in the SA recruitment phase. I was offered a SA position yesterday, but I did not give a verbal agreement...they seemed to be somewhat put-off by this, like "Ok...we thought you really wanted to be here... but OK let us know ASAP" (paraphrasing).

Per NALP, they have to leave the offer open for 4weeks, but won't it look really bad if I take a long time to accept? Isn't that clearly showing that I don't really want to be there?

No. I would think that if you didn't take some time to consider the offer, especially when you are given ample time, that it would reflect poorly on your judgment. By accepting immediately they might think "Wow, this person didn't even give it any thought. They're probably careless/reckless."

Or not.

They probably don't want to be held up another month and risk losing potential alternates for the position to other firms.

Per NALP, your offer would expire in November? I wouldn't make them wait that long.

There are the rules, and then there is perception.

Any firm giving out offers this late is hoping to finalize their class soon. Your keeping the offer open for a month prevents them from doing that. If you have a good reason to keep it open, then fine, it probably won't matter in the long run, but everyone involved would surely appreciate the courtesy of a quick answer if there's no reason to wait.

Do you have another offer? If not, go ahead and accept. Don't wait four weeks for the sake of waiting four weeks.

Reality is that anyone receiving either 1) already accepted an offer or 2) has no offer and no other prospects. The firm wants to finalize their class, plain and simple.

RaceJudicata wrote:Do you have another offer? If not, go ahead and accept. Don't wait four weeks for the sake of waiting four weeks.

Reality is that anyone receiving either 1) already accepted an offer or 2) has no offer and no other prospects. The firm wants to finalize their class, plain and simple.

OP here. This is my only offer, but I have two CBs next week.

Generally, it is not ideal to tell a firm to wait while you decide. In your case, you will likely have to use most of the NALP period.

That said, you have a legitimate reason (two, reasons, in fact) for making them wait. Because you have outstanding CBs, and the potential for forthcoming offers, you are in a good spot. For most firms, simply explaining the situation, and letting them know that you are still undecided, should be sufficient to offset any disappointment they might feel at you not accepting right away. It confirms that they extended an offer to a desirable candidate.

There are firms out there, though, that are hung up on being everyone's first choice (I had several people from one firm tell me this at OCI). If it is this type of firm, there might be some residual effect from making them wait while you go and do the CBs. They won't revoke your offer (or almost certainly not), and the effect probably will be short lived, but there is a chance it will have a small impact.

I don't think it's worth worrying about this though. Unless you're certain the firm is your first choice, I would say go do the callbacks. Just let the firm tactfully know why you need a bit more time.