4 ms·

Do not ever take an action (such as rejecting other offers) based on a verbal/provisional/anything. Only a letter in hand is any good, and even then you should

• ealexhudson 9y ago
  I've never heard of a "provisional offer" in the UK market - this would be highly unusual. I don't know if Canonical is culturally UK, but maybe there was a misunderstanding about the stage of the process they had reached?
  • Spivak 9y ago
    A provisional offer usually comes from the person who would be your direct supervisor who outright states their intent to hire but then has to jump through a bunch of HR hoops. A prudent person would probably be on their guard because they can sometimes fall through but it's rare enough that I wouldn't fault the candidate for assuming they have the job.
  • astura 9y ago
    Im not sure about elsewhere, but in the US, at least in my experience, a "provisional offer" is an offer that's contingent on one or more specific condition, usually something like "pass your background check" or "pass your drug test," or "references check out," or "you prove you are legally entitled to work." These are things you won't usually put a potential hire through unless you've both agreed upon employment and salary.
  • MatthewWilkes 9y ago
    A friend of mine got a provisional offer from a highly funded UK startup which was then rescinded explicitly on grounds of age. Before I could convince him that this wasn't acceptable they folded. I think we'd all be surprised at the shit that companies that enjoy the smell of their own farts pull.
  • DanBC 9y ago
    Provisional offers are common in the UK if the company uses references (which are being used less often nowadays) or requires a DBS check.