3 ms·

Whenever we made offers to students who hadn't yet graduated we all made it very clear that they are free to interview and accept other offers and we should be

Whenever we made offers to students who hadn't yet graduated we all made it very clear that they are free to interview and accept other offers and we should be prepared for that situation (not in any particular way, but mentally). They didn't owe us anything. Of course we made attractive offers to candidates we thought were a great fit and where we thought that feeling was mutual. and we never had a candidate accept and then take another job. to mathattacks points: - You are young, and your career will be long. - No one is going to blame you for looking out for yourself. - No one is going to go out of their way to black ball an anyone over an entry level position. You are not that special. - strong developers have the world by the balls. There is no reason to play loyalty to someone who isn't even paying you. It's time to get yours. If it were me I wouldn't have accepted the offer. Assuming you are graduating in May, it'd be way too early for me to make a commitment. But thats me. However, it wouldn't weigh one gram on my conscience if I accepted the offer and kept interviewing to find a better fit. I'd probably use the offer as a bargaining chip.

mathattack 15y ago
DJB - I greatly respect what your company is doing, but I think your firm is in the minority. This is why most college placement offices suspend campus recruiting for people who reneg on offers. I cite MIT Sloan only because I found their policy by accident when I couldn't find their undergrad one. This is consistent with what I've seen at many other places. (I have no link to MIT) From http://mitsloan.mit.edu/cdo/policies.php http://mitsloan.mit.edu/cdo/policies.php "We expect that all offers and acceptances be made in good faith. Students are obliged to honor accepted offers. Reneging on an acceptance is a breach of MIT Sloan's Student Recruiting Policies. If a student reneges on an offer, the recruiter should notify Jackie Wilbur at 617-258-6492, as soon as possible. We will review the situation and follow up on your behalf."
- djb_hackernews 15y ago
  It works both ways. According to that link they also require offers to be open offers until January or February (depending on the position). Interesting link. But I'm still not convinced the circumstances of an MIT MBA offer are similar to an entry level software developer offer. Let me ask you a question. If it is his ethical duty keep up his end of the acceptance, how long must he stay at the job before it's ok to leave? When does the at will employment argument enter the picture? Bottom line, the market for software developers is too hot right now to settle. Who knows when these conditions will happen again, if ever.
  - mathattack 15y ago
    I pulled the MBA link only for convenience. In my experience competitive undergrad programs are similar. Certainly companies have responsibilities too. In general I think a year is the right period to stick something out. If you hate the industry you hired into, backing out isn't awful. Let's take a step back and go the case in question. Here the individual just wants to see if they could get accepted later by interviewing now. In my mind that is both unethical and carries negative consequences. I promise I'm not this preachy in person!

mathattack 15y ago

DJB - I greatly respect what your company is doing, but I think your firm is in the minority. This is why most college placement offices suspend campus recruiting for people who reneg on offers. I cite MIT Sloan only because I found their policy by accident when I couldn't find their undergrad one. This is consistent with what I've seen at many other places. (I have no link to MIT) From http://mitsloan.mit.edu/cdo/policies.php http://mitsloan.mit.edu/cdo/policies.php "We expect that all offers and acceptances be made in good faith. Students are obliged to honor accepted offers. Reneging on an acceptance is a breach of MIT Sloan's Student Recruiting Policies. If a student reneges on an offer, the recruiter should notify Jackie Wilbur at 617-258-6492, as soon as possible. We will review the situation and follow up on your behalf."

djb_hackernews 15y ago
It works both ways. According to that link they also require offers to be open offers until January or February (depending on the position). Interesting link. But I'm still not convinced the circumstances of an MIT MBA offer are similar to an entry level software developer offer. Let me ask you a question. If it is his ethical duty keep up his end of the acceptance, how long must he stay at the job before it's ok to leave? When does the at will employment argument enter the picture? Bottom line, the market for software developers is too hot right now to settle. Who knows when these conditions will happen again, if ever.
- mathattack 15y ago
  I pulled the MBA link only for convenience. In my experience competitive undergrad programs are similar. Certainly companies have responsibilities too. In general I think a year is the right period to stick something out. If you hate the industry you hired into, backing out isn't awful. Let's take a step back and go the case in question. Here the individual just wants to see if they could get accepted later by interviewing now. In my mind that is both unethical and carries negative consequences. I promise I'm not this preachy in person!