company A-i just went in for a second interview for a job yesturday. they said i am the top candidate for the job right now and will be giving me a call within this week to see if they want to hire me.

company B-today i got a call from a different company and they want me to interview tomorrow. this will also be my second interview with this company and it seems like they will offer me the job tomorrow if everything checks out.

what i am needing help on is how do i tell the company B (assuming they were to offer me the job) that i am waiting for the other company A to get back with me as well.

i never had 2 job offers at the same time, so i really dont know how to respond.

 

You could say, "Yesterday I interviewed at another company and I expect to hear back from them soon."

Or you could decide that it's none of their business that you're interviewing elsewhere (although you know that they know that you are), and simply say that once you get the offer in writing you'll consider it carefully and get back to them when you've made a decision.

It's not that tough. You are not required to accept or reject an offer on the spot - if they try to insist on that you should probably leave, quickly - nor to divulge your reasons for whatever decision you make.

 

My feeling is that honesty is always the best policy. Without sounding like you're going for the best money, I would explain that in the course of your search you landed multiple interviews and are now waiting to compare the opportunities and offers to make a decision.

If company B says they aren't willing to wait a week or so for you to make a decision then you have to decide if it's such an amazing place that you'll forgo seeing the offer from company A. Regardless of the offer, I would not make an immediate commitment. They might give something verbal and you can make a comment like "that sounds good, I'll need to consider it," or "it's not quite what I was expecting, but I will consider the whole opportunity and review the written offer and get back to you." Generic stuff.

Everybody always keeps their cards to their chest and there isn't necessarily a benefit in doing that. Be up front and open and nobody can ever fault you for deceiving them.

Rarely will a company say "Look, you either want to work for us or not and if you have to consider all of your options then we don't want you." That's probably not a company you want to work for anyway, and if you knew you liked one of these companies that much, you wouldn't be asking these questions anyway.

Good luck!!

 

yea i was thinking of taking the i interviewed somewhere else yesterday and am awaiting for them to get back with me.

but how should i finish that?

can i get back with you when i hear from them and than make my decision?

 

I have no idea what this sentence means.

I would suggest that you not phrase it that way.

I believe that it would be better simply to tell them that you would like to see the entire offer - salary, benefits, whatever - in writing, and that you will consider it and let them know your decision. You should be allowed at least a week to consider their offer; if they insist on a decision in less time I, for one, would be wary.

 

Plain and simple.

There could be two ways to this though. They will either give you an offer on the spot, or give you one a couple days later.

Either way, I don't feel that you need to tell them you have another offer until they give you one. At that point, you should tell them that you are weighing other options as well and you will give them an answer in a set number of days. Don't take too long. Maybe 2 or 3 days.

But make sure you let them know either way! I was a hiring manager at my previous job, and I couldn't stand it when people didn't let me know one way or another. I didn't care if they turned down the job, I just wanted to know.

Which ever one you turn down, you just tell them that while you appreciate the opportunity to work for them, you have to decline their offer.

 

The fact is, anybody who is good at what they do will never have only 1 offer unless they are totally passive and were headhunted, and that's the only reason for them to consider something else.

If the potential employer sees enough good qualities in you to make an offer, they should expect someone to do the same. It's for this reason that I say avoid playing games, just be open and up front about it all.

Definitely make sure you respond to both as soon as possible.

 

Whatever you do, if you are interested in either job, make sure that you tell them so and tell them that you would love to entertain an offer from them.

You would be surprised how many people never do that and the employer thinks "WTF? We are interested in him but is he interested in us or not?"

 

sounds good thanks for the help!

 

Generally its acceptable to take a week to decide whether or not you chose to accept their offer. I'm assuming you'll counter your first offer, which will also buy you more time, and hopefully the other company will get back to you within that timeframe. Hopefully you'll have two offers on the table at the same time, and within reason, will be able to have a little bidding war. Good luck