Sifting through piles of job offers

Congratulations! I was made redundant last week, and I'm just now swinging into a job hunt as well. As for Company B. Skip. Tell Company A, "I'm really interested, please send me the entire offer package so that I can review. I'm evaluating a few opportunities right now, and I'll be able to give you a firm answer on X date." Then name a date that you're comfortable with. There's hoo-ha with every job offer, drug test, background check, etc. So buy yourself some time.

Not sure if this helps, but I was in this exact situation before, and this was the script that I used for companies A and B: "I am very excited about the possibility of working there, I see [insert positive adjectives]. However, I am ultimately looking for the best fit mutual and I still have one outstanding interview. Can I have until X/X/2014 to decide?" Even an employer that wanted to know yesterday/NOW agreed to that, but one never knows. But definitely convey enthusiasm. For job C, the script that I used was "I really like your potential job because [positive adjectives], fits with my experience.But I currently have 2 job offers on the table and they would like a response - is there any way to accelerate the timeline?" This has worked 90% of the time. Even if you know that you don't want job B, don't throw it out the window. Some people might disagree, but I have used competing offers to get something that I want. Something like "Hello Job A, I am very excited about the possibility of working there, positive adjectives, but I also have another job offer and it pays more. I am concerned about the discrepancy in salary." Then be silent.If they don't start talking, state, "I need a few days to think about this." But don't negotiate until you have resolved what to do about C(ie, interview and decision from them). I know it seems scary, but walk away from the jobs that are not a good fit.If you have this many job offers already, another one will happen.

I don't know what job role you're in, but in my experience in technology, most people are interviewing at more than one place, and offers come in at different times. Just about every time I've looked for a job, I've had multiple offers, and the companies who make the earlier offers have always understood that I'm waiting to finish other interviews before making a decision. So I don't know that waiting for company C means you need to turn down company A. Have you told A that you have other interviews in process and that you need some time? I personally react poorly to being pressured to make a decision quickly, so I'd probably decline B on those grounds alone. But that's just me.

I think B is out of the picture immediately. Sounds too sketchy. Call Job C and tell them you have standing offers and need to be interviewed ASAP. If they can't interview you, take Job A and keep looking. (Look at the employment laws of your state if you are taking unemployment. Most states will not let you turn down a job and stay on unemployment.)

To start with, have you explained your situation to Job C? Employers understand how these things work and may be able to speed up the process if you tell them you have another offer pending but can make a good case why they are really the ones you want to work with. Beyond that, can you say no to Job B, put Job A off for a couple weeks, and pursue Job C? And since you've had so much luck with your search so far, keep looking for other opportunities in the meantime.

I would turn down B because they are pressuring you and that's a bad indicator of what working there would be like. I would turn down A because of the bad commute., and because you seem to be a hot enough commodity that you can find something that isn't a bad commute. I would hope for an offer from C, but keep applying elsewhere in the meantime. And by all means call C and tell them you have offers and would like them to expedite your interview, offer to meet after hours / on a weekend and see what happens.

My opinionated opinion: Listen to your sense of "squick". Refuse Job B. @zachlipton pretty much encapsulates the rest of my opinion. Let Job A wait.

> You don't say anything about your ability to weather additional time of unemployment. I was quite poorly paid at my previous job, so little that I was living month-to-month, so my savings are somewhat paltry. I've got seven more weeks of pay from Old Job coming as part of my redundancy settlement, then the money taps are getting turned off. So I really have to find something within the next month or so. Hope that clears it up - sorry for omission!

I recently went through this exact thing -- two very different job offers, mix of pros and cons for each -- and ended up taking the "sure bet" offer that would be the equivalent to your Big Corporate option A. My reasons: 1. I've been freelancing and working on little contract jobs for the last year and a half, and I really liked the consistency of being employed by a huge employer in a stable situation. I will not have to scour the job listings and canvass all my connections for work for at least a year. That's a great feeling. 2. I had just come off a job that, as you say, pinged my "sketchy" alarm, and it was nice to just be able to say yes and show up and know that I wasn't going to spend every day questioning every single thing about my work life, because New Job was a known quantity that, like, pays people a living wage and isn't going to abruptly stop existing. 3. Like your option C, the other job I was considering was a bit of a dream job, but not a job I had a solid lock on. There also were a lot of reasons the job might not have turned out to be such a dream job if it actually materialized.