After editing your resume, submitting applications, and going on interviews, receiving multiple job offers should be cause to celebrate… Right?

If you have ever been in the position of having more than one job offer on the table, you know that it doesn’t take long for the excitement to wear off and anxiety to set in. Trying to decide between multiple offers can start to feel like you are juggling flaming torches-one wrong move and your prospects could go up in flames. So how do you manage to select the right job, without burning bridges with the rest?

 

Wait for a Written Offer

Before you decline any offers, make sure that you have a written job offer from the company that you want to work for. Unfortunately, a verbal offer isn’t binding and may not lead to an actual job. In other words, keep all of your balls in the air until you receive a tangible offer or you may end up right back where you started.

Weigh All of Your Options Before Committing

Just like a verbal job offer isn’t binding, neither is a verbal commitment from you; however, it is best practice to pause and weigh all of your options before making a commitment. Giving an employer an answer on the spot may cause confusion and frustration later on if you decide to accept a different offer. Hiring managers will respect you more for taking time to evaluate their offer, instead of declining an offer that you have previously verbally accepted.

Ask for More Time

In the spirit of weighing all of your options, you may encounter a situation where you need extra time to make a decision. Of course, you should respect each company’s hiring timeline, but taking an extra day or two to look over their offer is a reasonable request.

Have a Method of Ranking Offers

Instead of agonizing over which job offer to accept, be proactive in the process. Decide on, and consistently follow, a method for how you are going to score/rank each offer. As you are comparing offers, consider what areas are most important to you. If salary tops your list, the choice should be fairly obvious; however, if you are also concerned with the commute, benefits, and company culture you will need some extra time to rank each offer. Overall, having a system in place will help you to feel in control and confident throughout the process.

Express Your Gratitude

Keep the door open to future possibilities by gracefully declining any offers that you decide not to take and send a note thanking them for their time and consideration. You never know when you may end up interviewing with them for another position in the future or work with them in a different capacity.

 

Being presented with multiple job offers may sound like a job seeker’s dream come true, but juggling those offers can prove to be extremely difficult. These tips will help you to keep all of your balls in the air until you land on the right job.