Accepting and Negotiating Your Offer

BOOM. You did it. You delivered a killer resume and application, apparently nailed the interview, and have landed yourself an offer. We hope you treated yourself to a trip to the Terrace or Babcock Hall. Congratulations!

Now that the celebration is (temporarily) over, let’s talk real life. Just because you received an offer doesn’t mean it’s the job you’re going to accept (nor do you have to). Likewise, there may be some questions you have about the salary. Meanwhile, some of you may have your bags packed and your two-weeks notice turned in to your professors.

Just kidding, don’t do that. You still have to graduate.

Deciding whether to accept, negotiate, or turn down a job offer is a big deal, but we’ve got your back. You’re not the first nor the last person to have questions about making this decision, so we’ve created this tool guide to help you evaluate your options.

In this tool guide we cover factors to consider when making your decision, salary negotiations, a list of benefits, and how to accept or reject the offer. As always, we’ve also included examples of both. You can thank us after you receive your first paycheck. Don’t forget that our advisors can also help you think through the offer!

Evaluating a Job Offer Tool Guide

We’ve also taken the time to outline common job benefits. The pay is nice, but compensation isn’t everything. Your happiness is a huge part of job satisfaction in the long-term, so make sure you have a solid understanding of these benefits before you accept or reject your offer.

Guide to Common Job Benefits

Now it’s time to decide whether to accept, negotiate or keep looking. If you accept a position, it’s important to honor that acceptance, and not rescind. Failure to follow-through on an accepted offer may hurt your standing with employers in the future, and may result in the loss of Handshake account access for a period of time.

Campus Policy for Student Use of Handshake