I once applied for and was offered a job that I really was interested in and it seemed like it would be a welcome change of pace. Several factors lead me to politely decline the offer. What do you do in this situation? How do you handle it? It depends on the situation. Here’s what I did.

I had applied for a position that really looked forward to interviewing with. I knew several people that already worked there and liked their employer. I got the opportunity to interview and was able to meet several people that would be above me in management. The interview went very well and I was left with a good impression of the work environment and job responsibilities.

I received a call from their human resources department and was offered the position. After considering the financial and personnel benefits, I decided to decline the offer. I called the human resources department and let them know that after talking with my wife and considering the different aspects of the offer, I needed to decline the position. The human resources staff offered their gratitude for applying and thanked me for promptly responding.

A week later I got a call back from the company with a second offer. Although the benefits had been modified, they wasn’t what I needed to accept the position, and I ended up declining again.

What’s the best way to handle this situation? Here are some tips:

• 1. Be honest
  Don’t make up a reason for declining the offer. If you’ve decided to continue in your current position, can’t afford to make the switch, or after the interview, decided you didn’t fit with the company, let them know.
• 2. Be polite
  They have invested time and energy into interviewing you, researched your references, and possibly completed other research to come to the decision to make you the offer
• 3. Thank them for their time
  Let them know you appreciate the time they put into it and that you enjoyed interviewing at their company(if you did).
• 4. Be prompt
  Most employers will give you a few days to a week to make your decision. If you know right away that you can’t accept the offer, let them know as soon as possible. They need to get the position filled quickly, and they’ll appreciate knowing sooner, rather than later.

Hopefully these tips will make it easier for you to politely decline a job offer, if you need to. Let me know what other tips you might have in the comments!