My wife was laid off a last month and has been going through the process of finding a new job. Naturally ever company moves at a different speed in their hiring process. She currently has 5 different companies she's interviewing with. I'd say she has 3 that she really, really likes and 2 that she'd be okay working for because a job is a job.

She currently has a job offer with 1 company in that 2nd tier, 2 of the companies are down to final interviews and 2 are in the early stages of the process and are taking their sweet time.

The one that has offered her a job would like to know her answer by tomorrow. Right now, I think we are leaning towards her accepting the job, but knowing full well that she will most likely back out of it if another offer comes. She's worried with what the economy is doing and would rather have the employment in place. Obviously we need to do what is in our family's best interest, but there is definitely the moral dilemma of saying yes to something and then backing out of it.

Any advice on how to juggle all the companies in terms of the process or if we should maybe go with a different plan?

Send me an email.and I'll schedule a time to discuss

Heycoachjeff at Gmail dot com

I did something similar a few years ago. Had two offers but really wanted one from this third company. Out of the two I already had, I picked the better option and accepted. Then about a week later (a couple of weeks before my scheduled start date), I got the offer from company 3 and accepted.

Went back to the other company and said "my apologies, circumstances have changed, I appreciate the offer but have to renege."

Never looked back and in hindsight, glad I did it. The company I later reneged on was in the IT space, so I undoubtedly would've found myself laid off anyway. While I don't advocate Willy nilly treating companies as disposable, nor am I "proud" of what I did....in the end they would've cut me without losing a second of sleep. I was just a number to them anyway. Start thinking of it as a business transaction, just like they do, and move on with your life.

I've had people accept jobs then reneg on me. It sucks and I'm pissed when it happens… but I'm pissed because of the inconvenience it has caused rather than feeling they've done something 'morally' wrong. Ultimately employment is at will. As long as that's the case, the market is the stick and if the market has something better for your wife, then an employer shouldn't be that surprised about a reneg.

Yep. But in all honesty, I would assume the hiring company has their 1A and 1B candidates already in mind. So if 1A declines, they reach out to 1B. So in an instance like you mention, I'd assume you'd then just reach out to 1B and see if they're still interested.

I was offered a different position at my current company. I was told there was a good outside candidate with a ton of experience that they were also considering, but ultimately they preferred me. After hearing them through, the full offer, everything.....I decided to pass. I didn't think the timing was right for what they were saying the job would entail. I just had some red flags with regards to long-term viability.

So after I declined, they offered the external candidate and she was onboarded.

3 months later.....she got laid off. That would've been me had I accepted the position. A job within my own company and I would've been laid off. Sometimes it pays to trust your gut.