Week 39: Managing multiple offers

Week 39: February 15, 2025

What are best practices for handling

multiple offers?

Andrea,

Worried last week that you might not get a job and this week that the phone might not stop ringing? If you have offers in hand, congratulations! While it can feel awkward to talk about, deciding between multiple options can be tough. We want to help as you think through how to manage your offers.

If you don't have a job yet, save this email - you will get a job (or two, or four jobs), even in this economy, and will likely need to make decisions fast when that happens!

The 100 Week Sprint team

To-do's this week

Got 5 minutes? Book an appointment with us or with your on-campus Career Services to discuss options.

Got 30 minutes? Revisit your ProValues profile. Set your minimum requirements from the start, which will filter out offers that don't meet them. Keep asking questions until you believe you have an objective score for each role!

Got an hour? Talk to your Advisory Board. They're the ones who know you best, have them be your sounding board as you think through not only your internship, but its potential impact on your future plans.

How do I make this decision?

You have one summer in between your first and second year in business school; deciding which offer to take now will certainly impact your future career path. Pros and cons lists can be helpful as you identify early thoughts; however, when you have a couple of offers in hand, it can be tough to weigh each item and identify how you would assess each relative to other options.

Now is the time to think through what you're truly seeking in an internship - perhaps it's working in the company of your dreams, trying out a new function before diving in, or experiencing a different city for a summer - think of what an ideal internship looks like for you. With different options ahead, narrow down which one closely fits your ideal opportunity.

What do I need to know?

As people are thinking about their offers, there are two types of questions that we typically hear.

1. General questions: these will affect the overall search:

Should I take a risk and try something new for the summer? (If you're aiming to learn something specific, great, otherwise, "trying something new" can be over-hyped.)
Can I afford to wait on [dream job] if my offer with [another company] expires before then? (Assess your willingness to embrace financial risk before making a decision.)
Will I have a chance with [company] next year if I turn them down now? (This depends entirely on how you maintain relationships and what their demand is a year from now.)

2. Value-specific questions: you can find these in the ProValues. Update your exercise and download your report to get a personalized list of questions to help you think through your decisions!

Does this role represent a long-term goal for me?
What are some of the benefits of being in a smaller (or larger) company?
How much ownership would I have over my own work?

Beyond that, think of the people you will be working with. Is your new boss someone who will move up fast in the organization (and take you along for the ride)? Have they stagnated in their own career, and thus may not be the best advocate to open up further opportunities for you? Will your role expose you to specialized skillsets or people that will offer amazing insights for future roles? The people who will surround you in your role are often more important than the role or the company itself!

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