How to resign from a leadership position. The Art of Refusing an Employer: Diplomacy at the Service of a Career

From the outside it may seem that only a madman will not agree to a promotion. In fact, there are quite reasonable reasons to refuse to move up the career ladder. Careerism today is not a pathology, but the norm of life. Only a few are wondering if they are really capable of coping with a new role and if they need a leadership position at all.

Fear of responsibility. Perhaps the most common reason for not being appointed is the fear of additional responsibility. It is one thing to fulfill your own duties in a line position, it is quite another to manage even a very small team and competently organize a continuous workflow. If you don't like to take responsibility, but you do a great job as a performer, that's fine. Remember: one is not better than the other, both types of employees are valuable to the company. The main thing here is to know yourself well and act accordingly. However, the fear of not coping with new responsibilities is often not justified and may recede over time. If a person is offered a promotion, there are two options: either he was prepared in advance for this position, or not. If a person assumes that he will not be able to cope with his duties after preparation, then it may make sense to try after all, since you have received the necessary knowledge. If you are thrown out of the boat into the river, you should think twice, or even thrice. People need to be prepared for leadership positions.

Thirst for change. Often the reason for not getting promoted is a desire for change. It is clear that career growth and a stable high salary are very attractive, which is why they so often demotivate you to give up what you love. If the prospect of a promotion looms before you, it becomes much more difficult to refuse even an unloved job, which means that you run the risk of getting even deeper into a service structure that you do not need. It is quite possible that you are not afraid of the position of a leader, but you would be more willing to agree to lead subordinates in some other professional environment. It all depends on career plans: if a person is focused on career development, vertical growth and for him the priority is to increase personal income, maybe it makes sense to stay in the workplace and agree to a raise. Work for a year. This will allow you to gain experience and qualify for something more in the labor market. When you change profession, you have to start all over again. If everything is enough at your current job, if comfort in the workplace and the desire to do what you love are important to you, you should not take on additional duties that you do not need.

administrative routine. Oddly enough, the reluctance to receive a promotion can be caused not only by dislike for work, but, on the contrary, by the most reverent attitude to one's current duties. The reluctance to switch from interesting professional tasks to boring administrative routine work often makes one refuse to be appointed to a new, even a higher position. This is especially true for representatives creative professions, and in general for people who are passionate about their work. In addition to the fact that the position of a manager is simply not interesting for you, there are also no guarantees that in the managerial field you will achieve greater career success than in your current place.

Tight schedule. Often, a promotion brings not only increased personal responsibility, but also involves an increase in the amount of work, and often a completely different, harder schedule. Can you get used to the new conditions? Many companies do not provide adequate training: a person who has received a leadership position continues to perform his function, and the administrative burden is added to this. Such situations are far from uncommon. Often, in addition to the increased workload, a person can not only gain nothing, but also lose in salary.
So even if the material component of the new position is significant for you, you should not immediately cling to a new appointment and agree to the proposal of your superiors. Think carefully about whether you can really qualify for financial benefits. If so, then consider whether it will pay off your efforts and whether it is worth working twice as much in order to end up with only one and a half times more.
Talk to your superiors and colleagues, find out all the nuances of a new position and calculate whether the future salary will pay off your efforts.

A job offer is always a joy, especially after a long search. However, not every offer is worth accepting. When is it better to refuse work and how to refuse work correctly - correctly, beautifully, so as not to spoil the impression about yourself?

When is the best time to turn down a job offer?

Here are situations where a negative decision is more reasonable.

Working conditions do not fully satisfy you

If you are offered the wrong position for which you aspired, or an insufficient level of pay, you can consider turning down the job. If you compromise and agree in the hope that the terms will then be revised, then remember that too much time may pass. Think if you can last that long. And that time may never come...

Too hard or too easy

In the first case, you initially doom yourself to failure and even loss of work if its results do not meet the expectations and requirements of the authorities. If you did a great job at an interview, were accepted for a position, and then do not cope with your duties, the employer will find out quickly enough.

On the other hand, be careful about settling for too much. simple job. Lack of problems and boredom will make you feel uncomfortable at work, stagnation will make you frustrated, and every day you will count the hours and minutes until you return home. This is a good and justified reason to refuse work, although the refusal can be given quite hard psychologically.

Do you doubt that you will get along with your boss?

"Chemistry" in relationships between people is very important, especially at work. The leader plays an important role in your daily activities, achieving goals and professional development. Don't ignore the signals that you can't get along. Lack of good communication affects the implementation of tasks and methods of work. In addition, slight irritation can develop into serious tension between you over time, so it is better to trust your intuition and refuse to work.

Corporate culture appears unfriendly

Think about how you feel in a new place. Maybe it's too quiet here, while you prefer a lively atmosphere. Or vice versa - do you like to work in a calm environment, and in this company everyone is talking loudly, fussing, and the phones are not silent all day? Therefore, at the interview, ask how the organization works. Ask before accepting the offer to show you the company, to introduce people. Thanks to this, you will check whether you are really satisfied with the new environment and working conditions.

Traveling is too tiring

Commuting to and from work should not take up a significant part of your day and exhaust you. If this is the case, you will come to work with frayed nerves and return home tired and in a bad mood. You need to know exactly how long it will take to get to and from work, including during peak hours. Refusal to work for this reason will save a lot of time and nerves.

Work involves a lot of business travel

Travel, trip as an element of work can become a great and interesting adventure. But if there are too many of them, it can get boring and tiring. Calmly consider how these trips may affect your personal life, whether it will suffer. If you think you can't handle these responsibilities, try revisiting your terms of employment before giving a definitive answer.

You received another job offer

If you have several offers at once, you have already accepted one of them, and you were immediately invited to the second vacancy, then it is obvious that you will have to refuse one job. Don't delay, let me know personnel service about your decision. Remember that the company you don't want to work for takes some time to find a new candidate.

How to quit a job the right way?

The question of how to correctly refuse an offered job worries many, because this is really a delicate matter. Why not disappear in English and be impolite? Because it is possible (even if you now exclude such a development of events) that after some time you will again sit in the same office and talk about employment with the same person. In addition, if you end up saying everything you think about your failed job and creating a very unfavorable impression of yourself, information about this can easily get out of the organization in a way that you could not even imagine. And for an interview in another place, you, without knowing it, can come with a reputation as an unrespectable boorish person who does not know what he wants. So regardless of the reason why you decide not to accept this or that offer, you must refuse the offered job politely, without burning bridges behind you.

Here are a few rules of good taste in a situation, the observance of which will help save face and, possibly, benefit in the future.

• • Communicate your decision directly to the employee whose offer you are declining, and don't make them wait in vain. The best option- make a personal visit, but people for whom face-to-face communication is difficult can compromise and call or send a letter (regular or email). Moreover, the answer to the question of how to refuse work after an interview or at it does not fundamentally depend on the form of refusal.
  • Communicating with personnel worker, be positive. The fact that, for example, you did not like your future boss, the organization made a depressing impression, etc., is better to keep silent delicately. It is worth starting a conversation with gratitude for the time and attention given, for the invitation. You can say that you thought about it for a long time and think this is a great place to work, that you are flattered by the offer and grateful for it. However, taking into account various considerations, they nevertheless decided to continue the search. Is it possible and how to refuse work if you have already agreed, but have not yet started it? It is possible, if you do not want to because it is "uncomfortable", harness yourself to the yoke. General principle the same, you just need to refer to radically changed circumstances.

• • There are situations even more sensitive - when you need to refuse the offered job, on which the person has already managed to work a little and realized that this is not him, that the reality is very different from what was discussed at the interview. In this case, it is wiser and more honest to gather your courage and do it as early as possible, before a lot of time and money has been spent on you. It is necessary to think over the argumentation well and take into account that such a scenario of leaving new work can cause damage business reputation. Therefore, it is better not to allow it, but to collect as much information about the organization as possible, “bargain” at the interview for a “trial” period, etc.
  • In other situations, it is easier to explain the reasons. The general recommendation is to be brief. There is no point in going into lengthy explanations full of details and descriptions of personal details. Appeal only to objective reasons, for example, an inconvenient schedule or another, more tempting offer. Do not voice your doubts and complexes, do not expose yourself in an unfavorable light. This is especially true if, for example, the question arises of how to refuse the work of the head physician, head teacher, head of department, etc., that is, if new position assumes an increase with the change of functions. Sometimes such proposals put in a difficult position. In such situations, do not say that you are afraid that you won’t pull it off, you won’t cope, you don’t want “hemorrhoids” on your head - say that by nature you don’t have an inclination for administrative, managerial work, that you love your job, you like to deal directly with patients , children, projects, etc. And that the current work also requires responsibility (so that they don’t think that you are just afraid of it), leaves room for creativity, personal growth etc. In other words, your task is to refuse the proposed position without dropping a single drop of your own dignity.
  • When explaining the reasons for the refusal, you should not lie outright (especially about something that is easy enough to check), because an inadvertently or purposefully revealed lie can ruin a career in the place that you ultimately preferred.
  • By and large, what is more important is not what you say, but how you say it. Mention that you may still be able to work together in the future if circumstances change. If you manage to refuse work gracefully and make a favorable impression, then perhaps your correctness will still serve in good stead. After all, as already mentioned, it is possible that you will have to contact the same organization and the same employee again.

“We choose, we are chosen” - the job search process can be quite accurately described by a line from a famous song. Not surprisingly, applicants have to not only listen to employers refuse, but also say “no” themselves. How to do it correctly?

To help your diplomatic skills in your career, read the recommendations.

How not to go to interviews
“I sent my resume to the vacancy, they called me and invited me for an interview. Already after we agreed on a meeting, I realized that I did not want to go. Firstly, a good place is planned in another company, and secondly, it is difficult to get to this office. Is it worth it to call and refuse? Maybe just not show up for the interview?

Applicants give each other advice, as they say, to the best of their upbringing. "Why to call? Recruiters constantly promise to call us back and do not call back”; “Be sure to inform that you will not come, so as not to make a person wait for you in vain” - opinions, as we see, are polar.

Still, experts recommend taking the time to call or write. email, even if you don’t feel like it, it’s unpleasant or just laziness. Since recruiters do not keep their promises, then we will not - such logic is unacceptable for a polite and responsible person. Whatever they say, diplomacy is an obligatory weapon of a specialist who is tuned to career achievements.

Cultivating a culture of rejection is also necessary because the professional world is often tighter than we think. It is possible that you will still have to intersect with this company or even with a specific recruiter. Rest assured that your diplomatic efforts will not be in vain. Many HR managers maintain their database of applicants, and if the mark “did not appear” appears opposite your last name, then most likely the path to this company will be closed to you.

According to the Research Center of the recruiting portal site, 22% of recruiting managers are sure that they usually lie "in the absence of a culture of behavior and business ethics”, 19% - in irresponsibility. Obviously, no one wants to be among the uncivilized and irresponsible. Therefore, you still have to call and cancel the arrangement. If you don't get through, send an email.

It is better to do this in advance, for example, on the eve of the appointed day of the interview. It didn’t work out - call at least an hour or two in advance: the recruiter will have time to reschedule his working hours.

How do you explain your refusal to appear for an interview? Since the negotiations have just begun, no special explanation is required - a polite message in a friendly tone is enough. “Thank you for being interested in my candidacy, but the circumstances are such that now I am not ready to negotiate a job in your company. I wish you to find the right manager. Have a good day”, - such a message will not leave any doubts about your upbringing and knowledge of the rules of business ethics. Most likely, no further explanation is required - recruiters encounter such cases quite often.

“I have to refuse your offer…”
It’s a different matter if you have already passed the selection, attended interviews, completed test tasks and received a job offer. Or perhaps you have agreed, and on Monday you are expected at a new workplace. And suddenly you changed your mind: a more interesting option was found, a child fell ill, doubted the prospects - the reasons may be different. How to be?

Here you can not do without explaining the reasons for your refusal, at least in general terms. Both the recruiter and the future boss, and you yourself have spent a lot of time and effort on interviews. If at the final stage of negotiations one of the participants suddenly refuses to continue them, the rest have the right to know about the reasons. Such explanations are not justifications at all, but reasonable observance of ethical norms.

Politely and kindly explain why you do not want to join this company. “I have another offer, and at the moment it is more interesting to me”; “I have soberly assessed my capabilities and have to refuse your offer: it is inconvenient for me to spend two hours on the road to the office”; “At the current place, I was offered to lead new project, so I stop looking for a job, ”in most cases, you don’t need to invent anything. Both the HR manager and the boss are likely to understand your motives without any embellishment.

However, if the reason for your refusal lies in the personality of the future leader or in the poor, in your opinion, organization of business processes in the company, do not rush to declare it publicly. The art of diplomacy is to smooth out the negative moments. So instead of posting everything you think (“Look for others who want to work from dawn to dusk and tolerate an unbalanced boss for such a salary”), it’s better to say: “Now I’m not ready to accept your offer, because the working conditions do not suit me” .

At this stage, it is better to report the refusal by phone. Email is also acceptable, but personal contact is preferable. Don’t forget to thank the failed employer for taking the time, wish you all the best, and if your refusal puts someone in an awkward position (for example, if you already agreed and had to go to work), then also apologize for the inconvenience caused.

“Do unto others the way you want them to do unto you” - this adage has not lost its relevance for centuries. If we want recruiters to honestly inform us about the refusal, and not leave us alone with conjectures, then it makes sense to comply with all agreements ourselves and report the decision in time.

Good luck in your job search!

In the world business people specificity is appreciated. The employer will have less negative impressions if the applicant correctly justifies his act. There are several compelling reasons:

Important! The reasons for refusal should be especially convincing when it comes to applying for a high-paying managerial position or the interview was a complex procedure with a lot of time and effort.

Waiver Forms

How to politely turn down an employer after an interview? The following forms of refusal are allowed:

Right time

Ideally, you should resign as soon as possible.

You have made a decision - inform your employer about it.

The appropriate turnaround time is considered to be 7-10 days from the date of the interview.

The missed correct time for refusal puts the employer in an awkward position, violates his plans. The result is a loss of business reputation, getting into the "black list" of candidates.

The rules for constructing a competent refusal are as follows:

1. timeliness. Do not delay the conversation, try to hide from the employer, ignoring phone calls in the hope that the problem will be solved by itself.
2. Tact. You should briefly and politely indicate the reasons for the refusal, apologize.
3. Lack of emotion. Do not apologize too vigorously for the rejection, arouse pity in yourself, hoping to adapt to uninteresting work.
4. Honesty and frankness. Potential employer has the right to know the reason for the refusal, if it is not of a purely personal nature.

Situations when it is better to hide the true reason for the refusal, come up with another explanation:

Important! If not satisfied with certain items official duties, you should tell the recruiter frankly about this. The employer has the right to meet halfway, changing or eliminating such points as far as possible.

Conclusion

The timely refusal of an unattractive position leaves the employer time to look for another candidate, saves him from having to waste time every day on useless activities that do not give a chance to reveal talents and fully demonstrate professional qualities.

Refusal to raise: who needs it and why

Strange as it may sound, promotion is not always a joy. For some, a new position may not fit into personal plan career development, someone is not ready to take on more responsibilities due to family circumstances, and someone does not see himself as a leader at all. The main thing is to reject the offer of promotion so as not to harm the career, or even contribute to its development.

Different reasons

Reasons for rejecting a proposed increase can vary widely. This may be the fear of not coping, and the unwillingness to switch from interesting professional tasks to administrative ones, and the desire to move in a different direction, and the unwillingness to take on a different level of responsibility and work schedule, or the unwillingness to change the existing relationships in the team.

Personnel training managers are advised to plan behavior based on their own goals. For example, they can be like this: you do not want and never want to become a leader, you want to become a leader, but a little later, say, in a couple of years, you want to become a leader in a different professional field.

Whatever the reasons for the refusal, according to experts, it should be thoughtful, balanced and formulated from the standpoint of the interests of the employer.

Weighty arguments

Such a decision and its reasoning require preparation. So it is better to take a little time out, think it over well and, if necessary, discuss with family members. “Well-prepared arguments will help avoid a situation where the employer may think that you are inflating your worth and not seriously refusing,” says Marina Mironova and advises assessing the positive and negative consequences of this transition for the employer himself. You can motivate your decision, for example, by showing that you will have to give up a number of important tasks for the company, and the search for a replacement will be long and expensive.

Those who cannot yet accept the offer due to family circumstances should start the conversation by saying that you are generally interested in the offer, then show ownership of the situation and understanding of the goals and objectives of the unit and its leader. And then say that you have comprehensively analyzed your resources and capabilities and realized that you will be able to achieve these goals only after some time, and voice the reasons. Thus, you need to take the place of your leader, showing that you value his choice and think like a team player.

If the reason for the refusal is unwillingness to change one's status in the team and the need to change the attitude of others towards oneself, show the employer that this appointment can cause conflicts, and possibly the departure of valuable employees.

And not very

Refusal due to unwillingness to change the existing work schedule is not the best the best way, because with the proper distribution of time, the manager may well fit into the usual work schedule.

But the worst thing is a rejection for fear of additional responsibility. After all, responsibility is present to some extent in every workplace, and the employer may suspect that, avoiding more responsibility, you will also seek to minimize the existing one.