how much time can I ask for to consider a job offer?

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

A reader writes:

I’ve been conducting a low-key job search for months without much movement, and suddenly within the last few weeks I have what seems like serious interest from two different companies. I’m near the end of the interviewing process with both of them but, from what I can tell, one of them is moving much more quickly than the other. I’d be willing to consider accepting an offer from either of them, but so far I’m more interested in the one we’ll call Company A. And of course, Company A is the one that’s moving more slowly – so I’m worried about getting an offer from Company B and needing to give them an answer before I’ve heard back from Company A.

I don’t want to turn down Company B just out of hope Company A will come through with an offer, because if they don’t I’d glad go to work for my second choice. But I also don’t want to accept Company B’s offer if I have a chance at working with Company A.

How do people navigate this? I assume I can’t tell Company B that they’re my second choice or that I need to put them on hold while I wait for an answer from a different employer. And I know I can’t tell Company A to speed up their timeline (and in fact they mentioned that part of the reason for the delay is that they’re waiting to interview a finalist who’s been out of the country and thus unavailable).

If Company B makes an offer before I’ve heard from Company A, how much time can I ask for to think it over before I start to look uninterested? Is a week or two unreasonable? And if I do get an offer from them, is there any way I can contact Company A to explain the situation or will that look like I’m trying to pit them against each other?

Last, I guess, what if I accept Company B’s offer and then Company A finally comes through with their own? Can I back out of the first offer without ruining my reputation in my small industry or is that never done?

I know I’m getting ahead of myself! For all I know, no one will make me an offer and all this worry will be for nothing. But I’d feel better if I knew how to handle it.

You can read my answer to this letter at New York Magazine today. Head over there to read it.