On rejecting a job offer or an internship

As a student or junior banker, you will typically find yourself interviewing with multiple investment bank, sometimes in different regions, divisions or even industries. If you're lucky and good enough, you may end up with multiple offers. If you get your top choice, you would simply accept it and refuse the others. But should you really care about other firms? And for internships, would refusing an internship offer destroy your full time opportunities ?

How to refuse an offer - the etiquette

This seems like a straightforward question, however a lot of people handle this very badly. First of all, make sure you do reply - don't ignore them or take too long to reply. Second, don't be tempted to be arrogant or cocky by replying something like "Sorry, I'm not interested as I received an offer from Goldman Sachs". Always reply in a very positive and polite way, such as: " Dear James, It was nice meeting with the team 2 weeks ago, and I would like to thank you for this opportunity. However, after careful consideration, I have decided to join Goldman Sachs TMT M&A team. Thanks again for the opportunity. Best Regards,"

Especially for interns, this is extremely important because you might be needing other internships in the future - maybe not now, but what if you decide to do an MBA later and need an MBA internship? Refusing won't impact your chances for full time or for another internship provided you handle the rejection well.

Can you refuse an offer when you've already signed?

Imagine this situation: you've signed with a second tier bank, but a week later you get a call from a top tier bank, saying that there is a spot for you. For interns: be aware that this is a very risky move. You'll definitely be blacklisted at the second tier bank, and the word might spread that you went back on your promise. You have to make a judgement call - is it worth taking the risk? You will need to consider the difference in prestige between the firms, how different the roles are, and what the reputational impact will be. Note that in theory you are contractually bound to accept the terms of the offer but you could possibly resign on your first day - but in practice you should try to find a compromise with the bank that gave you the offer.