How to Push Back on a Mediocre Job Offer

July 27, 2022
Rebecca Allen
Communication Skills, Corporate Confidence, Managing Others, Mindset & Career
0 Comments

Should you just accept or push back on a mediocre job offer?

I just got off the phone with a new client, Miranda, who has been in her current role for 2 years.

She was beyond frustrated… even angry…

I could feel her blood boiling through my phone!

She had just got out of a meeting with her boss’ boss, who had suggested she might be interested in a ‘new opportunity’…

Miranda had been excited initially.

The business was thriving.

What would this new opportunity involve?

Would she be getting the recognition she had been patiently waiting for?

Would a new job title, or a pay rise, be coming her way?

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A Disappointing Offer…

Upon talking the ‘opportunity’ through with her boss’ boss…

It became apparent…

That this role was not what Miranda was hoping it would be.

The gist of the conversation was this:

The expectation was that she would take over her boss’ role imminently…

As well as six new direct reports…

But without the addition of a new job title…

And without the addition of a pay rise, despite the increased responsibility and workload.

Miranda felt flat.

Humiliated even.

The expectation was that she would just accept…

And that she would be grateful for this ‘opportunity’.

But…

How was she supposed to take on this larger role without also pushing for the recognition she both wanted and believed she deserved?

Especially as she had voiced her desire to take over her boss’ role 12 months previously.

She felt she had already demonstrated her ability and suitability for the role 10-times over.

What else did she have to do to get the recognition she deserved?

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What Are Your Options?

Have you ever been put in a position like Miranda’s?

It can be difficult to know how to push back when you simply can not accept the terms on offer, without burning any bridges.

Especially if you know your business is running profitably.

What would you do?

Would you:

A) Accept the role immediately and be grateful to have been asked?
B) Accept the opportunity begrudgingly, not pushing for the job title or pay you felt the role required?
C) Take a step back and make a list first of how success in the role should be rewarded?

Or… D), E), F)…?

There are always options available to you…

And immediately accepting any new role is rarely in your best interests.

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How to Push Back on a Mediocre Job Offer

If there is one thing I have learned during my 13 years as a career and executive coach is…

You must never settle for a role that is mediocre…

That offers mediocre returns…

That doesn’t fit into your own plan…

Or help you further your career.

Never settle.

Always challenge an offer and consider it deeply.

Firstly is it strategically aligned with your own career aspirations?
Secondly is it rewarding you appropriately for the energy you will expire in doing it?
Thirdly is it giving you the stretch you need right now?

And a bunch of other simple, but vital, questions that you should ask yourself. 🙂

Speaking to a neutral coach like me can be really valuable when you are assessing a new role, a new offer, a new ‘opportunity’…

To make sure you do get the appropriate recognition that you deserve.

Rebecca x

👋 Hey there I’m Rebecca Allen and I’m a Career Success Coach for professional women who want to land dream career opportunities and enjoy far greater fulfilment in their work.

Over the last 14 years I have coached clients from ANZ, Deloitte, Origin Energy, Coca-Cola Amatil, J. P. Morgan Chase, McKinsey and IHS Markit to name a few.

Read client testimonials and get free resources right here. 🙂