Exploding Offers

Interview season is back, and once again, a big theme has been offer deadlines or, as we like to call them, “exploding offers”.

Each season it seems like the interview timeline moves earlier and earlier, as companies rush to lock candidates in before other people get a chance to talk to them. Sometimes it’s an official offer deadline, and other times it’s more subtle pressure. In some cases the offer doesn’t expire, but some other perk - like a specific signing bonus or your choice of group - does. Occasionally companies have good reasons for these deadlines, but usually it’s just strategic - they want to lock you in before you get a chance to see and evaluate all your options, and to us that doesn’t seem right.

This process doesn’t seem good for anyone, and we’ve mentioned that before. We’re still not sure what to do about it, but we thought this year we’d at least offer some tangible advice on what you, as a candidate, can do about it.

Know the companies.

Before you apply, try to find friends who have worked at or know about these companies. You can time when you apply or how you apply based on how long the interview process takes and how much time they give candidates to decide.

Time your interviews.

Try to go through the process at the same rate with all the companies you’re looking at. Especially if a company is known for exploding offers, try to push back their interviews until as late as possible. And if you’re getting pressure to move quickly with one company, try to see if other companies will expedite your process.

Just ask for an extension.

Sometimes people are (understandably) hesitant, worried this will make them look less committed in the eyes of the company, but really you shouldn’t be afraid to have this conversation if you approach it right. Of course you think it’s a great company - that’s why you applied - and of course you’ll commit fully to the job once you sign. This is just a really big decision and you want to spend the time you need looking at your options, so that you can go in fully committed and confident you’ve made the right choice. How are they thinking about this deadline? Can they delay giving you the official offer (of course this is functionally equivalent to giving an extension, but empirically some places seem more comfortable with this phrasing of things)? What happens if the deadline passes? Maybe they have good answers to these questions. But if they don’t and they refuse to have a dialogue with you about it, that isn’t a great sign for how the company treats their employees.

Stand up for yourself.

This is easier said than done, but it’s important to remember that this is the start of a repeated game. You are (presumably) looking to establish a long-term employment relationship with the company, and this is definitely not the last negotiation you’ll have with them. What happens years down the line, when you’d like to work on a different project or think your contributions aren’t being properly recognized? Will the company work with your needs and goals, or will they just try to squash the conversation? This moment, before you’ve accepted their offer, is actually one of the times when you have the most leverage and the company is most incentivized to treat you well - if they won’t have a fair discussion about this now, what does that say about your future career there? Obviously these situations can be really tough and sometimes you have to do what you have to do. But keeping some of this in mind will help you stand up for yourself the appropriate amount. You need to be able to have a dialogue with your future employer.

Know your university’s rules.

Most university career services departments have policies on how early companies can set deadlines (see examples A, B, C, and D). Sure, these rules don’t really have any legal force behind them (though, fun fact, neither do most employment letters you’ll be asked to sign), but it does seem like a good source to point a company at when trying to counter with a reasonable, fair deadline you’d like them to use.

Apply to Jane Street!

In case it’s not clear, Jane Street doesn’t do exploding offers. We want to give you the time and space to evaluate all your options and choose what’s best for you. This is maybe a convenient stance for us because, well, not a lot of people turn down our offers. But we also had this policy before we were so well known, and it’s part of a broader philosophy that we think has helped us get where we are. Amazing people are going to have lots of amazing opportunities, and we recognize that. If we want you to come to Jane Street and stay at Jane Street, we need to bend over backwards to treat people well and treat people fairly. It’s not just that we’re nice (though we like to think that’s part of it), it’s part of a long-term sustainable strategy to attract and retain talent.

Anyway, hopefully you’ve found this advice useful, so you can avoid these tricky situations when possible and navigate them when they do occur. Finding the right place for you after college is a very important step in your life. It can naturally be difficult and stressful, but ideally the companies you’re looking at will help make the process easier, not harder. Wherever you end up, we hope it’s a place that cares about you and is working to help you succeed. Good luck!