
This Director of Engineering Thinks the Future is Remote - and Female
Meet Shweta Saraf, Director of Engineering at DigitalOcean
We've all heard the rallying cry, "We need more women in STEM!" And don't get us wrong, we agree!
But when it comes to women's representation in tech, Shweta Saraf, Director of Engineering at DigitalOcean, knows that actions speak louder than words.
Shweta doesn't just talk a good game—she mentors women in STEM, sets the bar high for her recruiters, and takes the time necessary to broaden the pipeline for open engineering roles on her team. (She also serves on the Forbes Tech Council, sharing insights and advice with fellow tech leaders).
But long before Shweta was a tech thought leader and director at DigitalOcean (a high-growth tech company serving a passionate community of developers and businesses around the world), she was an intern at Cisco, trying to decide how to advance her career.
We sat down with her to learn about her own leadership journey, women in STEM, and life at DigitalOcean. Read on to learn more and get inside tips on how you can join her team — she's hiring across multiple teams and roles, and thanks to DigitalOcean's strong remote culture, you can work from just about anywhere! (P.S. If you like swag, be sure to read to the end to learn how you can win a free t-shirt!)
On Leadership & Paying It Forward
You're the Director of Engineering at DigitalOcean… can you walk me through your career path and tell me how you got where you are now?
The defining moment in my career was when I decided to make the switch to an engineering manager role. I was the tech lead on a wireless security project at Cisco. I had four people sort of reporting to me and I realized I was doing all of the IC work, and I was helping run the team and supporting my teammates.
I could tell I was burning out and knew that I needed to pick one thing and stick to it. That led to a lot of self-introspection, which led me to understand that one of my talents is empowering others to do their best work. So I ended up switching to an engineering manager role.
I worked on multiple different teams at Cisco before becoming a senior manager, and then I switched to DigitalOcean. I started with a very small team of three engineers, and then I grew that team to 35 individual contributors, three managers, and two architects.
Not every IC wants to move into a leadership position. How and when did you know that that was the right path for you?
In addition to a lot of self-reflection, one thing that really helped me realize that I wanted to move into a leadership role was starting an Employee Resource Organization for Women in Science and Engineering at Cisco. It was happening in parallel with the work I was doing as a tech lead; I started with six or seven engineers and grew it into a worldwide Employee Resource Organization with almost 5,000 members spread across different countries.
What obstacles did you encounter along the way and how did you overcome them?
I think the biggest obstacle I had to overcome was not to listen to the voices telling me, "You have to wait, this is too early. You can't do this." I had to believe in my self-worth and work hard to defy what I was hearing. I didn't want time to be a factor in how my performance was rewarded.
What advice would you give to women just starting their engineering careers who want to move into leadership roles?
Number one, find an ally/sponsor who really invests in you. This is different from a mentor because when you're transitioning roles, you need someone who's advocating for you behind closed doors.
I had one such sponsor, who happened to be my manager, and he was really invested in providing me with feedback and inspiring me to follow the trajectory of an engineering manager role. Thanks to him, the transition just felt natural, because I was already taking on more and more responsibilities of an Engineer Manager, and then eventually we just made it official. We decided I would really focus on the EMS side of the role, and lowered the priority of my IC responsibilities.
Number two, make it known that you want to obtain a leadership role. That you see yourself as a leader. Start acting like you have the job so that you don't have to wait for a change in title to start learning.
Lastly, invest in your growth. I had to really stretch myself to handle that transition, but if you invest in that, you will grow immensely.
Now that we're in advice mode, let's talk about mentorship. You're a mentor on Plato. Why do you believe mentorship matters and what kinds of mentorship opportunities are offered at DigitalOcean?
I believe it's important to give back to your community; I want to thank all the great mentors that I have had the privilege of working with and who molded my thinking as a person. I've gained a lot from my mentors, and I want to pay it forward. With Plato, I can do just that.
At DigitalOcean, we recently completed the first cohort of our new mentorship program and I was able to participate in that as well. I was paired up with someone very cross-functional to my role, who I would not normally have talked with on a daily basis. It ended up being a very rewarding experience for both of us. I view mentoring as a two-way learning process, not just giving advice to someone all the time.
(Remote) Culture at DigitalOcean
I know DigitalOcean has a strong remote culture. Why do you think this is important, and what do you think is the key to success when managing remote teams?
Basically, in everything we do, we have accounted for the remote employee experience, whether it is onboarding, how we use Slack, or planning the annual company offsite.
I think remote culture is the future. You save on valuable resources, like time and gas, and the time that people save by not commuting really enriches their work and personal lives. I can just go on and on about why remote work is awesome and people should embrace it... but when it comes to managing remote teams, it's really a special skill set.
I focus on providing time zone autonomy to teams. I have teams in Canada, Berlin, India… you get the idea. Once you get the location out of the picture, that's when remote teams really come together and are most productive.
I also believe in investing in people and spending time with them—it's not easy to bond with teammates when you're not seeing them in person, but if you chat with video on, I think it feels a lot more like you have the person next to you.
Very cool. So with so many time zones, how do you manage team check-ins and meetings?
We expect everyone to allocate working hours on their calendars. When we hire someone, we explain that depending on their team, they're expected to have certain overlap in hours to facilitate conversation.
The second aspect is that when they're actually doing the work, we try to coordinate so that engineers always have at least one other person on their team in their time zone so that they can get code from development to production fairly quickly.
Lastly, I do have budget for each of my teams to plan off-sites, in addition to the company-wide offsite, so that teammates can find a central location and meet up to work together during the crucial phase of a project and also build some relationships.
And you also have an office presence, right?
Yes, we have our headquarters in New York, as well as offices in Cambridge, Palo Alto, Berlin, Canada… because we have such a wide office presence, it's really suited to mirror what the individual's and team's needs are. If you feel more motivated working in an office environment, then there is the opportunity to work from one of those offices from time to time, or move to one of those locations.
How do you decide who will be a remote employee and who will work in-office?
It's part of the conversation when we're hiring someone. It's really flexible. In the Bay Area, for example, we have lots of people who prefer to work remotely to avoid traffic, but come into the office from time to time.
We always ask folks what their preference is and make sure that aligns with the team's needs. There are a few cases where in-person interaction is very important, and those teams might have a preference for people being in one location. But for most of the engineering teams, we are spread very widely and we assess as part of the interview process whether working remotely is something that the individual would be comfortable with.
That said, we do encourage interns and entry-level employees to work in one of our offices so they can collaborate with more senior team members and feel a greater sense of support and belonging. Remote is normally an option for more senior people who don't need as much direction with their day-to-day work.
You encourage your engineers to contribute to open source projects. Tell me more about that and how it aligns with Digital Ocean's culture.
I really want companies to think about how open source can play a key role in their businesses, products and the way in which they give back to the community. I strive for engineers to contribute to open source not only as a hobby, but to evaluate options where this aligns with our business strategy and make opportunities for them to spend time on this.
This aligns really well with our culture — we recently had a hackathon where people across the company, technical and non-technical, came together to hack on innovative projects, and some of these were based on open source. Apart from that, a number of our core products use open source as a key technology to make them run. DigitalOcean is also a gold member of Cloud Native Computing Foundation. And we do use a lot of projects from well-known open source communities like Kubernetes, GRPC, Prometheus, Open vSwitch, and Ceph.
Let's talk about another thing that should get prospective engineers excited - what kinds of innovations/projects are your teams working on?
My charter is leading Software-Defined Networking (SDN) at DigitalOcean. My teams are working on really cool things. For example, we're building…
- a scalable load balancer, which will scale up to a very high requests per second. We're building it in multi-tenant Kubernetes based platform solution so that it doesn't serve just one customer, but it's able to scale across thousands of customers.
- a virtual private cloud. That essentially provides security and privacy for all the customers within our data center by encapsulating their traffic.
We are also focused on scaling our network across data centers and focusing on metrics, tooling and security features. We are looking to hire software engineers with distributed systems background as well as generalists who are excited to work across product stack.
You mentioned you're hiring on multiple teams… across those teams, what is something you look for in every applicant?
Once the technical bar is cleared, there's one question I ask myself about every candidate: will this person uplift their team? I want someone who is going to bring others along and elevate the team.
If you had 30 seconds to persuade a woman (or anyone) to join your team, what would you tell them?
I'll tell you what I tell all the candidates I speak to—and most of them do end up joining us: if you want to do the best work of your life in an environment where people respect and care for each other, and you want to work with some of the smartest people in the industry solving hard, creative problems, come join us.
Last but not least, what's something cool about DigitalOcean that most people might not know?
One cool thing that people may not know is that in 2014, DigitalOcean started the largest external hackathon—Hacktoberfest—to encourage people to contribute to and learn about open source and continues to run it every year. As part of this year's Hacktoberfest, there are 584 events organized across the world where people are coming together to do this. Every person who does 4 pull requests during this period gets a t-shirt—but you have to earn it, it can't be bought!
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What are you waiting for? Hacktoberfest runs all month! Go get your free t-shirt, and then check out the open roles on Shweta's team!
Clyde’s Joseph Arquillo on the 6 Things Leaders Need to Do to Build Inclusive Spaces
Joseph Arquillo doesn’t work in Human Resources — he works in People Operations. And the distinction matters.
“It was named ‘human resources’ because it saw humans as resources, utilized for certain tasks or behaviors. But that’s not really what it’s about,” says Joseph, who is a Senior Manager of People Ops at Clyde.
“Calling it ‘people ops’ adds back what you lose with ‘HR.’ My philosophy is that I am there to support you. I am there to work with you, empower you, and enable you so you can be your best self.”
For Joseph, a key element of helping employees become their best selves is making sure that the workplace, whether in-person or virtual, is an inclusive space for all. That doesn’t happen by accident — it requires a dedicated DEIB strategy and leaders who are committed to asking hard questions of themselves and others.
We sat down with Joseph to hear more about his professional journey, and the practices of leaders who create environments where everyone feels included.
More Than Just a Number
As a college freshman, Joseph planned on sticking with liberal arts when it came to choosing a major. But then he took a class in Boston College’s School of Education, and loved its holistic approach to applied psychology.
This inspired him to switch his major to psychology and human development, and select minors in political science, and management and leadership, where he enjoyed learning about organizational psychology.
After graduation, he explored the consulting space to put theory into practice, but found out during an internship at a multinational consulting firm that finance or accounting weren’t the places he wanted to build his career.
“Since Big Four companies have 250,000 employees, you become just a number,” he says of the experience. “It wasn’t my cup of tea. Too corporatized.”
That kicked off Joseph’s interest in startups.
“It’s always fun to get in the weeds! One thing that’s very interesting to me is a challenge,” he says. “When you’re helping a company like Clyde grow and scale, joining when they’re at a Series B and helping them get to the next level, you really get to focus on the interaction between people, process, and product,” explains Joseph. “You need to hire the right people to work towards increasing efficiencies in all areas, but also make sure that we’re enabling them to create a strong product.”
6 Keys To Building Inclusive Spaces as a Leader
Across the different industries and companies that Joseph has worked in, he’s identified the behaviors that create truly inclusive environments — as well as those that discourage them.
Here’s what he’s seen:
- First, recognize your own privilege. “If you’re a man, you have privilege, even if you’re a gay male. If you are a white woman, you have racial privilege. It’s really important that you’re cognizant while you interact with somebody how they might interpret the interaction based on your identity.”
- Leaders should always speak last. This is important always, but especially in in-person spaces, where it might seem even more nerve-wracking to speak up in a crowd, says Joseph. “You want to make sure you’re creating that space for employees who aren’t as senior to feel comfortable voicing their thoughts.”
- And, leaders should use check-ins liberally. “You need to ask yourself how you’re supporting your employees. Are you checking in on them as people before you ask about certain tasks? You want to foster a workplace where employees from all walks of life can feel supported,” he says.
- DEIB isn’t just about adding new initiatives — sometimes it’s about removing barriers. “You need to remove unnecessary bias,” explains Joseph. “That can mean making sure you have appropriate policies and practices that don’t hinder people depending on who they are or where they live.”
- Maximizing participation requires planning with a diversity lens. Joseph has helped the Clyde team gather together and bond as a group. Along the way, he’s been careful to consider physical and psychological safety for everyone involved. “For instance, if you’re doing an event, do you have someone who’s not drinking? Have you set up the environment for people who might have a physical disability, or carefully planned the flow of activities for people who might be neurodivergent?”
- Saying you want to be better isn’t enough — articulate actions you will take. “Pride is a great example,” explains Joseph. “Yes, June is a time to celebrate. But it’s also a time to march. And beyond that, how do you show up and celebrate with the LGBTQIA+ community throughout the year?”
Embracing the Unknown
If you visit Joseph’s LinkedIn profile, you’ll see his personal motto: “Without challenge, change, and a bunch of unknowns, it’s no fun.”
That belief has led him to study what he’s passionate about, to take on new and exciting roles at growing startups, and now, at Clyde, to help formalize what world-class people operations looks like at a fast-growing company.
“I view myself as a connector that really empowers people, challenges teams, and helps drive us towards what I consider to be an improved future,” he says. “I feel like it’s my responsibility to be the chief advocate for each of our employees, and remove any barriers in the way of their growth.”
Want to learn more about what opportunities Clyde offers? Check out their open roles!
Careers in Web Development: Which One's For You?
We all have our favorite websites– the ones we frequent, bookmark, and recommend to others. You might even enjoy some website features so much that you’ve found yourself wondering why they aren’t more popular. Or maybe you’ve experienced times where you were frustrated with a website and wished you could add features or even design your own!
If you’ve ever found yourself intrigued at the prospect of designing and developing your own websites, then a career as a web developer might be just for you!
As a web developer you would be responsible for coding, designing, optimizing, and maintaining websites. Today, there are over 1.7 billion websites in the world and, in turn, the demand for web developers is on the rise. In order to figure out what kind of web development work best suits you let’s start with an introduction to the three main roles in web development that you can choose from.
The Three Types of Web Development Jobs
Front-End Web Development: The Creative Side
Think of front-end development as the décor of a house. The color scheme, furniture, manicured lawns, and overall aesthetic. In terms of a website, front-end development is laser-focused on the appearance of a website and its presentation on different devices. If you’re considering a role in front-end development, it’s important to learn programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These three languages go hand-in-hand. HTML allows you to create user interface elements, CSS helps you with stylistic elements, and JavaScript allows you to incorporate online tools and connect your website to back-end functions.
In addition to programming skills, front-end developers need to be detail oriented, creative, willing to keep up with the latest trends in web development, cyber security conscious, and geared toward user-friendly designs. The median salary for a front-end developer can reach well into the $90,000 to $100,000 range.
Back-End Web Development: The Logical Counterpart
While a house can be beautifully decorated, it’s incomplete without a solid foundation and efficient infrastructure. Similarly, a well-designed website depends on logical and functional code to power the features of that website. Back-end web development is code-heavy and focused on the specifics of how a website works. If you enjoy the analytical challenge of creating the behind-the-scenes code that powers a website, then back-end development is for you.
Since this role is more code-heavy, it’s important that you learn numerous programming languages and understand algorithms and data structures. Some languages that are essential to back-end development are Ruby, Python, SQL, and JavaScript. Back-end developers also ensure that users can successfully retrieve and access data. This requires creating and using APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) which act as messengers that relay data related requests. Additionally, developing the code for the inner workings of a website also requires back-end developers to be conscious of the user interface features designed by front-end developers and to internally mitigate potential security risks. Due to the increased technical aspect of this position, back-end developers normally earn higher salaries than front-end developers. The average median salary for this role is around $118,000 per year.
Full-Stack Web Development: A Little Bit of Everything
A full-stack developer is essentially the Jack (or Jill)-of-all-trades in web development. Full-stack developers need to be knowledgeable about both front-end and back-end roles. This does not necessarily imply that you would need to be an expert in both roles, but you should fully understand the different applications and synergies they each imply. In order to work in this position, you will need to know the programming languages used by front-end and back-end developers. In addition to these languages, full-stack developers also specialize in databases, storage, HTTP, REST, and web architecture.
Full-stack developers are often required to act as liaisons between front-end and back-end developers. Full-stack developers need to be both problem solvers and great communicators. The end goal for a full-stack developer is to ensure that the user’s experience is seamless, both on the front-end and on the back-end. In return, you can expect to earn a median salary of $100,000 – $115,000 a year for this role.
Taking the Next Step
Web development is both in-demand and lucrative! All three roles described above contribute to specific aspects of web development and the scope of each one can be customized to the industries and positions you feel best suit you. Regardless of which role you choose, all of them need a foundation in programming.
To gain the programming skills needed in each role, you can enroll in courses or learn independently. Coding bootcamps are a great way to boost your skillset quickly and efficiently.
Click here for some of our highly rated programming bootcamp options! Make sure to check out the discounts available to PowerToFly members.
Navigating Mid-Career Pivots and Finding a Company Where You Can Show Up Authentically
Insight from SoftwareONE’s Jeff Cannon and Chris Lecosia
SoftwareONE’s Jeff Cannon Business Development Executive US) and Christopher Lecosia (Senior Consultant) share a similar adventurous and brave spirit, which has led to a long trajectory of creative experiences for both of them. From taking care of two new puppies to backpacking across Europe — neither of them back down from a challenge.
As members of the LGBTQIA+ community, Jeff and Chris spent a large portion of their careers fighting for inclusive workplaces where they feel a sense of belonging, and opportunities to use their experiences to serve people, no matter what career stage they’re in. And they’ve both recently found that in the global provider of end-to-end software and cloud technology solutions SoftwareONE.
We sat down with Jeff and Chris to hear their stories on how they navigated mid and late career changes and their journey to finding a company where they felt valued. Keep reading to the end for four major tips on how to successfully pivot careers.
The Journey to SoftwareONE
Jeff Cannon was born in Tacoma, Washington, but considers both Texas and Georgeia his home. After graduating from college with a bachelor's degree in English and History, “I wanted to go to graduate school for history,” he explains. But upon arrival, he realized graduate school was not the right path for him, so he packed his backpack and set out for a trip through Europe instead.
This adventurous spirit led him back home to pursue exciting challenges, such as opening a hotel in Austin, working as a flight attendant in New York and Hawaii, and eventually pursuing a sales career at Dell. “I was an account executive for large university systems and large K-12 systems providing information technology to students to be able to further their education. It really fit in with my mantra around how important education is in society,” Jeff explains.”It's kind of my thing.” But after nearly 20 years at the company, he decided to look for new opportunities. “I was tired of doing the same thing all the time.” Enter SoftwareONE.
“This was an opportunity to do something completely different and take the information that I learned and use it to help build a practice that can accomplish some of the same things,” Jeff explains. He joined the company as a Business Development Executive Executive where he works to build the company’s education practice within the public sector in the United States.
SoftwareONE is a company where Jeff can thrive professionally and personally. He specifically cites the company to be people-first, which his coworker Christopher Lecosia agrees with. “SoftwareONE is a place where you can thrive as an employee, and where your creativity can flourish,” says Chris.
SoftwareONE is a leading global provider of end-to-end software and cloud technology solutions, with headquarters in Switzerland. The company itself prioritizes people as their “greatest asset” and advocates for life-work harmony. Their company’s core values are Employee Satisfaction, Customer Focused, Speed, Passionate, Integrity, Humble and Discipline, to name a few, and they ensure that they have “a welcoming – and constantly evolving – work environment for all”, no matter the racial, ethnic, religious, sexual or other preferences.
Christopher works as Senior Consultant for SoftwareONE. He entered the field of IT in 1974. “Back then it was called data processing,” he jokes. “But I kind of fell into IT consulting.” He enrolled in college as an accounting major, but quickly realized that was not the path for him. “I drove into the parking lot of this college for the first day and I got very scared,” explains Chris. “I turned around and went home and I found a job.” And he was able to pursue jobs that allowed him room to change and grow with the market. He began as a systems programer and, progressively, he scaled to managerial data processing roles at multiple software companies, including IBM. He played a key role in leading and growing software asset management programs, directing support for configuration and asset management, and serving as a senior project manager for multiple teams in his previous companies.
His successful 40+ year-long career led to the start of a well-deserved retirement. “I turned 65 last October, and I thought, ‘okay, I think I’ve had enough,’ and I decided to retire in full.” But his retirement was short-lived. “A few months before I retired, [my company] had put out an RFP to the street, which SoftwareONE responded to, and I'll never forget,” says Chris. “I was hearing them respond to me and I thought, ‘Wow, these people know what they're talking about. They're really sharp and I really believed in the value that they could bring.’” So when he was offered a position as a Senior Consultant, he didn’t think twice about coming out of retirement. “In November, a recruiter from SoftwareONE called, and I started in January of 2022.”
All-Around Authenticity
Changing jobs after working for a company long-term can be risky, especially later in your career. But both Jeff and Chris agree that the benefits of working at a company like SoftwareONE are well worth the risk. And for the first time, they’ve felt like they can show up as their full, authentic selves at work.
Jeff recalls past workplaces that, when push came to shove, “had an undercurrent of non-acceptance.” This undercurrent brought many challenges, but he credits them for his confidence today. “I have no issues whatsoever showing up originally as myself. And at SoftwareONE, everybody's been really lovely.” Even remotely, he finds ways to connect with his coworkers, and he feels like he can do so authentically.
Chris reiterates this in his own trajectory at SoftwareONE. “When I started, my Regional VP asked me for a bio. In my bio, I talked about my husband and my two dogs and how long we've been together. That got sent out to everybody in the organization. So when I onboarded, everybody already knew,” he explains. “It was the first time in 65 years that, right from the get go, there was no pretense at all as to being something different than I am. And that's how I came out at SoftwareONE. It was good to do that. I feel truly authentic.”
Advice for Mid-Career Pivoters
Both Jeff and Chris have successfully pivoted roles and companies later in their careers. They offer four tips to consider before making the jump to a new role or joining a new company.
1. Find a place that values service to the client. “Have the mindset of service,” says Chris. “ I'm a service oriented person and part of being of service is to share my experience, strengths, and hope with other people. Whether that's on a, social, spiritual, mental level, or on a professional technical level, this helps bring growth to you, and to the company you’ll work for.” Jeff shares that, “with this mindset, we see the challenges that customers face, so we're able to better articulate to customers what our value proposition is. We can help clients achieve their goals, and everything comes a lot more easily and naturally.”
2. Believe in what you have to offer. Chris and Jeff share that aligning with the company’s mission is another key aspect to consider before changing companies. “I never thought that anybody would want to hire me at 65 years old,” Chris shares. “I had been in my former job where I saw many opportunities that I thought I was perfect for, in terms of advancement, but I wasn't given those opportunities because of my age. I started to feel dried up a little bit. When I got the offer at SoftwareONE, I felt I really wanted to come back, be of service, keep my brain sharp, and do something. I do believe I have something to offer to many clients, as well as colleagues. And that's what made me make the move.”
3. Think of the experiences you bring to the table. Jeff shares how he transferred his knowledge to his new role. “I was able to take everything that I had learned about building an organization and bring it over to a company that needed that expertise specific to the United States. Being able to have the opportunity to do some of that background work and build on alliances has been, and continues to be, a great opportunity.”
4. Find a workplace that prioritizes diversity. “Each one of us brings a certain set of characteristics with us that sit well with our clients,” explains Chris. “The diversity we bring to the company — whether it be age, gender, color, educational background, intellectual capacity — all of that color makes us more relatable to our clients and our customers.” This leads to the company’s overall success.
SoftwareONE is constantly looking for dynamic employees like Chris and Jeff. Check out their company page to find out more about their roles!
How to Professionally Decline a Job Offer (with Email Templates)
So you’ve spent some time job searching, found the perfect role, aced the interview, and finally got your dream job.
Congratulations!
But what happens if accepting a job offer means having to decline another one?
We’re living in a candidate’s market, and that means it’s becoming more and more common for job seekers to receive multiple offers. The good news is that this gives the candidate the opportunity to choose their perfect position. The bad news is that the candidate will probably have to turn down an offer or two when choosing the best role.
But how do you turn down an offer, without severing ties and keeping things cordial and polite?
Keep reading for our top tips on how to professionally decline a job offer — and keep your network strong for future career opportunities!
How to Professionally Decline a Job Offer
When turning down a job offer, it’s important to maintain a healthy relationship with the hiring manager and company you interviewed with. After all, you never know where your career may lead you next, and just because you decline one position with a company doesn’t mean they won’t have a place for you in the future!
Not prioritizing relationships in your job search can be detrimental, so here are some important points to keep in mind when you decline an offer.
1. Make your decision carefully.
This may seem obvious, but, before you give your final decision, make sure that it’s the move you truly want to make.
Ask yourself: Why do you want to decline it? Why isn’t it a good fit? Weigh out the pros and cons and examine how they could affect your career in the long run. Even though they’re important, don’t just focus on immediate benefits, like salary and flexibility. Consider how this career move could affect your mental health, whether or not it will help you advance professionally in the long run, and if you would be a good fit with the company.
This is a big decision, so make sure that when you do say no, you mean it.
2. Don’t wait to give your answer.
If you’re sure the position just isn’t right for you, it’s wise to contact the recruiter or hiring manager as soon as possible. This is the most considerate and professional approach you could take when turning down a position, because the sooner they know, the sooner they can find someone else to fill the position.
Waiting too long to give your answer could push the hiring process back to the beginning. A hiring manager will appreciate an efficient answer so they can move on to the next candidate and keep the process moving forward without too much delay.
The best way to do this is to try and give them a specific day that you will contact them with your answer, or keep them apprised during your decision-making process. As soon as you’ve made your decision, it’s important to let them know. As difficult as saying no can be, the sooner you do it, the better for everyone.
3. Call before you send an email.
Most of us would probably prefer to give our answer in an email, and that’s understandable! But calling to verbally decline the offer first shows an extra bit of care. This will demonstrate that you care about the time and energy invested in you during the hiring process and are grateful that you were chosen for the position.
It’s also a great way to maintain a good relationship with the employer, because it demonstrates your professionalism and maturity, and will give you an opportunity to be specific about why you are declining. If you are unsure of what to say, write your response down before you call.
You can follow up with an email that reiterates what you said on the phone so that the recruiter or hiring manager has written proof of your response.
4. Be appreciative and humble.
The hiring process isn’t simple. It requires a lot of time and energy from multiple stakeholders, so it’s important to show your gratitude before you decline the job offer. Thank everyone who was involved and acknowledge the investment they made in interviewing you. Let them know you are honored to have been chosen and that, while you carefully considered the offer, the position just isn’t right for you.
5. Explain why you’re declining.
While getting into specifics isn’t always necessary, and you should only share as much information as you feel comfortable, letting the hiring manager or recruiter know why the position isn’t right for you can help keep the communication portal open.
Maybe you received another offer that better aligned with what you were looking for in terms of pay, or perhaps you need more flexibility than the one you are declining can offer you. This feedback can be helpful to share, and sometimes the company might even respond with a counter offer to better suit your needs!
Perhaps the reason you are turning the offer down is due to more personal reasons that you don’t feel comfortable sharing. That’s okay too! Either way, it can be helpful to be transparent about why you are declining.
6. Utilize the opportunity to network for future career moves.
So the position isn’t right for you — that’s okay. But maybe your values aligned with the organization’s, or perhaps you felt that you connected during the hiring process and you’d like to keep the door open to other positions in the future. Just because the role now isn’t right for you now doesn’t mean that the organization won’t have a place for you down the road.
Networking is key for career growth. If you really like the company, don’t be afraid to let them know that you would be interested in other positions in the future. Giving them the means to contact you, like your email and your LinkedIn, will give them the ability to reach out if any other positions open up.
If you find that the company itself just doesn’t fit you, keep in mind that networking and maintaining a good relationship is still important. You don’t have to plan to work there in the future, but you never know who is connected to who, and how that good relationship may pay off in time!
Email Templates for Declining a Job Offer
Turning down a job offer is a delicate task, but it is becoming increasingly necessary in this competitive candidate’s market. If you’re unsure of where to begin or how to write your email, we have included some examples with links to help you get started.
Example for when the position isn’t a good fit
Subject line: Job offer – [Your name]
Hi [insert last name of hiring manager],
Thank you very much for offering me the role of [insert name of position]. However, I have decided that this is not the right fit for my career goals at this time.
I sincerely enjoyed our dialog as well as discussions with your team, and I very much appreciate your taking time to share information about the role and vision of [insert company name].
Again, thank you for your time and consideration; best wishes in your continued success.
Sincerely,
Example for when you’ve accepted another offer
Subject line: Job offer – [Your name]
Hi [insert last name of hiring manager],
Thank you very much for offering me the role of [insert name of position] with [insert company name]. Though it was a difficult decision, I have accepted a position with another company.
I sincerely enjoyed our conversations and very much appreciate your taking time to interview me over the course of the past few weeks.
Again, thank you for your time and consideration; best wishes in your continued success, and I hope our paths cross again in the future.
Best wishes,
Example for when you’ve already accepted the offer
Hi [Interviewer],
Thanks so much for offering me the position of [Job Title] at [Company]. It was a pleasure meeting you.
Unfortunately, after a great deal of thought, I have decided to turn down this gracious job opportunity. I am truly sorry for any inconvenience this decision may cause and hope it will not affect any future relationships with your company.
I wish you continued success and hope to hear from you in the future.
Kind Regards,
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