Declining a job offer is something you might consider during your career.

Sometimes, a job offer does not look as good as you had hoped, sometimes things change in your situation that make the potential job less desirable, maybe it is something else.

Here are some common reasons for turning down a job offer that you have received:

• Inadequate compensation, benefits, vacation, bonus, stock options, etc.
• A disagreement over job title and/or job responsibilities
• A change of heart either regarding your current employer or the potential new employer
• A gut feeling that something just is not right with the new employer
• You receive another job offer that you prefer to this one.
• A change in your personal situation that just makes the new job less attractive or impossible to accept.

The thing to remember when turning down a job offer is that you will most likely burn your bridges with the particular company you are rejecting.

No hiring manager likes to have people decline a job offer because it most likely means they have to start their search again from scratch to fill the position.

Chances are that they have already turned down other candidates for the job that in hindsight, they wish they had offered the job to.

Before declining a job offer, make sure you have carefully thought through the ramifications of doing so.

If you are unhappily employed, turning down the job offer simply means you are still stuck in a job you do not like and will most likely need to address this problem again shortly.

If you are unemployed, declining a job offer means that your job search is going to have to continue for now.

Either way, declining a job offer is an important decision that should not be taken lightly especially after you have put the effort forth to actually get the offer.