Is it possible to extend the deadline to accept an MBB offer?

Hi there,

if you have received a written offer from a firm with a certain deadline for acceptance and you want to extend that deadline, that usually means that you are waiting for something “better” to come around and you want to leave your opportunities open.

A firm will usually interpret it that way and therefore will have little incentive to grant you that request (of course it depends on what their candidate pipeline looks like and how much they really want you).

Some offers are structured such that you have to sign quickly in order to secure a signing bonus and then there is a longer time window during which the offer is still valid but with a reduced or no signing bonus (depends on the geography you are in). 

It is much easier to request a later start date once you have accepted an offer than to request a deadline extension in order to accept the offer.

If you are still waiting for another offer to come in which you might prefer over the MBB offer you already received, then I would contact that other firm and ask them to speed up the process. I would personally not decline a definite offer for the prospect of “maybe” getting another offer later - especially not in this economic environment. But this really depends on your personal situation and how “desperate” you are to get a consulting job any time soon.

Best of luck

This is a risky move. It really depends on the reason.

Let's say you have a non-professional personal reason for this (e.g. your partner is waiting for an offer or a VISA approval and you want to be in the same location)… then it is clear that you are their preferred employer but need a few more days to make sure you are fine on the personal level.

If it is because you are waiting for another offer… this is trickier, it will always sound that you consider them as a 2nd option.

I would phrase this as postponing being important for both of you. You will have the peace of mind of knowing that you took the best offer you had. They will have the peace of mind of knowing that you chose them because their are indeed your preferred employer.

Accepting or not depends on the market situation. A strong recruiting market means they want to get all the candidates they can - and they will try to “force” you to sign up as fast as possible.
A slow market means the opposite - they will prefer you to reject their offer if in fact you prefer to work for someone else.

The current market situation is the latter.

Hi there,

It is possible to extend the offer deadline but it is not common. As Cristian mentioned, your safest move is using personal reasons. 

In any case, be ready for a more than probable NO.

Best,

Alberto

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Hi!

In some cases, yes, you can negotiate for that, but it doesn't always work. 

You can claim personal reasons. I wouldn't go further than that. 

Good luck!
Cristian

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Hi there,

It's possible, but not likely. You can ask, just be prepared for a no. If they do agree, it would be for a week or two max, most likely.

Legitimate reasons are the best way to get it granted. Please do not lie.

Additionally, starting negotiations is another tactic to delay.

Hi,

First congrats for your offer. It depends on the reason, it's for a logical reason that doesn't imply a competitor, you can share with the firm and discuss what's doable. If not accept the offer and then say no if you have a better offer somewhere else.

Cheers,

Alexandre