What actions would you take if you are extended a job offer on the spot immediately following an interview?

If it is a position you desire, start negotiating your salary. This may break the deal if they are paying less than you need or want. Be prepared to walk out on this process. don't be indecisive. Be firm but fair. If you agree on a salary then the next step is to start negotiating your benefit package and what you want in it or excluded out of it. If you exclude anything then negotiate an increase in your salary to compensate for not taking their benefit. If when this is agreed upon ask about training or orientation. After all this is settled and the company or you haven't pulled out of negotiations you decide at that time if this package fits your needs. If it is shake on it and take the job. If it isn't shake hands and move on. The company may call you a few days later and agree to all your desired package or offer you a starting salary increase. Don't wait around and wait for this to happen if you do; you should have taken the job as offered in the first place. This is not a game of chicken; to see who blinks first. Don't go back and beg the job, they will be in the power position and you probably won't even get what was agreed upon when you walked out the door.

My most recent job came as a result of being "drafted" by a company with which I worked just a few months prior (all of my recent jobs have been with government contractors with short-term positions for the most part). It was a matter of "you have two hours to apply," and it was a matter of going to a web-site and clicking the "APPLY NOW" button, as they already had my profile. The interviews were "pro forma," and there was little doubt. Once you get into the contracting business, it tends to go that way if you have built up a solid reputation for dependability and inspire confidence in your superiors and with your client base.

SGM Joel Cook - depending on the economy and what kind of job we're talking about, you were either lucky or damned lucky. Lately, most people haven't had their choices like that. You and I are/were fortunate.

SGM Cook had his plan in effect as his answer illustrates quite effectively.

Always get a written offer. Otherwise, you are at the mercy of the company's HR department when it comes to every aspect of employment.

Also: if you've nbeen offered a job verbally, it means they need an employee! You now are an asset with value to the company; if they didn't want you, they wouldn't have offered you! If your asking to see the offer in writing is a problem for the employer: run away. No one should have a problem with you asking for a document, and if they do, it's a flag.

Even in the military, when I was asked about another position I asked questions, and in some cases I decline the job in the spot. As one member said his wife got on him, well I didn't have to wait for my wife to tell me, I did it myself. I quit jobs that people said to me that I was crazy, I got hire in other jobs immediately, so the money kept on coming. Work where you want to and how you want to, as long is within the companies guide lines.

SFC Olivero Rodriguez - At one point in my career, I was a senior Captain traveling 8 hours one-way to serve as an S-3 at a US Army Hospital (USAR). After 18 months, I was notified that the unit was deactivating and my command recommended that I consider another hospital 3 hours closer to home. So, I visited the unit and attended drill for 2 months. Very quickly I noticed there was a problem. The XO (an AGR LTC Nurse) took issue with my tanker boots. Despite the fact that he wore jump boots (no jump wings), he kept bringing me in to his office and directing me to stop wearing 'unauthorized' boots. His interpretation of the regulations was that I was not authorized to wear tanker boots unless I was assigned to an Armor unit. Needless to say, I never came back. Serving with and under incompetent leaders is something to avoid. But, too often, we don't learn this until after, in desperation, we accept a job to pay the bills.

"When you're tryin' to make a livin' there ain't no such thing as pride" Richard Marx.

Dithering has an advantage of deliberate decision making. IBM used to take prospective employees to lunch or dinner. During the course of a meal, if the employee failed to review the menu or seasoned their food without tasting first, there would be no job offer made on the grounds of pre-judging/lack of deliberation. Likewise, Coca Cola and Pepsi would not offer a position to someone who chose to drink a competitor's beverage. Sometimes, taking some time to make a deliberate decision communicates more about how you will perform as an employee than rushing into something.

COL (Join to see), my decision-making was done prior to the interview. I knew the job I was applying for and the wage level I could accept; when the offer came I knew whether it met my criteria or not.

Only once did I tell the employer that I would have to think about it; it was for a temporary position but it required a non-compete agreement that stated that if I left I could not work in the field for two years. This was the field I had worked in for 25 years.

I turned the offer down after checking with a lawyer to see if the agreement had teeth and was told that it did. The company came back later and made the offer again without the agreement. I accepted the job then and later the position was made permanent.

But I knew at the time of the interview that I could not accept that condition for a temporary job.

Capt Seid Waddell - Then it is very likely you had no scent of desperation and it was a good decision. I have been taught to sleep on it and rarely has that advice failed me. However, not 'sleeping on it' has often resulted in a less than optimal outcome.

COL (Join to see), right, Sir. It is all in what you want and are willing to accept. I have seen enough difficult work situations to be wary and as informed as possible when I go to the interview. I am evaluating them at the same time that they are evaluating me.

Desperation generally leads to poor results, in my experience.