Regret about turning down job offer

[Anonymous]

Earlier this year I received an unsolicited job offer. It had some good things and some less good things and the timing wasn’t ideal for me to make change. After a lot of back and forth, I said no. I now regret that decision. I wish I were one of those “everything works out for the best” people but I am not. I know there is no point in stewing over it but some days it really is top of mind for me. Like today. No question, I guess. Just a vent:

[Anonymous]

Reach out to them and ask if they're still interested.

[Anonymous]

Are you a fed?

[Anonymous]

I’m not a fed and I know I should be grateful for the job I have given all the turmoil the feds are under. The position was filled so I can’t revisit it.

[Anonymous]

Hey OP - I'm sorry you're suffering through regret. It happens to all of us. It's okay to not be polyanna about it - sometimes a mistake is a mistake.

What you can do is learn from it. Can you discover why you were reluctant to make the move? What could you have known then that would have led to a better decision - and how can you seek that knowledge at the next decision point? Does this tell you something about your satisfaction with your current condition and a desire for change?

Just because you didn't take the optimal path doesn't mean you can't extract value from the decision you did make. Life is rarely that binary.

Hope you find peace soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not a fed and I know I should be grateful for the job I have given all the turmoil the feds are under. The position was filled so I can’t revisit it.

You could still contact them and say something along the lines of, "due to personal reasons I wasn't able to make a move when you reached out previously, but if another opportunity comes up in the future, please keep me in mind." It can't hurt.