<p>It seems to me that different employers interview during different times of year. How does anyone evaluate an offer without knowing what the result of future interviews may be? Some companies seem to make decisions as early as December whereas others wait until the spring. I'm assuming that no employer will let you extend your deadline decision by several months. Or am I mistaken? It also seems as if different fields recruit during different times. I noticed that a lot of engineering companies, for instance, recruit during the spring. Is this true? Or do most firms recruit both in the fall and spring?</p>
<p>The reason I ask is because I accepted an internship that I wasn't too thrilled about. I was afraid nothing else would come along, and I didn't want to risk it. And now I'm getting other interview requests. I turned them down. And I realize it's no big deal since its only an internship. But it is so hard to decline interviews. I really want to see what these other places would be like too. It's tearing me up inside for no reason. Is it really unethical to interview after you accepted an offer? After all, firms can fire you in a split second without a second thought.</p>
<p>I want to have a game plan for next year. So, far I came up with this idea: Apply for positions I'm most interested in first. Nevertheless, I'm sure conflict/tough decisions are inevitable.</p>
<p>I would really appreciate your insight. I know I asked a lot of questions in this post. But I tend to overanalyze things.</p>
<p>It is not unethical to continue interviewing once accepting a job. Companies are less loyal to you than most people are to companies. However, once you start the job it isn't a good idea to continue interviewing for a time, until you want to move on.</p>
<p>Most companies will go through a hiring spirt as growth requires it and generally shortly after the end of their fiscal year. This is because budgets get approved. However, fiscal years differ from company to company. Still, it seems that there is always money available in the summer/spring because they plan on hiring fresh grads. </p>
<p>When looking for a job you will have the right to wait until all campus interviewing has ended and until you have heard from every company you interviewed with. Just make your decision by or shortly after graduation so the company knows how to spend their money.</p>
<p>I know my undergrad school (CMU) required that all companies that participated in on-campus interviews during career fairs would have to sign an agreement to give students at least until X date for their decisions. That way a company couldn't interview a student, call them up two days later and say they've got until the end of the week to decide if they wanted the job. The student could wait for the slower companies to bid on them and see what everyone thinks they're worth.</p>
<p>So, if it isn't unethical to continue interviewing after you accepted an offer, what are you supposed to do if you like one of the other companies much better and they extend you an offer? Wait a few years and apply again?</p>
<p>And those policies you both refered to about not having to make a decision until all campus interviews are done seem pretty cool. The only problem is none of the companies I am applying to do campus interviews. All of the interviews were on site, since the companies I am interested in don't recruit at my school. I'm assuming that those rules no longer apply in these circumstances....</p>