I'm mostly :shrugging: at this - I've had a job offer rescinded from a <non stripe> company. I've had friends who have had their offers rescinded with all sorts of companies. I always consider the written job offer to be "interesting, but still in flux until we really accept, and they acknowledge receipt of my acceptance and we have a start date"
Now - if Stripe is frequently rescinding offers after they've been accepted, and the candidate has let their company know they are leaving - that's a whole other ball of wax.
Note: This is also why you never let your current company know you are leaving until everything is completely signed/sealed/committed with the next company.
> Now - if Stripe is frequently rescinding offers after they've been accepted, and the candidate has let their company know they are leaving - that's a whole other ball of wax.
> She signed the offer. And then she tweeted that she would be joining the company.
It sounds like she had accepted the offer. She wasn't currently working, so had no current company to inform, but that doesn't make Stripe's behavior here better.
> I always consider the written job offer to be "interesting, but still in flux until we really accept, and they acknowledge receipt of my acceptance and we have a start date".
I think a _verbal_ offer is in flux, but a written offer with compensation numbers, and where signing it means I agree to particular terms (e.g. non-disclosure, IP assignment, arbitration, etc) should be firm. And in my recent experience these letters often specifically included a start date, and sometimes a date by which a reply was required.
None of this is to disagree with your point that you never let your current company know you're leaving until everything is signed/sealed/etc. But I think the other point is, if you're considering more than one offer, when you accept one I think it's courteous to let the other prospective employers know immediately so they can continue with other candidates. When an employer rescinds an offer, it can easily put the candidate in the crappy position of having just passed on other perfectly acceptable offers.
>>> It sounds like she had accepted the offer. She wasn't currently working, so had no current company to inform, but that doesn't make Stripe's behavior here better.
Just as bad. She might not have been working, but she might have had a landlord to inform, a boyfriend to dump, etc.
This isn't just a courtesy to other employers, but recognition of a fact that taking a new job is a Huge Life Change for most of us, with substantive ripple effects.
Even after acceptance, I continue taking interviews. Too much in between acceptance and start can happen, like being converted to intern from full time.
Companies value their employees in two week periods. Why do you value on a longer cycle, yet alone a potential employer?
There’s no reason for me to commit to anything beyond the paper when companies won’t.
Now - if Stripe is frequently rescinding offers after they've been accepted, and the candidate has let their company know they are leaving - that's a whole other ball of wax.
Note: This is also why you never let your current company know you are leaving until everything is completely signed/sealed/committed with the next company.