Now I would like to go with company Y, but I already accepted the offer from Company X (I did not sign anything, I accepted it via email).
Is it legal to decline the offer from company X after accepting it? Do I risk anything?
In my younger days, I would have flatly advised against it for mostly karmic reasons, but having seen the general tenor of business relationships and how many companies treat not-yet-signed employees, I am unable to muster any moral outrage against an employee who terminates a negotiation despite that negotiation appearing to be in late stages.
I've also seen companies hire people and then turn around and fire them after a couple of weeks because they "weren't working out" or because "the funding for the job disappeared" or because they had layoffs due to financial difficulties (which they probably could have seen coming at the time they hired the person).
"At-will" employment goes both ways. If the company has the right to fire an employee because it's convenient for them (or just because they feel like it), an employee shouldn't feel bad about firing a company for the same reason.
And if you do withdraw your offer to company x, don't complain if company y withdraws its offer to you.
If you stick with company x then show them the job offer from company y at your next salary review. It is great leverage in negotiating a higher salary.
(it's just as easy to assume the latter... that the first offer was accepted because it was perfectly reasonable and the second company was slow to make an offer and poor at communicating. If the second company did take a surprisingly long time to make an offer that's actually another variable to take into account; possibly representing organisational problems or a preference for other candidates at their end)
But I wouldn't make a habit of declining offers after accepting. The US tech community is smaller than you think and you wouldn't want get a reputation of not being true to your word.
If it is just a better offer in terms of money or shares, you can tell company X the details of company Y's deal. Company X might not be aware of current going rate and may be willing to match company Y's offer.
That said, be careful, because there are extenuating circumstances. People do talk, especially in the same industry and city. Still, I highly doubt hiring manager at Y would reneg your offer if he heard from X that you chose Y over X. If anything he'd be happy!
Also note that if you got this job through your school's career network (alumni or otherwise), they may have policies in place that prohibit reneging on offers, and blacklist you if you do. Even then, though, you didn't sign anything.
I'm of the opinion that you should do what's best for yourself. This is your life, and the job will affect its foreseeable future. Make whatever decision you will regret the least in two years.
"If you can project yourself out to age 80 and sort of think, “What will I think at that time?” it gets you away from some of the daily pieces of confusion."
- Jeff Bezos on deciding to leave Wall St to start Amazon [1]
http://bijansabet.com/post/147533511/jeff-bezos-regret-minim...
You could simply go back and say something like:
"Hi Company X, as I am sure you realize I applied to multiple openings when looking to take my next position. And while I have been waiting to receive the contract from you I was contacted by another firm that showed interest and already received the contract from them. I greatly respect your time and efforts, but I feel this other offer is a better fit at this time for me. This has no reflection on your firm or offer, but I feel I might be a better fit with them, and I hope you understand. I hope we can work together in the future, thank you for all your hospitality"
I do think you have to be 100% up front about what you are doing, but companies get it, and this is a competitive market. You may burn a bridge here though at least with this company, so just be aware of that. In the end though, if you make it more about yourself and are up front, you likely won't create any major issues.
Just my 2 cents.
If you're certain it's the best opportunity, do not hesitate to take offer Y.
However, also, be honest with company X about what happened. You don't owe them a huge explanation, these things happen all the time. Simply let them know that while waiting for the contract, you received a better offer and have decided to take it. Company X may even upgrade their offer to you as a counter.
Early on in my career, around a decade ago, I gave a wishy-washy acceptance that I backed out of a couple of days later. I felt bad doing it, but the more I looked at the company, the less I wanted to work there. I still regret the way I handled the situation but don't regret the ultimate decision.
US and especially silicon valley is very clear about the rules of the game, and the rules is that there are no bad moves only illegal ones.
Under the terms that were given to me by company Y, I simply could not accept it. So I accepted the offer from Company X over the phone and they were to send me the paper work.
When I called Company Y to let the know, they changed the offer to be more favorable towards me after initially accepting the rejection. The terms were significantly better than Company X.
I told Company X about the new situation, and gave them a day to decide what they would want to do. They decided not to match the offer from Company Y.
I think company's understand that the talent pool in tech. is highly sought after and sometimes they win and sometimes they lose.
After all, this is business, right?
However, if you had signed the contract with company X, then got a better offer from company Y and you decide to leave, then you might have burnt some bridges.
Best policy is to be be honest and tell them what's up. They should understand you're trying to maximize your opportunities
This is an extremely common occurrence. Folks take jobs all the time and never show up. My old boss at Intermec complained that 1/3 or more of the people he 'hired' never showed.
Don't sweat it.