Isabel has turned down two job offers in the past year. In 2006, she started her own consulting practice, but by 2008, most of her larger clients had to drop her because of the economy. In 2011, she was undertaking irregular assignments and knew she needed a steady joB.The first job she considered was Director of HR for a company in Utah. After the initial interviews, she felt the job fit her except for the location. Still, she flew west to meet the hiring manager. The hiring manager explained that Isabel was the top candidate for the job but that, before she continued with the process, she should better understand the firm's culture. She directed Isabel to several videos of the company's CEO, who regularly appeared in front of the company in costume as part of morale building exercises and expected his senior leaders to do the same. "Even though I was desperate for a job, I knew I couldn't do that," Isabel says. She called the recruiter to turn down the job and explained that she didn't feel there was a cultural fit.
    A few months later, she interviewed for another job: a director of employee relations at a local university. After several interviews, the hiring manager told her the job was hers if she wanted it. The job had many positives : it was a low-stress environment, it offered great benefits, and the university was an employee-friendly place. But the job was relatively junior despite the title and Isabel worried it wouldn't be challenging enough. Finally, she turned it down. "It would be great to have a paycheck and great benefits but I would definitely have trouble sleeping at night," she says.
    In both cases, she was frank with the hiring managers about why she wasn't taking the jobs."In the past, it felt like dating, I was worried about hurting people's feelings," she says. However, they appreciated her frankness and thanked her for her honesty. She says it was hard to turn down the jobs and it was a risk for her financially but she felt she had to.