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A colleague of mine received two postdoc job offers from two universities in the same city. He finds the two projects very interesting. He made his decision and now is drafting an email to reject one of the offers.

The issue is that we live in a small city and everyone knows each other, so he needs to be very delicate with his email. In fact, some research staff members are working with both groups at the same time. My colleague could suggest a collaboration to work on both projects, but he says he prefers to stay focused on working on one project. So he wants to reject one of the offers, but he wants to keep the door open in the future as he may want to work with the group in the future.

The question: What can my friend say in the email to show he sincerely regrets rejecting the offer, and that he is open to having collaboration in the future?

user18244
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  • Does this answer your question? How should I phrase an important question that I need to ask a professor? – Anonymous Physicist Sep 06 '20 at 02:41
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    You can and should just say "I am reluctantly declining the offer and hope we can collaborate in the future." You don't need evidence. – Anonymous Physicist Sep 06 '20 at 02:42
  • There seem to be a lot of questions the general category of "How can I say [normal thing to say in academia] to renowned Professor X without them secretly resenting me and hurting my future career prospects?" The correct answer is to say [normal thing to say in academia]. Just be polite and straightforward. No need to walk on eggshells. Renowned Professor X will not take offense. – Jair Taylor Sep 06 '20 at 03:52
  • @JairTaylor Not everybody knows what counts as [normal thing to say in academia]. Isn't that part of the purpose of this forum? – David Loeffler Sep 06 '20 at 09:01
  • I would say don't email, call! this shows that you really care and have seriously considered taking the position, but alas one cannot take on 2 jobs at the same time. They will understand, but if you call, that will make a much better impression than if you just emailed. At least that's what I did. – PandaPants Sep 06 '20 at 12:56
  • @DavidLoeffler Well, fair enough. But I think most people should know that turning down a postdoc is a normal situation. My point is just: Be polite and respectful, and direct, and you'll be fine. – Jair Taylor Sep 06 '20 at 19:39

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