Dictionary definition of “exploding offer”

exploding offer

n. a business proposal, especially an employment overture, that will expire if not accepted within a very short time. Also exploding contract. Subjects: English, Business, Employment, Money & Finance, Slang

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Citations: 1979 Marion Piroth de Man, Barry Johnson @ Mississauga, Ontario Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada) (Oct. 13) “Why the teachers are on strike against Peel board”: The Peel Board of Education has the worst record in Ontario for giving young teachers what are called exploding contracts—new teachers are forced to sign letters of resignation at the same time as they sign contracts. That way, the board does not have to fire anyone; they already have dozens of resignations they can use instead. 1984 Anna Healy Fenton Financial Times (London, England) (Aug. 20) “: Graduates who play hard to get can be put off by old boy network” p. 3: Some employers may over-estimate the greed of graduates. One management consultancy offered several candidates £1,000 in advance on salary for “moving expenses.” It gave another an “exploding offer” and told him to name his price. 1986 Fiona Maddocks Times (London, England) (July 8) “Spectrum: From milk round to gravy train”: With each week that passes since the original offer, the sum decreases as the candidate dithers (an “exploding offer’). But most students frown on such practices. “It’s a good way of paying off one’s debt in the college bar. But do companies really imagine we’d fall for such baits?’ one student said. 1989 Cynthia Dees Tulsa Business Chronicle (Oklahoma) (Jan. 23) “Facet Finds Itself Hungry After Battle” vol. 8, no. 4, p. 1: “On April 17, we had an exploding offer from Pennzoil,” Wyant says. Pennzoil offered $32 in cash to all shareholders for 100 percent of Facet stock. The offer, which was issued Friday afternoon, expired the following Sunday at 9 p.m. 1999 Michael Grunwald Washington Post (Feb. 16) “No Order in Courting of Law Clerks; Judges Trample on Efforts to Rein In Annual Bidding for Students” p. A03: A Washington judge then hinted that he could have a job if he was willing to accept it on the spot, but never made a formal offer. Finally, he got an exploding offer from 2nd Circuit Judge Amalya Lyle Kearse in New York, who gave him four hours to decide. He said yes. 2000 Michael C. Dorf CNN.com (Oct. 31) “Federal judges go to extremes to select law clerks”: So how do judges compete with one another to attract top law students? The most favored method is the pre-emptive strike, or “exploding offer."…By interviewing and making offers to students just a few days earlier than her colleagues and making a take-it-or-leave-it offer to the best interviewees—under which the chosen students must decide whether to accept the offer within a very short time frame, or even on the spot—a judge can ensure that she, rather than another judge, gets her first choice of law clerks. 2005 Louise Armitstead Times (London, England) (June 12) “Gung-ho Citigoof gets its hiring in a twist”: Hurried interviews held in secret locations across London ended with the Americans issuing everyone with an “exploding contract”—an ultimatum to decide by last Sunday night. 2005 Eliot Redmond Innovation (Dec.) “Get that Gazelle Out of My Space!”: Exploding Offer…A job offer with an expiration date. Often the value of the offer (usually the bonus portion) decreases slowly until that date.

Posted 16 Feb 07 | Permalink | Tell a Friend