Advisers and recruiters say that students who accept job offers should renege only if circumstances arise beyond their control.

A student's acceptance represents a commitment to the job and the company. When a student reneges, the company loses time and money. Company recruiters must launch another job search, and filling the position can take months.

"A candidate should never renege on an offer unless something has come up that makes it impossible for a person to accept it," said Dr. James Burke, who retired last year as manager of technical recruiting and university relations for Rohm & Haas. "Certainly they shouldn't (renege) cavalierly. It should be only under extreme circumstances."

Burke, a member of the American Chemical Society's board of directors, said those circumstances might include an obligation at home, such as caring for ailing parents or remaining with a spouse who was transferred elsewhere or no longer can leave the area.

Dr. Ron Webb, manager of doctoral recruiting and university relations at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, said situations in which student renege are rare, perhaps occurring once in hundreds of cases.

"We would certainly encourage people to not do so unless it was absolutely necessary," Webb said. "When those situations do come about, we are open to discussion and understand that from time to time people do have to change their minds."

In one recent situation, Webb said, the health of a candidate's parents suddenly prohibited the candidate from relocating. "It was an unexpected situation and it was serious, but we listened, and we understood," he said.

A student also could justifiably renege if an employer provided inaccurate information about the company or position, said Dr. Leigh Turner, executive director of the Career Center at Texas A&M University.

Even then, Turner recommends that students consult their school adviser or career services counselor before reaching a decision. "We prefer that the student let us assist them so we can contact the employer and perhaps resolve the situation to everyone's satisfaction," Turner said.

Turner co-authored a paper on rescinded employment offers for the National Association of Colleges and Employers' (NACE) committee on principles for professional conduct. The paper says rescinding an offer or an acceptance should occur only when no realistic alternative exists.

Turner said students who have seen financially strapped companies rescind offers to friends or family members may be less trusting when they receive an offer themselves.

But students still need to consider their decisions carefully, she said, adding that employers should give students at least two weeks to decide, and students should stop interviewing once they accept a position.

No matter how tempting, a more attractive or lucrative job offer does not justify reneging on an acceptance, Burke said.

"To renege on an offer simply because another offer came in later and looks a little better is wrong," said Burke, who co-authored the NACE paper.

For example, a student might accept an offer from Company A and turn down Company B, where the student also interviewed. But what