Listed below are job offers I received that came with a "How soon can you start...tomorrow?" condition attached, and decided to decline the job offer.
UPS manager: Worked at UPS part-time while attending classes at the University of Washington. Near the end of my sophomore year UPS made an offer. Finish my final two years at a University of California business school in LA. UPS would pay all tuition, books, fees, and housing expenses. After graduation, I would work in management positions at UPS for a minimum of three years.
Regrets: None. Had no interest in getting a business degree, or living anywhere in the vicinity of LA for any period of time.
NBC News director: While attending Western Washington University the television production professor, who held a top management job at NBC News before retiring, made a tempting offer. He offered to call friends in New York to get me a position. Said I would never look for a job for the rest of my life. He outlined the benefits (of working in NYC): Great pay. Generous retirement plan. Invitations to the best parties. New York City. He was brutally honest about the downsides, too: Would live in many cities before reaching NY. If married, would get divorced. If remarried, would get divorced again. Long work days, with lots of pressure. New York City.
Regrets: Mostly none. Was seriously dating Barb by that time. Knew she would never like the downsides of the directing job. Besides, getting married to Barb was the best decision I ever made. Have never regretted the decision for a nanosecond. However, ooh gosh. My second love was directing TV shows, and wondered over the years if I had the right stuff to be the director in a NYC network news studio. Make the long journey to da big time, ya know.
University professor: A month before graduating from Western Washington U, the head of the visual communications department secretly met with me a half-dozen times. He wanted me to become a professor, and replace him as department head after he retired.
Regrets: None at the time. At moments since, wondering what if? Have never liked cigars, blazers or cardigans, which at the time was the seemingly mandated uniform of professors. Yeah, silly reason to drag up from the cellar. Less silly was the resulting drama had I pursued a position. A professor only a couple years my senior, and with whom the student-me had had prolific unresolved arguments with, also had her eyes on the department head position. I think I probably would have won that battle, but the go-or-no-go decision that kept creeping back into my brain was those gawd-damned frickin cardigans. Shit. Couldn't imagine my ever wearing one. Not even in my grave.
Chevy general manager assistant, pay raise: Gave 4 weeks notice that I would be quitting my car dealership job to go help Barb build her/our audiology biz. On the final day (at the dealership, not THE final day EVER), the GM grabbed my shirt and insisted I tell him how much of a raise I was holding out for. The irony is - if his offer had come 3 weeks earlier there's a good chance I would have taken it. But, nope. So Barb and I jumped with all feet into the abyss.
Regrets: None. Learned a ton about sales, accounting, psychology, dealing with big corporations (GM, Chevy, big banks) and regulators. However, I still refer to my car dealership job as the best worst job I have ever had.