Delaying interviews
March 4, 2018 3:33 PM Subscribe
I am looking for a job. My current contract may end in 4 months. Luckily, there are jobs in my town I am qualified for, great! I accepted invites from recruiters to talk to hiring managers and ended up with onsite interview offers. But I am not ready. How to stall?
Jobs in my area for the type of widget making and parallel types are plentiful in my area. Great. One job does a really boring type of widget making at company A and per the management it's stressful, chaotic, and a stepping stone to other companies. The benefits are poor and pay is below standards. They want me onsite interview this week.
Company B does a really interesting type of widget making, possibly my dream type. But again, it's chaotic, pay is low, benefits are very poor, but there is room for advancement. I have been invited to apply and hinted there would immediately be an onsite interview, but idk.
There are 20+ other similar widget making companies in this area. None do my dream type of widget making. Some of have great pay and benefits and are not high stress. Also, I have a young child and do not want to be caught with limited time and energy because of work. Also, I would be scraping by at company A and B until baby Kal goes to public school. I am getting into gear networking and informational interviewing, but it is kinda slow. I want to explore my options for awhile. However, working at companies A or B would be a decent line on resume and allow me to get by much easier than say working retail or other unskilled widget making. What do I tell company A. What if dream group at company B isn't hiring in 2 months when I'm ready to interview hard?
Other tidbit: I'd like to leave this state in 3ish years because personal reasons. But that's a whim at this point.
Jobs in my area for the type of widget making and parallel types are plentiful in my area. Great. One job does a really boring type of widget making at company A and per the management it's stressful, chaotic, and a stepping stone to other companies. The benefits are poor and pay is below standards. They want me onsite interview this week.
Company B does a really interesting type of widget making, possibly my dream type. But again, it's chaotic, pay is low, benefits are very poor, but there is room for advancement. I have been invited to apply and hinted there would immediately be an onsite interview, but idk.
There are 20+ other similar widget making companies in this area. None do my dream type of widget making. Some of have great pay and benefits and are not high stress. Also, I have a young child and do not want to be caught with limited time and energy because of work. Also, I would be scraping by at company A and B until baby Kal goes to public school. I am getting into gear networking and informational interviewing, but it is kinda slow. I want to explore my options for awhile. However, working at companies A or B would be a decent line on resume and allow me to get by much easier than say working retail or other unskilled widget making. What do I tell company A. What if dream group at company B isn't hiring in 2 months when I'm ready to interview hard?
Other tidbit: I'd like to leave this state in 3ish years because personal reasons. But that's a whim at this point.
Response by poster: To clarify, I am scared to decline company A, because I don't have a financial safety net right now and likely couldn't get by without the type of skilled work Company A pays (70%) for. But Company C may pay 150% of what company A pays in total compensation.
posted by Kalmya at 3:54 PM on March 4, 2018
posted by Kalmya at 3:54 PM on March 4, 2018
Accept A and continue to look.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 4:42 PM on March 4, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 4:42 PM on March 4, 2018 [4 favorites]
Agree with chesty_a_arthur. If company A didn't want to deal with employees suddenly quitting soon after being hired, they would pay market rates.
posted by Maxwell_Smart at 4:50 PM on March 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Maxwell_Smart at 4:50 PM on March 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
What I usually do when I want to push something back is I take a little longer than usual to respond, and then say I have conflicts/will be out of town/make something up, so would next week work? You can't stall that much longer than that.
You can accept a job and then quit if you find a new one that's better. Yeah, in some fields you don't want to burn bridges, but people do this all the time when it suits them. In turn, the company would fire you if they decided it was better for them too, so it's all fair. So, if you can get away with flaking out on this company, that's an option.
posted by AppleTurnover at 4:57 PM on March 4, 2018
You can accept a job and then quit if you find a new one that's better. Yeah, in some fields you don't want to burn bridges, but people do this all the time when it suits them. In turn, the company would fire you if they decided it was better for them too, so it's all fair. So, if you can get away with flaking out on this company, that's an option.
posted by AppleTurnover at 4:57 PM on March 4, 2018
If you do decline A, tell them it's because of the pay and benefits.
posted by rhizome at 5:10 PM on March 4, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 5:10 PM on March 4, 2018 [5 favorites]
"My current contract may end in 4 months."
This is why I think you should decline A. Boring work/poor compensation/lousy working environment means there's nothing appealing beyond that they're asking, and they likely have a high turnover rate given the strong market in your location. Don't waste their time now, when it's not critical (and they ought to be a last resort for the new job you're thinking of keeping for the next three years). You can inquire again down the line if it comes to it; they are not going anywhere (unless they go under, and you don't want to be there for that, either).
Apply to B (interesting work, at least, and the opportunity to polish your interviewing and negotiating skills), and, since there are many companies in your particular business where you are, wait for C, D, E... to appear on the horizon.
If one recruiter is pressuring you for A, when A is clearly sub-par compared to B-Z, be firm (no need to stall -- A would be a bad fit, so you're not interested) or discontinue your dealings with this particular person.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:54 PM on March 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
This is why I think you should decline A. Boring work/poor compensation/lousy working environment means there's nothing appealing beyond that they're asking, and they likely have a high turnover rate given the strong market in your location. Don't waste their time now, when it's not critical (and they ought to be a last resort for the new job you're thinking of keeping for the next three years). You can inquire again down the line if it comes to it; they are not going anywhere (unless they go under, and you don't want to be there for that, either).
Apply to B (interesting work, at least, and the opportunity to polish your interviewing and negotiating skills), and, since there are many companies in your particular business where you are, wait for C, D, E... to appear on the horizon.
If one recruiter is pressuring you for A, when A is clearly sub-par compared to B-Z, be firm (no need to stall -- A would be a bad fit, so you're not interested) or discontinue your dealings with this particular person.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:54 PM on March 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
Be aware that job-hopping once won't reflect too badly on you, but job-hopping history will damage your hireability. If you're thinking of Company A and think you'll leave in six months, make sure this is a one-off.
posted by Nyx at 9:05 PM on March 4, 2018
posted by Nyx at 9:05 PM on March 4, 2018
Response by poster: Update: I took a very interesting job from company C eith 100% more total compensation. Phew.
posted by Kalmya at 3:53 PM on August 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Kalmya at 3:53 PM on August 28, 2018 [2 favorites]
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posted by Iris Gambol at 3:49 PM on March 4, 2018 [1 favorite]