How honest should I be about long-term plans in a job interview?

April 10, 2018 12:02 AM

I recently interviewed for a position that seems like it would be a perfect fit for me. It's a small new (2 years old) company that has just started getting some really interesting projects. However, during the interview, I was explicitly told that they are not looking for someone that will be there for a year and then jump ship (to another company). Unfortunately, this is the kind of commitment I can't make, since my fiancé's job is a year to year contract that is somewhat reliant on the current government administration.

Further details: If my fiancé loses his position, we intend on changing coasts, as his current job is the only thing anchoring us there (this prospective company is east coast based, and will be for the foreseeable future). Should I be honest about the year to year volatility of this position, or will this set me up as a trailing spouse? The industry is quite tight knit (at least for my area of interest). My reference (who previously worked with the head of the company) has already been contacted and vetted me. I'd rather not burn bridges this early in my career. I'm in the second and final round of interviews (they're planning on flying me out).

posted by pianohands to Work & Money (24 answers total)

Geezus Christmas. You have ZERO idea what will happen a year from now despite your plans. You know for the next year it is perfect. Say nothing about an uncertain future you don't know about.

Your future employer does not need to know about your plans beyond a reasonable amount of time. How invasive. If they needed to fire you in two months, they would. You are certain about the next 12 months- that's a lot. You're fine.
posted by jbenben at 12:15 AM on April 10, 2018 [30 favorites]

Unfortunately, this is the kind of commitment I can't make,

The above sentence stem just does not square with those below:

The industry is quite tight knit
I'd rather not burn bridges this early in my career.

I think you've got to shoot straight on this one -- tell them what you've told us, let the chips fall where they will.
posted by dancestoblue at 12:18 AM on April 10, 2018

I don’t understand where you are now - if you’re being flown to the interview, then you must not live where they are. So does your spouses job move around? Or are you planning to move to the east coast for spouses job and you are getting this job in preparation?
That aside - would you be able or willing to work remotely for this company? If so, then you wouldn’t have to leave if your spouse moves.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 12:23 AM on April 10, 2018

There's a big difference between actively planning and hoping to jump ship to a competitor within a year, and having to move because your spouse's career faces a setback. And most companies (admittedly not all) will understand that. From what you've said, you could state perfectly truthfully that you're hoping to stay at the company for the long haul, without specifying what could get in the way of that.
posted by littlegreen at 12:34 AM on April 10, 2018 [9 favorites]

Response by poster: @the agents of KAOS, I'm currently in an LDR, so I'm finding a job by my fiancé. His job is tied to a particular institution. I'd love to work remotely, but it's a pretty rare occurrence in the industry, especially for more junior staff.
posted by pianohands at 12:52 AM on April 10, 2018

Is the company willing to guarantee your enployment for five years in writing? Thought not. Nobody knows what will happen in a year’s time. This company may not even be alive in a year. If they offer you the job and you want it, take it and take it in good conscience. As a former manager who has hired and fired people, I promise that they would cut you loose in a heartbeat if it served their purposes. It may be a small industry and it may be tightknit but you are not plotting against the company if you want to work there for a long time; if your situation changes and makes that impossible, well, that is life.
posted by Bella Donna at 12:57 AM on April 10, 2018 [31 favorites]

Best answer: Working at a company for a year to get your foot in the industry and then "jumping ship" to another company once you've gained some experience is not at all the same thing as you leaving the company because your family had to move due to your fiance losing their job. I would not tell them about this possibility because it's none of their business. In a year, if your fiance does lose their job and you do need to move, that should be completely understandable. You did not intend for your fiance to lose their job, you are not planning on your fiance losing their job, but you do have a backup plan in case they do lose their job because you and this company cannot control the events of the universe and nobody knows exactly what will happen in a year.
posted by Polychrome at 1:46 AM on April 10, 2018 [47 favorites]

I would not tell them about this possibility because it's none of their business. In a year, if your fiance does lose their job and you do need to move, that should be completely understandable. You did not intend for your fiance to lose their job, you are not planning on your fiance losing their job, but you do have a backup plan in case they do lose their job because you and this company cannot control the events of the universe and nobody knows exactly what will happen in a year.

I 100% agree with everything here. You are not planning to leave intentionally. You merely forsee that bad things may happen to your personal situation which may force your hand to leave. If only we all had similar foresight on mortgages, houses, redundancies, family situations like someone falling ill etc. Do not write yourself out of a job because of this.
posted by moiraine at 2:52 AM on April 10, 2018 [1 favorite]

If you want to be more than fair, find a way to mention the contractual nature of your fiance’s job during the course of the interview. If they want to infer from that, they can. You yourself don’t know what will happen with your fiance’s job or how you’ll feel in a year about moving west.
posted by lakeroon at 3:34 AM on April 10, 2018

Listen to Bella Donna. There is zero upside for you in saying that you're not sure where you're going to be in a year or five. If in a year's time your circumstances change and you have to leave the job, nobody will hold it against you, at least nobody reasonable. (You can't live your life worrying about what unreasonable people will think.) The company would not hesitate to let you go if doing so served its needs, and you should act accordingly.

You can, however, truthfully say something like "My goal right now is to move across the country, to this area, and resettle closer to my partner, who has a job that is tied to a local institution here. This is a long-term move for me and my goal is to not make another major move like this in the next several years, so I'd hope to stay in this job for quite some time."

Then if that doesn't work out, well, life happens.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:10 AM on April 10, 2018 [2 favorites]

Don’t bring it up, even if they explicitly ask you about long-term plans. Answer as though he’ll keep his contract - moving for the sake of a fiancé/spouse is just as often a thing that happens with little or no notice, and it’s an understandable extenuating circumstance.

Besides, an employer’s responsibility towards employee retention doesn’t stop at the hiring process, and I’d be somewhat wary of an employer emphasizing long-term commitment if they don’t specify why and how they’re worth the commitment. It’s on them to foster a healthy work environment, encourage professional growth, and provide decent compensation. Even if they’re looking for someone to stick around for years, and even if your fiancé’s contract keeps getting renewed, you are free to leave if the job and company suck.
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:16 AM on April 10, 2018 [2 favorites]

Yeah, just be totally nebulous-- "My long term goals are to continue to grow my skills and knowledge of this industry and I'm hoping your company will be that home for me".

Nothing about that is untrue.
posted by Static Vagabond at 4:31 AM on April 10, 2018 [5 favorites]

Do you happen to be female? This question is often a version of “are you planning to get pregnant any time soon?” Because that’s illegal to ask and they know that.

Regardless of gender, correct answer to “how long do you expect to be with the company?” is always “how long do you expect to be in business?” because it’s none of their business and not something you can predict. There are a few specific jobs like military recruitment where you really are signing a contract for a period of time, but for a normal job, no, that’s a stupid question and it gets a stupid, if diplomatic, answer.
posted by blnkfrnk at 4:51 AM on April 10, 2018 [21 favorites]

Yeah, you owe them nothing. Pretty much all companies are looking to hire people who will do more than stay a year and jump ship. It's a Captain Obvious thing to say. Did you walk into the job interview and say, "I'm not looking for a company that will employ me for a year and then lay me off"?

You're going into it in good faith. Yes, there's a chance you may have to quit due to your partner's job, but that's the case for anyone with a partner, and single people run into reasons they have to quit jobs too. It happens.

If you tell them about your fiance's contract position, there's a very good chance you're not going to get this job. So, don't do that. Tell them you're excited about the prospect of working there, and if all goes well, you'd hope to be there for a long time.

Upon preview, excellent point by blnkfrnk about the pregnancy thing.
posted by sunflower16 at 5:07 AM on April 10, 2018 [6 favorites]

Response by poster: blnkfrnk and sunflower16, I didn't even think about that but yup, female.
posted by pianohands at 5:14 AM on April 10, 2018

However, during the interview, I was explicitly told that they are not looking for someone that will be there for a year and then jump ship (to another company).

There is no company in the world that is looking for someone to work in their company and to jump ship - similar to how there's no employee who is looking for someone to pay them for a year before laying them off. Things happen on both sides that end these arrangements and any employee or company should know that commitments only last as long as both parties are getting what they need.

It is a bit of a red flag to me that a company is putting retention on you before you even start - companies can do things like pay people well, provide good benefits, offer career tracks with growth, and plenty of praise and feedback to retain their employees. If they've had issues with people leaving after a year that predates this statement, my question would be - why and what are they doing themselves to correct this other than expecting a blood oath upon hire?
posted by notorious medium at 5:34 AM on April 10, 2018 [4 favorites]

Also, if they specifically mention that they have problems with retention, that is a red flag to me that they are having trouble keeping people (either there’s no path up, or there’s no raises, or the job sucks in some way.) You can, but probably shouldn’t, turn this back around on them: “Is that a major pattern for you?”
posted by blnkfrnk at 5:36 AM on April 10, 2018 [1 favorite]

blnkfrnk and sunflower16, I didn't even think about that but yup, female.

And did you mention the word "fiance"? I agree that they're trying to sneakily(ish) find out if you're planning on getting pregnant anytime soon.
posted by lazuli at 5:56 AM on April 10, 2018

I have been asked this many times. Come on, nobody is looking for an employee who wants to jump ship soon; and nobody would admit it if they were planning to jump ship. I agree it is a riff on the "are you [yet or to be] pregnant" probe.

Tell them the truth, that your plan is to relocate to their area and stay there with your partner who works there. Nobody knows what will happen beyond that.
posted by fingersandtoes at 6:19 AM on April 10, 2018 [2 favorites]

No need to tell them that if certain circumstances align just right, you may leave. I was asked this very question when interviewing with a start-up a few years ago. I had no plans of jumping ship, and made some vague comment about, "looking for a company in which I can grow my skills." I took the job. Four months later, they laid me off when they eliminated my entire team.
posted by writermcwriterson at 7:22 AM on April 10, 2018 [2 favorites]

Best answer: A few more important things to remember. Negotiate for your starting salary and benefits. Even a little increase will have big compound effects. Next, remember that the best way to get a substantial raise is to move companies.

So yeah, since you’re a woman my cynical guess is that (perhaps subconsciously, because of implicit rather than explicit bias) this company has a habit of underpaying junior folks and then being mystified when they leave. I’d gusss they then fall prey to what’s called a focal error and attribute their attrition problem to women ‘jumping ship,’ rather than their ability to retain talent.

If you’re feeling brave, ask for an org chart (how many women fill management/top positions??) and if you’re feeling like a super hero, ask for a breakdown of pay within then company.

And since they’ve mentioned ‘jumping ship,’ it might be a really good idea to ask about employee departures, perhaps in an informal interview setting like if you’re being introduced to folks in the office. (Those are all three good things to get some sense of before joining a company, especially now that asking about colleague pay is explicitly allowed thanks to Lily Ledbetter.)
posted by bilabial at 7:43 AM on April 10, 2018 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: @bilabial, thanks for all the advice! Some of it doesn't apply to me, the company is just starting out with 3 permanent and 3 contract people (I would be the 4th permanent hire), but I'll keep everything else in mind for upcoming interviews.
posted by pianohands at 9:38 AM on April 10, 2018

Ignoring the thinly concealed pregnancy concerns and taking this as face value, the company sure as heck isn't going to share it's long term plans for you in the interview process, especially if they involve timelines for your discontinued involvement . You should respond accordingly (and hence don't mention a thing). Things change, none of us know what the future holds.
posted by cgg at 9:38 AM on April 10, 2018 [1 favorite]

If you were 100% planning on leaving in a year I might answer this differently, but like--sure, he could lose his job in a year. You could also break up with him in a year. You could get hit by a bus. He could get hit by a bus. The job could just turn out to be working for deeply horrible people who you can't stand being around. There's never any way you can guarantee this stuff. You don't need to give them a guarantee, just your best reasonable effort that you want to stick around. You don't need to couch it with every possible thing that could happen that would make this untrue, the same way they don't need to issue a job offer with every caveat that "oh we could be bankrupt and laying you off in a year". Everybody should get that life comes with risks.
posted by Sequence at 9:47 AM on April 10, 2018 [1 favorite]