Play the field or play the odds?
November 4, 2010 6:27 PM Subscribe
Multiple brand new jobs opening at my company. Was planning to apply for all of them, as they're fairly the same. However, was just told there's a particular job coming open, and supervisors want to sponsor me as the applicant of choice. Apply for one job, or apply for all? Specifics inside.
Company is looking to turn a bunch of contract workers doing similar things into a few full time employees doing similar things. Obviously, as a contract worker, I'm not averse to doing the same thing for more money plus benefits. Since the jobs are all roughly similar, the plan was to apply for all in the hopes of landing one. The first of them appeared online yesterday, & the only reason my resume's not in yet is because one of my references has gone AWOL. Today, however, my super & his super called me over for a private sit down. One of the permanent workers (job function not identified) will be leaving in two weeks. They indicated jointly that they wished to put me forward for this anticipated vacancy and wanted to know my interest level and get a better sense of what I'd done in the past. Beyond the vaguest hint of "additional duties," no details were furnished. Have some suspicions that this might be a Bigger Fish than the other positions, but really have nothing to go on.
They stipulated from the outset that (1) while the department may be small, the company is gi-normous. Despite the immediacy of the departure, they did not know when the job would be listed or how fast it would be filled. (2) that there would probably be 4 or 5 candidates considered and that (3) they were not the final decision makers.
So: Having indicated interest in the position, am I supposed to hang tight and wait for their job to come open, or do I go ahead & apply for "everything" (including theirs)? Will it create hard feeling if I play the field rather than waiting? And (would that I were so lucky to even have this problem), let's say I was offered one of the generic jobs. Would I automatically be out of the running for the wildcard job? How does this work? What would you do and why?
Company is looking to turn a bunch of contract workers doing similar things into a few full time employees doing similar things. Obviously, as a contract worker, I'm not averse to doing the same thing for more money plus benefits. Since the jobs are all roughly similar, the plan was to apply for all in the hopes of landing one. The first of them appeared online yesterday, & the only reason my resume's not in yet is because one of my references has gone AWOL. Today, however, my super & his super called me over for a private sit down. One of the permanent workers (job function not identified) will be leaving in two weeks. They indicated jointly that they wished to put me forward for this anticipated vacancy and wanted to know my interest level and get a better sense of what I'd done in the past. Beyond the vaguest hint of "additional duties," no details were furnished. Have some suspicions that this might be a Bigger Fish than the other positions, but really have nothing to go on.
They stipulated from the outset that (1) while the department may be small, the company is gi-normous. Despite the immediacy of the departure, they did not know when the job would be listed or how fast it would be filled. (2) that there would probably be 4 or 5 candidates considered and that (3) they were not the final decision makers.
So: Having indicated interest in the position, am I supposed to hang tight and wait for their job to come open, or do I go ahead & apply for "everything" (including theirs)? Will it create hard feeling if I play the field rather than waiting? And (would that I were so lucky to even have this problem), let's say I was offered one of the generic jobs. Would I automatically be out of the running for the wildcard job? How does this work? What would you do and why?
Response by poster: I asked. The answer amounted to, "I don't have the right to tell you not to, and I do not have the ability to guarantee you the job." All of which gets me exactly nowhere in terms of understanding how this plays out in reality. I suppose that could be read as "go for it," but I don't trust my extremely under-developed skills for reading between the lines in office settings.
posted by Ys at 6:54 PM on November 4, 2010
posted by Ys at 6:54 PM on November 4, 2010
Walk down to HR at lunch and ask them if it would be a problem for you to put in for both.
posted by rhizome at 7:14 PM on November 4, 2010
posted by rhizome at 7:14 PM on November 4, 2010
Talk is cheap, and neither you nor your supervisors really know what's going to happen with that other position. Apply for all positions that interest you, and see which one(s) you are a good fit for. I don't think anyone would fault you for maximizing your chances by casting a wide net.
posted by Simon Barclay at 7:37 PM on November 4, 2010
posted by Simon Barclay at 7:37 PM on November 4, 2010
You should apply. But since the7y are not the final decision makers, you should apply for the other jobs, too.
posted by KokuRyu at 7:39 PM on November 4, 2010
posted by KokuRyu at 7:39 PM on November 4, 2010
Assuming that the jobs are similar and within your qualifications, I see no reason why you should not apply for all of them. I don't think anybody would question your motivation or judgment.
If the jobs are not very similar, or if you are not qualified for one or more of them in some obvious way, you may raise eyebrows if you applied en masse. It would seem difficult to communicate simultaneous interest in and commitment to a bunch of different, unrelated jobs within the same company.
posted by Nomyte at 9:57 PM on November 4, 2010
If the jobs are not very similar, or if you are not qualified for one or more of them in some obvious way, you may raise eyebrows if you applied en masse. It would seem difficult to communicate simultaneous interest in and commitment to a bunch of different, unrelated jobs within the same company.
posted by Nomyte at 9:57 PM on November 4, 2010
If your supers aren't the final decision makers then they were just chatting with you.
Talk to a decision maker or apply for all.
posted by notned at 10:57 PM on November 4, 2010
Talk to a decision maker or apply for all.
posted by notned at 10:57 PM on November 4, 2010
Best answer: Apply for the most senior or lucrative job BUT make it clear in your application or cover letter you are interested in + 1 roles.
They should only ask you to one interview if the jobs are similar. Then it's a cookie-crumbles situation. Good luck.
posted by evil_esto at 5:54 AM on November 5, 2010
They should only ask you to one interview if the jobs are similar. Then it's a cookie-crumbles situation. Good luck.
posted by evil_esto at 5:54 AM on November 5, 2010
Response by poster: Evil_esto nailed it. My cover letter specified "or any other position for which you feel I am qualified." Nobody turned a hair. There was one interview (for a different position), but last week I was given the position the supers had discussed with me. Thank you ALL for your advice. It got me across the finish line!
posted by Ys at 7:22 PM on March 19, 2011
posted by Ys at 7:22 PM on March 19, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by punchtothehead at 6:46 PM on November 4, 2010