Decent job or dream job
January 18, 2012 6:07 PM Subscribe
Should I take a decent job that's a sure thing, or hold out for the dream job?
I recently left a disastrous and emotionally draining job after only six months. Unfortunately, this was the second time I’ve had to quit a job after a relatively short amount of time. Both positions were senior level at very similar companies and had similar problems, which has led me to conclude that I really shouldn’t work in this field anymore or at least not at a managerial level. (It might be worth noting for the sake of this question that I had excellent reviews and can call on my former supervisors for references, even though I feel like my work was crap.)
I’ve decided to refocus on a discipline that I have some, but not a lot of, experience in.
The problem is that, in addition to my lack of experience, jobs in my desired field don’t come by that often. About a month ago, however, I was lucky enough to be offered a long-term contract position (with the potential for full time). This job combines elements of my old job with this new field I want to work in. Under other circumstances, this would be a good opportunity to gain experience without committing to a permanent position. There are a couple of problems, though.
First, the job’s at a company I don’t feel comfortable working for. (We’ll call them Company Meh.) Secondly, I was contacted that same week by an organization I’ve been dying to work with for the past decade. (Let’s call them Company Yay.)
I told the recruiter involved with placing me at Company Meh that I was going to pass on the job because I was early on in my job search and wanted to explore other options. He told me they’d move forward with interviewing other candidates, but wanted to leave the job on the table if I change my mind. In the meantime, I interviewed with Company Yay. That interview went fine, but the interviewer let me know that while she thought my experience was “compelling,” there had been some discussion among the hiring team about my lack of experience in this field and my recent job hopping. I felt like I addressed her concerns, but after that there was a long radio silence, and I assumed they weren't going to call back.
Cut to Monday of this week, and recruiter at Company Meh calls me to tell me that he’s yet to find a solid candidate and wants gauge my interest in the position again. After mulling it over, I decided yesterday to accept the offer because it’s a decent job, and my prospects have been depressing. (By depressing I mean that I’ve had interest, but it’s all in my old field, the thought of which gives me hives.) I should’ve checked with Company Yay first because, low and behold, they got in touch with me this morning to continue the interview process.
Now I don’t know what to do. I’m supposed to go and sign paperwork for this new contract gig tomorrow. If I flake on the job at this point, I feel like I will have burned my bridge with them. They’re not going to offer me the job a third time. Part of me wants to just go with it because it's a good deal, it’s not forever, and I need to get paid. The other part of me wants to hold out for Company Yay because the job seems perfect, but it’s certainly not a sure thing.
At this point, I have a week and half until I’m supposed to start at Company Meh, and a second interview scheduled at Company Yay for this week. In an ideal world, I’d have a speedy interview process with Company Yay, get an offer, and ditch the Company Meh job before I have to start. (It’d be a crappy thing to do, I know.) I can’t delay my start date at Company Meh any further without seriously annoying some people and setting up a negative atmosphere before I even start. And I can’t leave after I’ve started because I’d feel awful.
Should I continue on this path and just see how it goes? Pass on Company Meh for good because my heart’s not in it? Forget about Company Yay because they’re too slow and not confident about me?
I recently left a disastrous and emotionally draining job after only six months. Unfortunately, this was the second time I’ve had to quit a job after a relatively short amount of time. Both positions were senior level at very similar companies and had similar problems, which has led me to conclude that I really shouldn’t work in this field anymore or at least not at a managerial level. (It might be worth noting for the sake of this question that I had excellent reviews and can call on my former supervisors for references, even though I feel like my work was crap.)
I’ve decided to refocus on a discipline that I have some, but not a lot of, experience in.
The problem is that, in addition to my lack of experience, jobs in my desired field don’t come by that often. About a month ago, however, I was lucky enough to be offered a long-term contract position (with the potential for full time). This job combines elements of my old job with this new field I want to work in. Under other circumstances, this would be a good opportunity to gain experience without committing to a permanent position. There are a couple of problems, though.
First, the job’s at a company I don’t feel comfortable working for. (We’ll call them Company Meh.) Secondly, I was contacted that same week by an organization I’ve been dying to work with for the past decade. (Let’s call them Company Yay.)
I told the recruiter involved with placing me at Company Meh that I was going to pass on the job because I was early on in my job search and wanted to explore other options. He told me they’d move forward with interviewing other candidates, but wanted to leave the job on the table if I change my mind. In the meantime, I interviewed with Company Yay. That interview went fine, but the interviewer let me know that while she thought my experience was “compelling,” there had been some discussion among the hiring team about my lack of experience in this field and my recent job hopping. I felt like I addressed her concerns, but after that there was a long radio silence, and I assumed they weren't going to call back.
Cut to Monday of this week, and recruiter at Company Meh calls me to tell me that he’s yet to find a solid candidate and wants gauge my interest in the position again. After mulling it over, I decided yesterday to accept the offer because it’s a decent job, and my prospects have been depressing. (By depressing I mean that I’ve had interest, but it’s all in my old field, the thought of which gives me hives.) I should’ve checked with Company Yay first because, low and behold, they got in touch with me this morning to continue the interview process.
Now I don’t know what to do. I’m supposed to go and sign paperwork for this new contract gig tomorrow. If I flake on the job at this point, I feel like I will have burned my bridge with them. They’re not going to offer me the job a third time. Part of me wants to just go with it because it's a good deal, it’s not forever, and I need to get paid. The other part of me wants to hold out for Company Yay because the job seems perfect, but it’s certainly not a sure thing.
At this point, I have a week and half until I’m supposed to start at Company Meh, and a second interview scheduled at Company Yay for this week. In an ideal world, I’d have a speedy interview process with Company Yay, get an offer, and ditch the Company Meh job before I have to start. (It’d be a crappy thing to do, I know.) I can’t delay my start date at Company Meh any further without seriously annoying some people and setting up a negative atmosphere before I even start. And I can’t leave after I’ve started because I’d feel awful.
Should I continue on this path and just see how it goes? Pass on Company Meh for good because my heart’s not in it? Forget about Company Yay because they’re too slow and not confident about me?
I was about to recommend jacalata's option 3 (I am ... pragmatic) but I really like the totality of jacalata's advice.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 6:20 PM on January 18, 2012
posted by the man of twists and turns at 6:20 PM on January 18, 2012
i think you should keep in mind the possibility that company meh turns out to be great. you're basically going on guesswork at this stage, right?
posted by facetious at 6:22 PM on January 18, 2012
posted by facetious at 6:22 PM on January 18, 2012
You don't have to decide this just now. See how Company Yay interview goes, and start at Company meh. If you quit in the first week or two because you get an offer from Yay, you're right, Meh will not offer you a job again. But will you care if you're working at Yay?
And if you're not working at Yay because you they still had cold feet after interview 2, won't you be glad to be employed at Meh?
posted by Miko at 6:26 PM on January 18, 2012 [8 favorites]
And if you're not working at Yay because you they still had cold feet after interview 2, won't you be glad to be employed at Meh?
posted by Miko at 6:26 PM on January 18, 2012 [8 favorites]
Take Meh and change ships if Yay comes along with solid offer. Nothing wrong with that.
Early weeks are about checking suitability on both sides.
posted by zeikka at 6:35 PM on January 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
Early weeks are about checking suitability on both sides.
posted by zeikka at 6:35 PM on January 18, 2012 [1 favorite]
I would take Meh, its a safety mechanism.
The thing is, if you get the contract with Yay a few weeks later, just take it and apologise to Meh that it isnt what you expected, think of it as a cooling off period. It doesn't look good to Meh and you may tarnish your name within that organisation but hey - its your life and you only get one shot.
If you don't land a contract with Yay, at least you can build your experience with Meh and have a stable job for the next 12 mths. Upon contract completion you can look for job openings again with Yay or another preferred Co.
For whatever its worth, I wouldn't be turning down concrete job offers.
I wish you luck!
posted by Under the Sea at 8:09 PM on January 18, 2012
The thing is, if you get the contract with Yay a few weeks later, just take it and apologise to Meh that it isnt what you expected, think of it as a cooling off period. It doesn't look good to Meh and you may tarnish your name within that organisation but hey - its your life and you only get one shot.
If you don't land a contract with Yay, at least you can build your experience with Meh and have a stable job for the next 12 mths. Upon contract completion you can look for job openings again with Yay or another preferred Co.
For whatever its worth, I wouldn't be turning down concrete job offers.
I wish you luck!
posted by Under the Sea at 8:09 PM on January 18, 2012
Don't turn down Meh, but go to the interview with Yay.
If you don't fit Meh within the first couple weeks, they wouldn't hesitate to kick you to the curb. If Yay is the better fit for you, and they offer you a solid position, go for it. If not, well you can buy groceries and keep looking for something better if you absolutely hate Meh.
Remember, it's easier to find a job when you've already got one.
posted by BlueHorse at 8:56 PM on January 18, 2012
If you don't fit Meh within the first couple weeks, they wouldn't hesitate to kick you to the curb. If Yay is the better fit for you, and they offer you a solid position, go for it. If not, well you can buy groceries and keep looking for something better if you absolutely hate Meh.
Remember, it's easier to find a job when you've already got one.
posted by BlueHorse at 8:56 PM on January 18, 2012
Call the person who would be your boss at Yay and tell them you've had another offer. Tell him/her you would by far prefer to work with yay over meh. Ask them if they can accelerate the process/make you an offer. Get it in wriiting if they can. Turn down the offer from meh. Be happy
posted by zia at 11:43 PM on January 18, 2012
posted by zia at 11:43 PM on January 18, 2012
A lot depends on your fiscal situation. What will happen to that/you if Company Yay doesn't come through? Have you said to Company Yay that you're on this tight schedule? And if so, what has been their reaction? Happiness is important, but so is managing to put food on the table and being able to pay the rent/mortgage. If it were me, I'd go with Meh and spend my time trying to gain the experience I needed in that one year to transition into the job I wanted.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 4:21 AM on January 19, 2012
posted by lesbiassparrow at 4:21 AM on January 19, 2012
I recently (as in last week) went through this. I accepted a position at Company Meh just prior to Christmas and gave my notice to my emotionally draining job the last week of January. My last day is tomorrow (thank goodness). I was anticipated to start at Company Meh next week.
Meanwhile, Company Yay called me out of the blue and asked me to come in for an interview the first week of January. I interviewed even though I had accepted the position at Company Meh figuring no harm no foul with an extra interview. I was offered the job the next day and accepted it. Once they finished their background/reference/bendoverpleaseandshowusyourharbles check and the offer was final, I recinded my offer from Company Meh. It's not ideal, but it's business.
Look at this as a personal business decision. Be diplomatic about it though.
posted by floweredfish at 7:49 AM on January 19, 2012
Meanwhile, Company Yay called me out of the blue and asked me to come in for an interview the first week of January. I interviewed even though I had accepted the position at Company Meh figuring no harm no foul with an extra interview. I was offered the job the next day and accepted it. Once they finished their background/reference/bendoverpleaseandshowusyourharbles check and the offer was final, I recinded my offer from Company Meh. It's not ideal, but it's business.
Look at this as a personal business decision. Be diplomatic about it though.
posted by floweredfish at 7:49 AM on January 19, 2012
Give Company Meh a shot. They think you're great and are eager to have you whereas Company Yay seems to be the one holding out for a better candidate. I was in a similar position a few months ago. Over time my old job made me very unhappy and I was looking to leave asap. I interviewed at my Company Yay, Company Ok and a few others. Company Yay seemed interested but had been feeding me the we're still interviewing other candidates line every time I called.. I interviewed with Company Ok and they offered me the job an hour later.
I went with Company Ok. I needed the paycheck and figured I rather work for a boss who is excited to have me on board immediately rather than one who isn't completely sold on me. And if Company Yay gave me a better offer, as bad as I would feel about quitting so soon, I'd be trading a meh job for the dream job. In the end, Company Ok turned out to be the best fit for my current situation.
In case you do want or need to rescind the offer, here's a recent AskMe on how to diplomatically do so.
posted by vilandra at 12:16 PM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
I went with Company Ok. I needed the paycheck and figured I rather work for a boss who is excited to have me on board immediately rather than one who isn't completely sold on me. And if Company Yay gave me a better offer, as bad as I would feel about quitting so soon, I'd be trading a meh job for the dream job. In the end, Company Ok turned out to be the best fit for my current situation.
In case you do want or need to rescind the offer, here's a recent AskMe on how to diplomatically do so.
posted by vilandra at 12:16 PM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
2: abandon Meh for all time and hope for Yay
3: string along Meh for a week and hope that Yay gets you an offer by then (unlikely, really).
I'd go with option 1, and contact Company Yay and say that you understand that your lack of experience is a drawback, and you are now committing to a one year position that will gain you relevant experience and make you a better candidate for their next open position next year.
The attraction of this approach depends on how often you mean by 'jobs in this field don't come up often' (is Company Yay filling their only position for the next 5 years?). But it gets you money now, more relevant experience to springboard your transition between fields, a solid year long position to offset your 'recent job hopping' and should make a positive impression on Yay that you might be able to draw on to get into the real job next year.
posted by jacalata at 6:18 PM on January 18, 2012 [5 favorites]