Job etiquette/decision help!
September 6, 2014 9:48 PM Subscribe
After months of nothing, I am now undergoing a couple interview processes simultaneously. There's been a bit of a bump in the timeline I expected and I am looking for help deciding how to do what is best for me without burning bridges, if possible.
I am a young professional, ended a programming contract in May and have been on EI since. Right now I am making about the equivalent of $10/hr full time (min. wage here) on EI.
Company A (phone technical support for a local ISP) offered me around $18.5/hr (up from their normal $16.5), has paid overtime, but I am a overqualified. I applied as a "heck, why not" thing, figuring I could do it for a little while - something "technologically" easy I could do temporarily to just get out of the house without burning myself out too hard.
Company B (mid-level software testing automation), by comparison, is salaried, and will probably offer $58k-$60k. I'll try for more because I have good experience in automation and performance analysis, but that's what I'm expecting. The difference in pay is enough that it's not a question of which job is better.
Company A: I was phone-screened last Tuesday, interviewed this Tuesday, and offered the job this Friday morning. It starts training Sept. 16th, training is done in groups.
Company B: I was phone-screened on Wednesday of last week and informed that they would like a follow-up interview ASAP. They just emailed me back Friday afternoon stating that their technical officer is away and I will not be able to interview until the morning of Sept. 15th.
I accepted the support job under the assumption that Company B would have an offer well enough before the training started to not cause problems. I was kind of foggy when this happened. So, uh, oops.
Normally I wouldn't care so much about causing some inconvenience with a job I wouldn't end up at anyway, but Company A sincerely seemed like a really cool place to work - I sat in on calls and chatted with employees and got a good vibe, it reminded me of another place I really enjoyed working in high school. They seemed to really like me and they DO occasionally hire for higher-paying technical positions as well (it's not an outsourced support centre, they support their own product).
Company B came off as average, and I've heard rumours that they require a little more unpaid overtime than they let on, which was a big part of my contract burnout... if the rumours have teeth and I end up pulling 60-hour weeks regularly, I would seriously have to start looking elsewhere.
What is the best way to handle this gracefully with A should I get an offer from B? Obviously I don't want to "warn them" in advance, but I'd at least terminate training ASAP and let them know what's up with an apologetic email. What should I say?
If B wants to do a third interview (might happen, since it seems interview two will also be via phone), how should I ask for the time off that early into training?
Also, am I making any hideous faux-pas here? I'm young and frankly inexperienced when it comes to personal career development/management, but I at least know going from "programming -> tech support" might not look great on a resume. I was hoping it would free my brain up to do hobby work on the side and build a portfolio to mitigate that.
I am a young professional, ended a programming contract in May and have been on EI since. Right now I am making about the equivalent of $10/hr full time (min. wage here) on EI.
Company A (phone technical support for a local ISP) offered me around $18.5/hr (up from their normal $16.5), has paid overtime, but I am a overqualified. I applied as a "heck, why not" thing, figuring I could do it for a little while - something "technologically" easy I could do temporarily to just get out of the house without burning myself out too hard.
Company B (mid-level software testing automation), by comparison, is salaried, and will probably offer $58k-$60k. I'll try for more because I have good experience in automation and performance analysis, but that's what I'm expecting. The difference in pay is enough that it's not a question of which job is better.
Company A: I was phone-screened last Tuesday, interviewed this Tuesday, and offered the job this Friday morning. It starts training Sept. 16th, training is done in groups.
Company B: I was phone-screened on Wednesday of last week and informed that they would like a follow-up interview ASAP. They just emailed me back Friday afternoon stating that their technical officer is away and I will not be able to interview until the morning of Sept. 15th.
I accepted the support job under the assumption that Company B would have an offer well enough before the training started to not cause problems. I was kind of foggy when this happened. So, uh, oops.
Normally I wouldn't care so much about causing some inconvenience with a job I wouldn't end up at anyway, but Company A sincerely seemed like a really cool place to work - I sat in on calls and chatted with employees and got a good vibe, it reminded me of another place I really enjoyed working in high school. They seemed to really like me and they DO occasionally hire for higher-paying technical positions as well (it's not an outsourced support centre, they support their own product).
Company B came off as average, and I've heard rumours that they require a little more unpaid overtime than they let on, which was a big part of my contract burnout... if the rumours have teeth and I end up pulling 60-hour weeks regularly, I would seriously have to start looking elsewhere.
What is the best way to handle this gracefully with A should I get an offer from B? Obviously I don't want to "warn them" in advance, but I'd at least terminate training ASAP and let them know what's up with an apologetic email. What should I say?
If B wants to do a third interview (might happen, since it seems interview two will also be via phone), how should I ask for the time off that early into training?
Also, am I making any hideous faux-pas here? I'm young and frankly inexperienced when it comes to personal career development/management, but I at least know going from "programming -> tech support" might not look great on a resume. I was hoping it would free my brain up to do hobby work on the side and build a portfolio to mitigate that.
Can you delay Job A's start date? If Job B ends up making you an offer that would give you a way to bow out gracefully before Job A commits to training you.
I would of course confirm the facts of those rumors you've heard about Job B before making a final decision.
posted by eatcake at 12:06 AM on September 7, 2014
I would of course confirm the facts of those rumors you've heard about Job B before making a final decision.
posted by eatcake at 12:06 AM on September 7, 2014
Best answer: In reverse order:
Everything comes down to priorities, and short-term priorities are often different than long-term ones. There's nothing wrong with taking an easier, lower-paying, more enjoyable job if you're confident that you can justify later to recruiters why you did so and/or if you use it to advance in a different section of your industry. If you did intend to go back to a more active programming role later, just make sure to keep growing as a programmer on the side to at least keep up so you're still qualified later.
If B wants more interviews, hopefully they can all be done on the 15th before A's training starts on the 16th. @eatcake has a good suggestion, but you would probably be asked why and considering you already accepted the offer, this would be tricky. Otherwise, if you need to interview after training begins- whatever you do, don't lie to A or B. Ideally, you can do it after work at A, during lunch or over the weekend. Anything else will need to involve lying, misleading or outright leaving A's training, assuming it's full-time, 5 days a week.
If you get an offer from B or anyone else that you're inclined to take, ask for an urgent meeting with your boss at A and tell them flat out that you're received another job offer and are inclined to take it. If the boss responds in a way that shows they can't match or top the offer or even offer you anything more to convince you to stay, thank them profusely, apologize for it not working out and settle whatever you need to do to leave asap (personal items, paper work, stuff from your computer, etc.). As @MariJo said, Do NOT do this until B has confirmed when you're going to start working. You don't want to quit so quickly only to have the other job fall through. That *happens*.
posted by jshare at 12:41 AM on September 7, 2014
Everything comes down to priorities, and short-term priorities are often different than long-term ones. There's nothing wrong with taking an easier, lower-paying, more enjoyable job if you're confident that you can justify later to recruiters why you did so and/or if you use it to advance in a different section of your industry. If you did intend to go back to a more active programming role later, just make sure to keep growing as a programmer on the side to at least keep up so you're still qualified later.
If B wants more interviews, hopefully they can all be done on the 15th before A's training starts on the 16th. @eatcake has a good suggestion, but you would probably be asked why and considering you already accepted the offer, this would be tricky. Otherwise, if you need to interview after training begins- whatever you do, don't lie to A or B. Ideally, you can do it after work at A, during lunch or over the weekend. Anything else will need to involve lying, misleading or outright leaving A's training, assuming it's full-time, 5 days a week.
If you get an offer from B or anyone else that you're inclined to take, ask for an urgent meeting with your boss at A and tell them flat out that you're received another job offer and are inclined to take it. If the boss responds in a way that shows they can't match or top the offer or even offer you anything more to convince you to stay, thank them profusely, apologize for it not working out and settle whatever you need to do to leave asap (personal items, paper work, stuff from your computer, etc.). As @MariJo said, Do NOT do this until B has confirmed when you're going to start working. You don't want to quit so quickly only to have the other job fall through. That *happens*.
posted by jshare at 12:41 AM on September 7, 2014
First: don't count your chickens before they've hatched. You don't know whether you will even be offered a job at Company B.
Second: just because the salary at Company B would be better doesn't mean that it's a better job. You might actually hate the company. It sounds like you're already not that thrilled about them. Trying for a better job at Company A after working there a little while might end up being a great option.
Third: if you do end up getting an offer from B and decide to take it, don't feel too bad about company A. That kind of thing happens all the time, surely.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 3:16 AM on September 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
Second: just because the salary at Company B would be better doesn't mean that it's a better job. You might actually hate the company. It sounds like you're already not that thrilled about them. Trying for a better job at Company A after working there a little while might end up being a great option.
Third: if you do end up getting an offer from B and decide to take it, don't feel too bad about company A. That kind of thing happens all the time, surely.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 3:16 AM on September 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
I would advise that you go with company A and withdraw from the interview/job process with company B before they have the chance to make you an offer. It's a legitimate thing to do; dropping out of the process before someone offers you a job. I can vouch for how stressful it is working for more money in a work place that you hate. At this point in time, I am also currently applying to jobs that I know I am overqualified for, just so that I can leave my current job.
Also, as you put it, company A do occasionally hire higher level technicians. And they would be more likely to do this internally before offering the job role externally if you showed good potential.
posted by sockpim at 3:58 AM on September 7, 2014
Also, as you put it, company A do occasionally hire higher level technicians. And they would be more likely to do this internally before offering the job role externally if you showed good potential.
posted by sockpim at 3:58 AM on September 7, 2014
Start Job A, interview with job B after hours, it shouldn't be problem for them to interview you after hours. If it works out, awesome drop out of the Job A training. If it doesn't, you have Job A.
You work for yourself. Always. Do what's in your best interest because that's what companies do.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:47 AM on September 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
You work for yourself. Always. Do what's in your best interest because that's what companies do.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:47 AM on September 7, 2014 [1 favorite]
You've got A. Work at A until B gets with it and hires you. If they don't hire you, which as of right now, they haven't, keep working at A. In the meantime, keep trying to find C. If you ever feel bad about working for A and trying to work for B or C, remember that the only reason you're thinking about B or C in the first place is because A doesn't pay what you can make on the market. Not your problem.
posted by oceanjesse at 2:56 PM on September 7, 2014
posted by oceanjesse at 2:56 PM on September 7, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
Right now, Job A is a sure thing. I would advise against saying anything unless you have a written offer from Job B.
If Job B makes an offer that you'd like to accept, you will also need to accept that it will likely burn bridges with Job A.
Strategies to leave your brand-new job during training to interview will depend on the flexibility of the training schedule and the times available for interview. I would probably try to schedule it at the end of the day if it's possible to leave early.
posted by MariJo at 10:07 PM on September 6, 2014