I'm in demand and I don't know what to do about it!
November 28, 2014 3:43 PM Subscribe
I have a job. It's pretty good - for a graduate at least. However, it's not everything they promised and I've been looking for alternatives at the same time as trying to improve things in my current place. Now everything's happening at once and I don't know what the best way to proceed is. Snowflakes inside as always.
About a year ago I got an amazing job offer in a foreign country. The salary was superb for a graduate, the project I was recruited for was out of this world and there were very generous promises made about training and progression.
Fastforward to now, some of this hasn't been delivered. The place is being run on a shoestring, we have had no training beyond what we can learn from colleagues while doing the job, because the promise of training was not written into the contract, only given in interview (stupid I know) - which was fine when I was new to the role but has meant I basically stopped learning six months ago apart from self-driven stuff. I am way ahead of the understanding that was expected of me at this point, and several of the project's smartest people have said I am more than ready for a senior position (unfortunately these people are not in a position to influence whether that happens).
I have initiated discussions with the people who are, including drawing up detail of all the areas in which I would need to be trained, and asked to be put on the path to making this happen. The positions are currently occupied by contractors, and back-of-the-envelope calculations suggests that even if I were to ask for a hefty raise when I got the new post and to require 8 solid weeks of training including a fully-paid-for cert, they would break even on cost within a few months and from then on be saving huge amounts of money. When I put the idea to them, they were pleased but extremely cautious about it, and wanted me to lay out for them all of the costs including detailed estimates of length of training required (i.e. the amount of time I wouldn't be on shift).
While working on this angle, I've also updated my CV and linkedin profile, and now I'm being mobbed. In the past 3 weeks I've been called about 6 or 7 different positions, at least half of which will offer me the same money - in a couple of cases considerably more - for doing the same thing, in my home country. In most cases it's not even shift work, which is where a sizeable portion of my current salary comes from. I have one solid offer already and every reason to believe I can have another two by Christmas.
So, now the dilemma.
1. What do I say to my boss? He's not responsible for the lack of funds and staff, he's just trying to do the best he can with what higher ups permit, and if he had the resources and wasn't being asked to do the work of three people, he'd be brilliant to work for. I like him, and I don't want to ruin his day. If I could be confident of being made senior in six months, I would roll with that because it would be worth it. Is there anything I can do at this point that will get my company to think past the short term costs? If not, what's the most considerate way I can tell him I'm not staying?
2. The company that made me the offer seems like an awesome place to work for; however, there's one at an earlier stage which is better in ways which I can't really put a number on - mainly location. I could expect an equal or even better offer, and I don't want to sound boastful but unless I go to the interview in my underwear I think I will get that offer. So the question here is: do I:
About a year ago I got an amazing job offer in a foreign country. The salary was superb for a graduate, the project I was recruited for was out of this world and there were very generous promises made about training and progression.
Fastforward to now, some of this hasn't been delivered. The place is being run on a shoestring, we have had no training beyond what we can learn from colleagues while doing the job, because the promise of training was not written into the contract, only given in interview (stupid I know) - which was fine when I was new to the role but has meant I basically stopped learning six months ago apart from self-driven stuff. I am way ahead of the understanding that was expected of me at this point, and several of the project's smartest people have said I am more than ready for a senior position (unfortunately these people are not in a position to influence whether that happens).
I have initiated discussions with the people who are, including drawing up detail of all the areas in which I would need to be trained, and asked to be put on the path to making this happen. The positions are currently occupied by contractors, and back-of-the-envelope calculations suggests that even if I were to ask for a hefty raise when I got the new post and to require 8 solid weeks of training including a fully-paid-for cert, they would break even on cost within a few months and from then on be saving huge amounts of money. When I put the idea to them, they were pleased but extremely cautious about it, and wanted me to lay out for them all of the costs including detailed estimates of length of training required (i.e. the amount of time I wouldn't be on shift).
While working on this angle, I've also updated my CV and linkedin profile, and now I'm being mobbed. In the past 3 weeks I've been called about 6 or 7 different positions, at least half of which will offer me the same money - in a couple of cases considerably more - for doing the same thing, in my home country. In most cases it's not even shift work, which is where a sizeable portion of my current salary comes from. I have one solid offer already and every reason to believe I can have another two by Christmas.
So, now the dilemma.
1. What do I say to my boss? He's not responsible for the lack of funds and staff, he's just trying to do the best he can with what higher ups permit, and if he had the resources and wasn't being asked to do the work of three people, he'd be brilliant to work for. I like him, and I don't want to ruin his day. If I could be confident of being made senior in six months, I would roll with that because it would be worth it. Is there anything I can do at this point that will get my company to think past the short term costs? If not, what's the most considerate way I can tell him I'm not staying?
2. The company that made me the offer seems like an awesome place to work for; however, there's one at an earlier stage which is better in ways which I can't really put a number on - mainly location. I could expect an equal or even better offer, and I don't want to sound boastful but unless I go to the interview in my underwear I think I will get that offer. So the question here is: do I:
- Turn them down and trust that I won't screw up the one I'm really drawn to?
- Accept the offer but interview for the second one and if I get it, tell the first I won't be working for them after all? (seems dishonest, I don't like it)
- Tell both places about the other and try to get more? (really don't like it, only putting this in there because I want to be comprehensive)
- Accept the first but tell them about the other and say I would go for it if offered? (seems most honest, but impolite to tell someone they're second best)
- Your alternative suggestion here.
I think you should consider that you are asking your employer to do something that benefits you hugely, and which *could* benefit them significantly as well, but also carries significant costs and risk for them: risk that you will not excel at the role; costs of training you; risk that you might jump ship before they see the benefits; costs of recruitment for your old position; risk of a new hire to replace you not working out and thus additional costs of recruitment again as well as lost productivity. The job of a manager is to reduce risk for the company. Compared to this, there is actually *less* risk if you just take off. Thus you don't really have a whole lot of leverage here. Also, as Sara C says, your circumstances are not unique. All companies are resource-constrained, or else they would be undercut by competitors. All managers will balance your desire for growth and promotions against the needs of the business.
Likewise, when you are a job candidate, your prospective managers are evaluating you from a risk-minimization perspective. They want to hire the person who will give the highest probability of solving their problems and delivering value above their salary. So while you are in demand now, if your work history signals "risk of job-hopping", you may eventually damage your employability. Take care not to put short-term benefits ahead of long. Likewise, with respect to trying to generate a bidding war, if you give a signal that you are very focused on getting the best deal for yourself, your risk goes up and thus your value goes down. Job negotiations are all about finding the sweet spot that maximizes joint benefit. Employers want you to be happy, so they can feel confident you'll stick around, but likewise they want a signal that you are going to give them good value in exchange. When considering this, bear in mind that recruitment is one of the biggest sources of risk for employers.
In your shoes, I would suggest first figuring out your goals and what situation you are willing to accept. Maybe set a meeting with your boss and ask if it is likely you could be made senior in the relatively near future and if you can work out a rough timeline for that. If he says yes, and works out a plan that gets you there in six months, are you happy with that, and would you stay put? If so, stop job hunting.
With respect to the job offers, given that you seem to be in demand, I would say spend some time thinking about your dream job and dream circumstance, both in terms of short-term benefits and long-term opportunities for development and quality of life. Then hold out for that; no sense jumping for less. You can do things like ask for more time to make a decision, let them know you are considering other offers, ask for more money, etc, but all of these carry the risk of removing you from consideration, so don't do it lightly. If you have the luxury of choice, it's best not to interview at a place, and certainly not to accept an offer, unless you feel it is a great match for you.
posted by PercussivePaul at 5:55 PM on November 28, 2014
Likewise, when you are a job candidate, your prospective managers are evaluating you from a risk-minimization perspective. They want to hire the person who will give the highest probability of solving their problems and delivering value above their salary. So while you are in demand now, if your work history signals "risk of job-hopping", you may eventually damage your employability. Take care not to put short-term benefits ahead of long. Likewise, with respect to trying to generate a bidding war, if you give a signal that you are very focused on getting the best deal for yourself, your risk goes up and thus your value goes down. Job negotiations are all about finding the sweet spot that maximizes joint benefit. Employers want you to be happy, so they can feel confident you'll stick around, but likewise they want a signal that you are going to give them good value in exchange. When considering this, bear in mind that recruitment is one of the biggest sources of risk for employers.
In your shoes, I would suggest first figuring out your goals and what situation you are willing to accept. Maybe set a meeting with your boss and ask if it is likely you could be made senior in the relatively near future and if you can work out a rough timeline for that. If he says yes, and works out a plan that gets you there in six months, are you happy with that, and would you stay put? If so, stop job hunting.
With respect to the job offers, given that you seem to be in demand, I would say spend some time thinking about your dream job and dream circumstance, both in terms of short-term benefits and long-term opportunities for development and quality of life. Then hold out for that; no sense jumping for less. You can do things like ask for more time to make a decision, let them know you are considering other offers, ask for more money, etc, but all of these carry the risk of removing you from consideration, so don't do it lightly. If you have the luxury of choice, it's best not to interview at a place, and certainly not to accept an offer, unless you feel it is a great match for you.
posted by PercussivePaul at 5:55 PM on November 28, 2014
Were I in your situation, I would wait until I had the best possible offer in hand for another position, and at that point I would go to your boss and say something like "I really like working at this company and you've been great personally to work for. However, as you know, there are a couple of things I've been hoping to achieve that haven't come to fruition yet. I've received an offer for XYZ, but I'd much rather stay and work for this company if I knew that the requests I've made would be granted. If you are willing to grant my requests and I have written confirmation of that, I'll gladly turn down this job offer and continue in my work at this company."
If it's really true, then you have very little to lose, because if they say no, you have your job offer to accept, and if they say yes, you get what you want. In order to do that kind of negotiating, though, you have to be willing to walk away from your job if they don't deliver what you've asked for. I think it's very important to consider Sara C's points about the difficulty of truly knowing what another workplace is going to be like compared to the one you are already familiar with.
Don't accept an offer if you're not committed to taking the job - you can use the fact that you have an offer as leverage (i.e. using the offer to get better pay at a 2nd place you'd prefer to work, or as above, using it to improve your situation at your current job), but it's not appropriate to accept the offer and then try to use it as leverage.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 9:24 PM on November 28, 2014
If it's really true, then you have very little to lose, because if they say no, you have your job offer to accept, and if they say yes, you get what you want. In order to do that kind of negotiating, though, you have to be willing to walk away from your job if they don't deliver what you've asked for. I think it's very important to consider Sara C's points about the difficulty of truly knowing what another workplace is going to be like compared to the one you are already familiar with.
Don't accept an offer if you're not committed to taking the job - you can use the fact that you have an offer as leverage (i.e. using the offer to get better pay at a 2nd place you'd prefer to work, or as above, using it to improve your situation at your current job), but it's not appropriate to accept the offer and then try to use it as leverage.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 9:24 PM on November 28, 2014
The company you work for operates on a shoestring?
RUN.
The company you work for has higher-ups that would rather pay ex$pensive contractors rather than cultivate and promote in-house staff??
RUN RUN RUN.
Make sure you get things like training in writing when you accept your next position.
posted by jbenben at 11:32 PM on November 28, 2014 [5 favorites]
RUN.
The company you work for has higher-ups that would rather pay ex$pensive contractors rather than cultivate and promote in-house staff??
RUN RUN RUN.
Make sure you get things like training in writing when you accept your next position.
posted by jbenben at 11:32 PM on November 28, 2014 [5 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
I basically stopped learning six months ago apart from self-driven stuff
This is basically how adulthood works, unless you're in a grad program or you work in a field where professional development is crucial. And even in the latter case, as a fresh grad, you're probably not first in line for additional training since your skills are presumably fresh enough for what they just hired you to do. Once you're out of a formal schooling environment, everything you learn is pretty much on you.
they were pleased but extremely cautious about it
Yeah, this is also pretty much how life works. You're going to them and asking them to extend a lot of trust in you, for very little guaranteed reward for them. Yes, they could save money in the long run, but there are no guarantees that you'd be a good fit for that role, that you would stick around till the point where it pays off for the company, or that there isn't an even better way for the company to save money without assuming a lot of risk over whether you would pan out at all. Especially since with a brand new employee who has only been on the job for six months and already wants a promotion and paid training and a raise, who's to say what you'll ask for six months after they train you for the job you want? Also, they hired you to do this job, and if they promote you the minute you're doing well, they have to start from scratch with some new entry level shmoe who won't know anything. Your company was hoping to get at least some time with a reasonably competent employee in the position you were originally recruited for.
I have one solid offer already and every reason to believe I can have another two by Christmas.
With all due respect, you cannot assume that things will be different at those other jobs. Your issues with your current jobs are basic facts of how adult life works. Those companies are extending offers with the assumption, like this company, that you will do the job they hired you to do, not spend a few months getting up to speed and then bail for greener pastures.
You should also be thinking about the things you like about this job, and how likely it is that you will have those things at your new job. For example if you like your work environment and coworkers, think hard about bouncing for an unknown quantity. If your benefits package is good, think about whether you'd get the equivalent at a different company. If you're enjoying working overseas and experiencing a different culture, think about whether you'd be as happy without those opportunities. I guess what I'm saying can be summed up by a couple of cliches: a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, and also the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know.
If the other offer is objectively better than the job you already have (better pay, work you'll enjoy more, built in opportunities for formal professional development, you really really really want to move back to your home country and this is your big chance), consider taking the position.
If this is more about the growing pains of adjusting to adult life in the workplace and a bit of "grass is greener" or itchy feet, I would give the idea serious pause.
Your boss and "what to tell him" is not a factor. If you decide to take the other job, you tell him that a better compensated position in your home country has opened up for you, and you are hereby giving notice.
Don't "try to get more", seriously you're already playing with fire here and it is very possible for you to end up with no job if you make even the slightest misstep.
posted by Sara C. at 3:58 PM on November 28, 2014 [4 favorites]