Job offer advice

One Louder : Job offer advice

247Blogging — Tue, 20 May 2008 23:03:45 GMT

Good job offer advice from the Marketing Headhunter. I'd say something about a bird in the hand, but I think we already determined that I don't like to touch raw poultry. Anyway, I've had candidates decline our offer and then want to revisit. The hirin

re: Job offer advice

HeatherLeigh — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 08:40:03 GMT

Random, I'm thinking that you may be happy with your decision yet. Once it sinks in.

As for the weather out here in DC land...I'm counting this year as an anomoly. I am finding out all the things that I really did need in my survival kit (the radio, the bettery free flashlights) and that I didn't know I'd need (air mattress). Of course once I go buy a generator, we won't ever have another winter like this again.

re: Job offer advice

randomguymike — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 07:46:00 GMT

Well, just to close this out and to whine some about my poor decision making (sorry) and tout the value of the recruiter:

On Thursday, LC finally threatened to revoke their offer if I didn't decide by end of day (incredibly reasonable on their part since it'd been a week since they gave the formal offer).

I was informed I made it through all the hoops at PSC on Dec 7, except the final job allocation. Unfortunately, I hadn't heard anything all last week from them, despite many phone messages asking for something and letting them know the source of my urgency. I really didn't know what was happening.

Despite that, Thursday at 4:00 I decided I'd wait out for PSC since after interviewing onsite they were absolutely the best thing east of DC in my mind. The fit was amazing, and the culture was great. They also provided numbers of what a position might pay (wow-type good) and that they were looking to bring me in a full level higher than I hoped. Geographically, it was wicked-cool too.

Then, I called my external recruiter contact with LC to let him know I was going to call LC to decline and why. He went into a 15 minute lecture about how I was turning down an offer for no offer and rebutting many of my reasons for declining. He eventually created a solid seed of doubt in my decision.

I'm pretty sure he informed LC of my intentions before I gave them a call. When I called them, and after I hemmed and hawed for a few seconds about declining, they suggested an increase of the offer amount, based on the fact that the difference between $ of LC's offer & PSC's indications. I got caught up in the moment, the impressive nature of LC's sales pitch, and my frustration that I hadn't heard back from PSC all week. I accepted. So, Jan 2 I start at LC.

Friday morning I got a voicemail from PSC stating that on Monday they'd have manager to speak with about a job fit at the higher level for a position. Oddly, they didn't acknowledge any of my voicemails, though.

I feel a good chunk of doubt now about my choice, but I think this is a testament to the power of the recruiter to the company. All PSC had to do is return one of my calls over the course of the week. Their recruiters lost me. LC was really on top of things and did a sweet sales job. They made me feel like the most important person ever to their organization.

So, I'm still going to be in a WAY better place than I am now and am happy to be giving my two-weeks notice tomorrow, but I think I'll always have a lingering "what-if" now that i only have myself to blame for. The call to PSC tomorrow to close things out is going to be heartbreaking for me.

Thank you all for your help and thank you for this awesome blog. It's even possible, I guess, that a few years down the road, my new experiences at LC can be leveraged to move to DC if things don't work out. Of course, that west coast weather right now has the Great Lakes area seeming oddly attractive. Thank you global warming.

re: Job offer advice

HeatherLeigh — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 03:56:56 GMT

Don't count DC out. Maybe she just couldn't find the restaurant.

You are welcome to share your stories here any time! Gives us someone to root for!

re: Job offer advice

randomguymike — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 03:50:48 GMT

Well, I know some folks were curious, but it appears my story may end rather anti-climatically. DC was supposed to get in touch with me Monday or Tuesday, but as of end of business Wednesday nada. So, I'm guessing no news is bad news.

Meanwhile, LC is dragging things out, which is actualy good. They say they have an offer waiting for a VP's signature, but now think I may be a better fit for a different position and are going to get back with me at the end of the week with details. This should delay things long enough for me to meet with PSC. I guess PSC now gets promoted to the best available option.

To be honest, I'm very bummed about DC, but to continue the dating analogy:

Even though I got stood up by my dream girl and am sitting alone at a nice Italian restaurant, it doesn't mean I can't enjoy the nice bottle of Chianti I ordred. Maybe after a couple of glasses PSC will even look like DC.

I'll keep the readers posted when the story has an ending, though. Hey, maybe I should start one of these blog things :-). I guess I've also figured out the answer the next thread, maybe people blog to avoid hijacking other people's blogs.

re: Job offer advice

HeatherLeigh — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 21:51:55 GMT

VIcki-I really hope it's not like dating. I'm great at the job hunt stuff, the dating stuff not so much : )

re: Job offer advice

Vicki — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 22:09:50 GMT

So hunting for a new job is like dating? Hmmm... that is interesting. I've been married forever and don't know what dating is like - so maybe this is why I am unsure about the job hunting game. I don't have SKILLS for proper hunting! (Yet another Napoleon Dynamite reference there.)

Ok, I'm breaking out my Excel and going to prioritize a bunch of things I see myself needing/wanting from my next job move, get a career coach and learn proper grammar. (I've been livin' too loooong in the south to reeemember how ya'll communimicate with finesse-nuss und married to uh German who makes me backwards speak sumtimes like da Arhnold in Kalifornee-ah.) ;-)

Thanks to everyone here - great info. Heather, you're going to have to start charging admittance. Are you getting PPC at least? (I learned all about that from the Marketing Headhunter!)

re: Job offer advice

Cornelius Puschmann — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 20:05:39 GMT

Since I don't know jack about recruiting (well, apart from having applied for internships and part-time jobs) I'll focus on what I do know:

"...make decisions based on what you love to do, where you want to be, who you want to work with (or more grammatically correct: "with whom you want to work")"

"who you want to work with" is a perfectly grammatical subordinate clause in modern English. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Your may prefer a different way of phrasing it but that doesn't make it wrong.

Same goes for ending a sentence with a preposition. I assume the reason for avoiding it when possible is that it makes a sentence harder to parse, but that doesn't make it incorrect (or, more precisely, ungrammatical).

I case you don't believe me, take it from a real expert:

More about...who?

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001437.html

A story up with which I will no longer put

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001702.html

re: Job offer advice

Wine-Oh — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 15:27:20 GMT

Im all about not settling and going for what you want. Similar situation happened to me this summer. I got an ok offer from an ok company. Wasnt my dream job, but it was a job. After seeking advice from others (including here) I turned it down knowing I risked not knowing when the next offer may come. I didnt want to waste their time or mine. It was the right thing to do. They could hire someone else, who really wanted the job and I wasnt going to be miserable eating Ronzoni for dinner for the next year.

A month later I did land a dream job that I didnt know I could land. The opportunitiy fell on my lap out of nowhere. That also touches on the functional resume topic of another thread. Its all in the presentation, and chemistry of who you are meeting. The group I work in has some off beat but (but fun) personalities. They told me some other candidates didnt fit in chemistry wise, whereas I fit in right away.

And yes the interview was like a first date. 2 months later there are days when I am like is this going to work, and days when I enjoy my job. I repreatedly tell myself not to take things personally and I continue to find my footing. There are parts of the job I hate, like status reports and chasing down team leads for things (when they dont respond to e mails), and strong personalities who get offended when they arent invited to a meeting.

Ok this is way too long, so Ill wrap it up. Bottom line, follow your instinct. If you want the DC or PSC focus your attention on it. Ask the recruiter if theres anything you could be doing in preparation for the meetings. Keep in constant contact and be enthusiastic and upbeat. Dont let them see you sweat.

Good luck and keep us readers posted!

re: Job offer advice

HeatherLeigh — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 05:41:47 GMT

Harry- you rock. It's about evaluating the opportunities. Great way to frame the decision.

Deb-hehe...I'm not the grammar police, trust me. I just figured out the difference between it's and its. I like the way you present the company perspective. I also like the honest approach. I at least appreciate that LC is trying to play poker. But yeah, you are right..f you are just open with everyone, nobody gets ticked off. Not being up front can present a separate set of problems. I hope that doesn't leave randomguymike without an offer though.

I agree that we defnitely need to know the outcome. Of course, I am rooting for DC to come through!