I know this may seem like a stupid question but I am battling with it and wonder what my other mammas think.
I have been out of work for 11 months now. I have been interviewing and applying and in January I interviewed with a company that was VERY interested in me. They were very open with me in each interview that they wanted to hire me, I just needed to go through their process and a series of interviews. Since then they have kept me apprised of what is going on with each interview. The company is actually 3 companies merging into one and what ultimately happened is the location I interviewed for chose to restructure and the position I interviewed for was filled by the restructure. The company has since been shifting my resume to other openings similar to that one at other locations not undergoing a restructure. They say I will be amazing in the role and am fully qualified and they want me but because they are going through so many changes the priority goes to present employees to accept positions and they are waiting on them to make decisions before they make me an offer. I am still waiting, its been almost a month now. They apologized, said they are sorry the process is not moving along faster and understand if I am entertaining other opportunities and wish to have nothing to due with their chaos. With this position, I feel it is a climb from my previous roles definitely not a lateral move and I see growth potential, my research has shown that most of the company leaders/directors started in the role, I am interviewing for.
In the meantime, a friend of mine accepted a management position at a company and has asked me to come on board. Starting in 2 weeks. I don't know much about this company as there is no interview since he is my manager. I only know what he tells me about the company. The position is one that I have done in the past for him and will be successful at but I been doing it for 10 years and this is definitely a lateral move and I don't see much room for growth at this point, maybe once I am hired and work with them, I will see more.
So the way I see it, I have a few options:
Take the position with my friend and forget about the other position?
Wait on the other position and pass on the position with my friend?
Take the position with my friend and resign if the other offer comes along?
The obstacles I see is that I may not get the other job, my friend has guaranteed me the job so waiting is risky. This is the closest I have come in the entire time I been without work. Taking the position with my friend will not offer me long term satisfaction and I know I will be looking for work eventually, like a year or two. Taking the position with my friend and leaving if I get another job offer. I know people do it often and I would resign appropriately with proper notice and such but I will feel bad if it is like a month after I am hired to be switching jobs so quickly and I will feel bad for doing that to my friend. I am just so confused and maybe others opinions will help to clear my mind or present me with other options and ideas to consider.
Thanks mammas!
Thanks Mammas. I took the job with my friend and start on March 4th. The other job is still making decisions...I will keep you updated about the job :)
Take the job being offered.
I was unemployed for almost a year.
I took a job and continued to look for one in my field.
Today, 18 months later, I had an interview in my field.
The job market is too unstable to wait.
I agree with the 'take the position with the friend and resign if the other position comes up'. Take it with the friend on a 'temporary' basis. Most company's have a 60 - 90 day probationary period anyway.
You have to look out for YOU. Be honest with the friend and it will work out.
Well, I would be torn. If I can't find the company on the internet - I would be a tad dismayed.
I would take the job. Unless you can afford to wait for that "perfect" job...I would take the position being offered.
Do your research on the company. Ask about benefits, position description, benefits, etc. I would tell my friend who is offering me the job my situation and if the other position opens, with a better salary offer, etc. you will take it.
I'm working with a candidate who took another job while I am trying to place him. The customer has finally approved and accepted him, now we need to go through the clearance process, which can take up to 3 more weeks...it's been 9 weeks since we started the process. Yeah...long and drawn out. He too was concerned about how it would look on his resume to have a job for only 5 to 8 weeks on his resume.
I told him to be honest with future employers. Tell them that he needed to the job to care for his family and this position was his "dream" position and it took a while to go through the process. People in government contracting will understand that...heck...people in ANY business should understand that.
good luck!
I would take this position with your friend. Esp since you are currently
uneployed.
You can always leave if you get another position you feel is better suited to you with more room for advancement. Just leave w/proper notice.
You have to take care of yourself first. Plus the other job may not come to fruition for a very long time.
Then resign with ample notice
Companies can take FOREVER to fill an actual position, & you are stuck in the limbo of "we want you but need to see if we have a place for you".
Take the position with your friend. It gets you employed (a plus on a resume, many companies are leery of people who haven't been employed for a while but are looking - ie. what's wrong with her that no one picked her up yet?) and you already have a working relationship with your friend.
If the company comes back & says "we have a position, & would like to bring you on board" (which likely won't happen immediately, considering how things have gone thus far), then you have a few options.
1. If you don't like what they offer you (not as much $$, type of work, etc.) then you can say "thank you for considering me, I appreciate the offer, but I was recently brought in by a company that is a good fit for me right now". That way, you aren't closing the door on the company in the future, but are able to stay at what's working for you.
2. If you like what they offer you, you can (& should) talk to your friend & explain what has been offered, & discuss why you might be considering it. This can open up 2 different dialogues - first, let's them know that you have an option you are interested in, & second, allows you to open up about what your current position would need to offer you in order to entice you to stay. You'd be surprised, sometimes good things can come out of situations.
Personally, I wouldn't mention the possibility of a position elsewhere to your friend/manager until there is something to mention. Because all that will do is raise doubts from the onset about your committment to the position. Just be an upstanding person (employee & friend) if an offer is extended & openly communicate with them.
If that company is going through as many changes as you say, you will likely be waiting another few months. And as you said, no guarantee. It sounds like it's what you ultimately want but I guess are you willing to take that risk? My thoughts are take the job with your friend, do it for a year or 2 and then go back to that company when things settle down and see if there is an opening, or just watch their job postings for when it comes available. If you say there is room for growth at the new company, then people will move up leaving an opening for you. Or people will take positions now just to have a job, but leave if they don't like the new company after the reorg, again leaving a position open. I would definitely give your friend a solid year or 2 because the costs associated with hiring and training are high so you don't want to upset the friendship if you only stay on for a few months.
Best to take the sure thing
"Take the position with my friend and resign if the other offer comes along."
This.
It affords you the greatest probability of having the job you want when it all comes down to it.
But be careful. Don't resign the position until you're absolutely certain the job you want is yours.
♥
C. Lee
A bird in the hand...
The other job is NOT guaranteed. It sounds like they might WANT to hire you, but have a lot of chaos within the Company right now. Things are not stable there at this point.
Bottom line: I assume that you need a job and the income it provides. You have no other offers on the table right now. Take your friend's offer and worry about the other one when and if it comes up...
Talk to your friend tell her about this other job. See if she is okay with you starting work with her with the cavaet that you may leave to take the other job. Tell your friend that you will give her 2-3 weeks notice. If your friend is ok with this give it a go. This way if the other job comes through...good if not fine. Also being up front with your friend will keep the friendship in tact. Also you may find that you really like the friend job and may not want to leave. Also already having a job gives you some leverage with the other job if an offer finally comes through. The way I see it you are in a good position.
Could you agree to work for your former boss temporarily? Let him in on what's going on. Also, ask for more money - it will make you feel better!!
Have you told the other company that you have an offer on the table? There is nothing wrong with letting them know - and it might ignite a fire under their butts! The problem is, they might like you but reorging can take a while. It's a bad market out there. Take what you can right now and then see what else is out there in a year.
Would you be working with friend. If yes, I would rethink it. Good way to end a friendship.
Hey T.. My advice, especially after reading your blog (which is great by the way), is to take the job and then if you get the other offer, politely resign since there sounds like there is much more potential at the job you have already interviewed for.
***BTW, love how you enclosed the wet bar and made it a butler's pantry!!!
That position you interviewed for really sounds like it's going (or has already gone) away.
Reorganizations can make for some pretty awful instability in a company.
Take the job with your friend.
Being out of work for 11 months is a long time.
It's entirely possible that the offer on the other position will never materialize and it makes me even more suspicious when THEY suggest you should/might look at other offers.
I would not look at this to be a firm possibility at all.
Work with your friend - add to your job experience that will put you in a better position then maybe check back with this other company in 6 months to a year when things have settled down.
Well they say a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, however, it sounds like you'd really rather go with the new company than with your friend's company. If you can swing it financially, I say wait it out. I'm not sure what profession you're in, but in magazines, I've waited as long as two months to hear about a position. Ridiculous, but true. In any case, why don't you be honest with your friend and let him know the position you're in? Maybe he'll have some insight for you and can let you know more about his company. He might just say that he'd be fine with you for switching positions, but you don't know until you ask.
You've worked for this friend before and it worked out so it's a good thing. Your friendship lasted past the end of that position.
As I was reading the first part I thought of myself in those present company positions. Wondering if I would have a job when all the restructuring was done. Wondering if staying with the new company would be a good thing, getting offered a job but wanting to think about it. It's only right they offer all the jobs possible to their current employees first and give them as much time as possible to decide. They seem to be an honest and moral company due to how they are treating the employees they gained during this merge. That says a lot about the company to me.
One option you could choose:
I'd say it's time to call them and let them know you have a job offer that starts in two weeks. Let them know you really want to work for them but need to start earning an income.
Another option:
Ask your friend to be patient with you, that you know they are a good friend and that you'd enjoy working with them, look forward to it, but that you have started to really look forward to working in this other company and want to know if they'd give you a couple more weeks leeway.
