| Topic Name: |
Leaving as soon as you're hired |
| Message Name: |
My Personal Experience (a bit easier on the eyes) |
| Date Posted: |
05/12/2003 |
| In Reply To: |
This topic hits pretty home for me since I just went through this situation. I graduated last May and took a temp job working in the purchasing industry as an analyst. The job was a long-term temp situation (possibly 2 years) but with no real possibility for career progression. Late this January I came across two possible job opportunities: one continuing in the purchasing industry for a dot-com with lots of promise and the other for a boutique investment bank, which was the industry I was trying to get into. My chances for the dotcom company were very good since I had friends from my old job who were already working within the firm, while my chances at the investment bank were not as good since I graduated from a top-50 ugrad business program and would be competing against some ivy elites. The interview process moved very quickly with the dotcom company and I was offered a job by the end of February; however I didn't hear back from the investment bank, who was taking their time reviewing potential candidates. The offer I had received from the dotcom was an exploding offer from the dotcom company, so I needed to decide fast whether I take the job, a good one in the wrong industry, or wait for my ideal job in a very difficult industry to get into. Since I viewed my chances of getting the banking job very pessimistically, I accepted the dotcom job. The very next day after I had sent in my acceptance letter, I received a phone call requesting I come in for an interview with the bank the day before my first day at my new company. The interview went well enough that three weeks later I was granted a second round interview and soon found out I had recieved the job with one caveat: they were unsure of a starting date. Some of my friends who graduated with me had similar situations with their offers eventually fizzling with the sinking economy, so I wasn't quite sure I actually had a job I could count on. As a result, I didn't tell my new employer, the dotcom company, about the situation I was in. A few weeks ago (mid April) I recieved notice that I would be starting in June and received a contract (for a significant amount more than the new dotcom job), which I signed and sent back. Unfortunately, last week I had to notify my employer of this decision. When I made this decision, I understood that I wouldnt be putting this job on my resume, since I can't expect a stellar reference, but the decision was a lot more personally trying than I had expected. My relationship with the two friends who had set me up with this opportunity is virtually non-existant now. Others within the company are a bit more understanding, my boss surprisingly most understanding. Nevertheless, if I was placed in this situation again, I would still have accepted the dotcom job and left for the bank, because in this economy, nothing is certain. Had I passed up the dotcom opportunity and missed the opportunity at the investment bank, I'd still be working as a temp with no benefits or promotion opportunities. And if I decided to wait several months before contacting the bank again, its possible I could have let my dream job slip by the wayside. My decision was costly and it's definitely a gamble, but if you're going to make the same decision I did, then you better be sure the new job is what you want, because there is no going back. It's a decision that can cost you the sure thing and perhaps a few friends... |
| Message: |
This topic hits pretty home for me since I just went through this situation. I graduated last May and took a temp job working in the purchasing industry as an analyst. The job was a long-term temp situation (possibly 2 years) but with no real possibility for career progression.
Late this January I came across two possible job opportunities: one continuing in the purchasing industry for a dot-com with lots of promise and the other for a boutique investment bank, which was the industry I was trying to get into. My chances for the dotcom company were very good since I had friends from my old job who were already working within the firm, while my chances at the investment bank were not as good since I graduated from a top-50 ugrad business program and would be competing against some ivy elites.
The interview process moved very quickly with the dotcom company and I was offered a job by the end of February; however I didn't hear back from the investment bank, who was taking their time reviewing potential candidates. The offer I had received from the dotcom was an exploding offer from the dotcom company, so I needed to decide fast whether I take the job, a good one in the wrong industry, or wait for my ideal job in a very difficult industry to get into. Since I viewed my chances of getting the banking job very pessimistically, I accepted the dotcom job. The very next day after I had sent in my acceptance letter, I received a phone call requesting I come in for an interview with the bank the day before my first day at my new company. The interview went well enough that three weeks later I was granted a second round interview and soon found out I had recieved the job with one caveat: they were unsure of a starting date. Some of my friends who graduated with me had similar situations with their offers eventually fizzling with the sinking economy, so I wasn't quite sure I actually had a job I could count on. As a result, I didn't tell my new employer, the dotcom company, about the situation I was in.
A few weeks ago (mid April) I recieved notice that I would be starting in June and received a contract (for a significant amount more than the new dotcom job), which I signed and sent back. Unfortunately, last week I had to notify my employer of this decision. When I made this decision, I understood that I wouldnt be putting this job on my resume, since I can't expect a stellar reference, but the decision was a lot more personally trying than I had expected. My relationship with the two friends who had set me up with this opportunity is virtually non-existant now. Others within the company are a bit more understanding, my boss surprisingly most understanding. Nevertheless, if I was placed in this situation again, I would still have accepted the dotcom job and left for the bank, because in this economy, nothing is certain.
Had I passed up the dotcom opportunity and missed the opportunity at the investment bank, I'd still be working as a temp with no benefits or promotion opportunities. And if I decided to wait several months before contacting the bank again, its possible I could have let my dream job slip by the wayside. My decision was costly and it's definitely a gamble, but if you're going to make the same decision I did, then you better be sure the new job is what you want, because there is no going back. It's a decision that can cost you the sure thing and perhaps a few friends...
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