Is better any job than no job?
I am graduating, and I have had some difficulties to get a job. I am in a quite specialized sector that is not at its best in the economy/location I am interested.
I have signed a contract today
- Pay is just slightly higher ($10k) on what I made pre-MBA (I had a good pre-MBA salary though).
- Company is quite prestigious in the field, definitely can open doors in my resume.
- Location is where I wanted to be.
So I don't have a good feeling today, after a few days of being happy to return to my home town.
I haven't negotiated well and I was stressed thinking about graduating with no job. HRs were a bit intransigent, I suspect because of the time of the year (they know I am graduating) and the economic environment. I think my fair average market salary would be $15-20k more per year.
I must admit I feel fooled, which is not great attitude to start a new job. I didn't play well.
So what are your thoughts?
- Should I have given up this offer and wait for a "dream" offer being unemployed, maybe, for a few months?
- Would this job make more unemployable in the near future? I mean, if in 6 months I start looking for jobs the 1st question is "why u wanna move already?"
- Would it be easier to ask for a rise after a few months? In my previous pre-MBA job, I got a $24k year raise after 6 months (I thought my salary was lower than I merit and I was doing very well for the Co. so I put the cards on the table).
Thoughts?
Definitely much better to go with the job you got the offer for. How about going in there with a positive attitude, kicking ass, and requesting a raise in 12 months time (they might give it to you anyway since it will be 1 year later)? It's much easier for you to get a raise than it is to find a new job (look at it from the employer's perspective; higher employee turnover costs them more money than the raise, within reason).
You said the company is prestigious in its field and the location is where you want to be; so how about being a glass-half-full type of person and looking on the bright side?
You are right. I think in 5 years I could be in a confortable position, whether in this company or somewhere else as an exit option (ppl out of it do pretty well).
I think the issue is that I feel the company has "played" with me because I somehow stated that I was quite excited to work in that particular city and they took advantage of it. At the beginning I was quite cool because I was weighing options in other places, and this came quite unexpected (it is not an "MBA" position but a position where they were looking for someone with 5 years experience).
I am not pissed off about "losing" those 15-20k but about the fact that they have taken advantage of the situation... it is somehow a nasty game.
Agreed. It sounds like a good job. As for being played - a good job with a good company in a nice location with OK salary - your end of the bargain doesn't look half bad.
Any job you say?
As for finding another job - that will be way easier when you already have a job, and also can be used as leverage to raise your salary when you have another offer.
Thanks for the encouraging words.
I was panicking to graduate without an offer. First, it makes you feel comparatively like a sh_t when almost everyone else is getting great offers. Secondly I was afraid to enter in a loophole of unemployment and being for months without a job. I know some cases and while they "sort" the issue after a few months (one up to 8 months with no job, other 6 and I am talking about two different M7s) I can only imagine it is very painful psychologically (never mind financially).
Being unemployed when you feel like you should have a great job is one of the most psychologically damaging things you could ever put yourself through. Trust me, they didn't play you. They were smart. Reality is you want to live in that location and you're paying a premium for it. You should be very, very happy.
The key to any negotiation is knowing the other party's next best alternative. Their next best alternative was to hire someone else (and either pay them more, or get a slightly less talented person for same they're paying you). Your next best alternative was to go unemployed for several months (you do realize this would cost you a lot of money in terms of lost income, right?). Their next best alternative was a lot better than yours, and they were smart to use it as leverage in the negotiation process. You haven't been played, that was just the reality of the situation.
I agree, it must be a painful situation, and that is one of the reasons I took this offer. However it is also damaging to work in a place where you feel that they are taking advantage of you because of your particular situation / macroeconomic trends.
I woke up today and somehow I feel confortable thinking that starting June (this is typical position where they needed someone "for yesterday" yet the partner in my last interview told me a trillion times that they want people that could fit/contribute in the long term) I will have something new to do (even if it is not my dream) and of course, a source of income does not hurt.
I also plan to leverage my current position (that on paper does not look that bad) in order to look for new opportunities. I feel more confortable looking for new jobs having one than being the unemployed guy asking anyone at their alumni network, friends, former colleagues or linkedin contacts if they know about something or someone, and looking desperately. I haven't lived in this place since HS, so I think it would be interesting to meet people from my university/BS there (whom I don't know at all) in order to look for new opportunities. Also since the scope of network (by pure demographics/geography) is not vast in this place, I have a good feeling about it. And of course I can be more picky at applying to other positions and not taking the 1st thing out there.
You are right... I know that all well... but it is better to say that than to put it in practice. :) Good explanation though!
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