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Job Dilemma (Long)
So, I don't know if any of you remember, but I had a pretty horrible interning experience that I wrote about on here awhile back. After finishing out my time there, and being told that the letter of recommendation they had used as the stickler for getting me to stay was probably not going to be produced, I thought I was done with that place.
A week ago, I got a call from a girl there saying they wanted me to come in for a meeting to discuss employment opportunities. I decided to do the meeting because, hey, what could it hurt. So, I go in today and they are offering me a marketing position with their company. They are offering me $4 less an hour than I make now, and with lower benefits, but the job is certainly intriguing. I would also get to work closely with the CEO of the company, which bodes well for my career as well as a letter for graduate school applications.
Here is the catch - I need to decide by Monday if I want the job. I have 2 interviews in Colorado next Thursday. The jobs there pay more and we have family there. However, I would also have to move halfway across the country and pay the money for the move/to break my current lease.
I just have a complete headache right now because I need to decide the pros and cons of each and if I can take the pay cut, etc, etc before I even interview for the Colorado jobs. Anyhow, I sent the CEO an email a few minutes ago with info about what the Colorado jobs salaries are and asked if he could be competitive with those if I agreed to become salaried and work slightly more than 40 hour weeks (a possibility he eluded to during the meeting). So now I am nervously awaiting the response that I will inevitably get tomorrow.
I do find it odd though that I am being offered what appears to be such an interesting job after the way my internship ended...
Re: Job Dilemma (Long)
I don't remember what happened with your internship, but I'd be very wary of going back to a place where you had a difficult working environment regardless of position.
While a new title and working closely with someone who is high on the food chain is appealing, I'd weigh out the other downsides like lesser pay and benefits. If you didn't like being an intern at that company, I can assure you won't like it as an employee. Volunteering to work more than the 40hrs/week won't make the additional pay better if the working conditions are poor. Also, calculating the cost of moving into the payscale is important when thinking about CO.
Let's pretend you make $10,000/year (current job) in Seattle and can make $14,000/year in Colorado or $8,000/year with new job at internship company. If the cost of the move is $4,000 (don't forget to add in the cost of replacement of things like cleaning supplies, shelf paper, carpet cleaning, etc.), you would only need to live there for one year to essentially "recover" the cost of moving or $2,000/year for the cost of working with the CEO. The money might be worth it if you are desiring to move closer to family or really think that the CEO of that company would seriously help you in the long run for your career.
Personally, it would take a LOT of money for me to want to move from where I live now. If moving to Colorado appeals to you, then the cost of the move could be worth it.
Bottom Line: If it were me, I wouldn't want to go back to a place I wasn't happy working and I'd continue working elsewhere or pursue new options.
SpceCadet brought up some excellent points. I would also be very cautious taking a job at a place that I had a bad experience at as an intern. If I remember correctly didn't they first offer another girl a job when you should have been offered the job initially because you had been there longer? I don't remember the exact situation in your previous post but I do know that whatever they did it offended you. I would continue looking for other employment opportunities if that is feasible for you right now.
As far as moving to Colorado, is this something you and DH have been discussing? Have you been planning on it i.e. saving up money for it? If you have not been saving can you take a steep financial hit? We moved 10 blocks down the street in April and if you calculate damage deposit, first month's rent, movers etc. we paid close to 4K. We are moving to Vegas in January and have been saving for it since June. There could be some great opportunities in Colorado for you, it just may cost a lot up front to get you there.
Like SpceCadet said I find it odd that they are offering you a "better" job that pays less than your internship. I would keep looking.
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Sorry Charlie, no way would I take a job that pays less than my current job, has worst benefits, and I know I was miserable at the company previously.
If the move to Colorado was something you and your H were considering before, I would still go out there and interview. As PPs mentioned, yes moving is a hassle, but you wouldn't be losing anything by doing so (and you'd come out ahead financially in the future even with moving costs and breaking of a lease).
Misa hit my thoughts square on the head. You were miserable there before and they are offering you less than you have now. No way. Yeah you may be able to work with the big fish, but is there a development plan showing your advancement, salary increases, or anything else beneficial other than saying I worked with the big fish? Also, pushing you to make a decision that quickly shows that they are not thinking about you as a person and what your needs are, and I would bet money that you would end up regularly working over 40 hours since your salaried. They would have to come through with something pretty fantastic for me to even consider it.
I would totally interview for the jobs in Colorado. You were interested enough to apply, so even if you get an offer and turn it down it's worth the interview. You said you had family there and being closer to family is never a bad thing IMO even when they make your crazy.
Keep us posted on what you do!
Is there no way either of the Colorado companies would pay relocation costs (i.e. moving truck, storage, mileage, toll fees, gas, etc.)?
And I am going to echo the other ladies. If you were miserable there as an intern, there is no way getting paid LESS and having crappy benefits will make it better. I absolutely HATED my last job and it had really good benefits but that didn't matter to me, I had to get out of there or else I would have ended up on the news. I actually like my current job and it has the WORST insurance in the world but everything else about it outweighs things.
You will definitely want to talk to DH about whether he wants to move back home or not but if the decision is purely up to you, I would pack my bags and go!
This was one of my first thoughts, but I'm a total home body and wouldn't make it long living halfway across the country from family.
I'm also gonna have to ditto pp's with regard to working somewhere where the environment before was simply horrid. It's kind of like my boss hiring back on an employee who quit two months ago, for the exact position she quit from. She's already missing shifts and not completing work -- what happens to us if she walks out again? Just like you -- what happens if things don't go as planned and you still can't get the recommendation for grad school you're searching for?
As a side note, why can't the place you're working for now write that letter of recommendation for grad school?
The jobs I am interviewing for in Colorado are both government positions with social services.While I do not know for certain that they wouldn't pay moving costs, I do know that their budget is very limited. Also, I know that one of the jobs had 55 applicants and I am the only one who doesn't already live in CO. Why pay for my moving expenses when they could hire somebody who has similar qualifications but would cost $4000 less to hire?
There are some new facts on this job. I sent him the salaries of the jobs in CO and he called me back the next morning to tell me he doesn't want to lose me based on money. Therefore, he is willing to offer me $3000 more per year than those jobs were. My other concern was benefits and the fact that there would be a gap in coverage between me switching jobs, but he said that if they couldn't put me on their insurance right away then they would try to pay for COBRA until their insurance kicked in. Also, he has said that they will work around my 2 week vacation in March.
I am weary of working there again, but I am trying to be unemotional in laying out the facts of what happened there. One of the reasons I was upset about my experience there was that they hired 4 people before even asking me if I wanted a job. Maybe they weren't wanting to hire me originally, maybe they knew this position would open up and were waiting to offer it to me, etc. etc. Whatever the reason, it appears that they really want me to work there now.
*sigh* I am still going to CO this week, so we will see what happens. But the more I interact with the CEO, rather than the manager of operations, the more I think that this job might be worth it.
Thanks for all your input girls! Really has given me some things to think about!