Job offer second thoughts

Wmega · 14 Sep 2014 at 10:47

Hey all.

I rarely open new threads but time has come and I really need some help/feedback on this. Long story short: I worked in a company supporting a financial software. I hated it there, every morning before work I had a feeling that something will go wrong. I wasn't enjoying what I was doing mostly because of the lack of training and manager being completely unsupportive. After consideration I decided to resign and spend time finding a career in IT that I would really enjoy.

After 2 months of intense job hunting, finally I received a job offer. Although salary and location are fine, I'm having second thoughts as the position might be not exactly what I want to do and I noticed some similarities with my previous role. I still have 2 interviews left for next week. Both positions is what I am looking for but I can't be certain that I will be accepted.

The pickle now is that I have to either go to my new career and forget about the 2 interviews (or any other that I might have the week after) or decline the job offer and do my best on those interviews hoping I will get the job.

ps: They need an answer by tomorrow. Cannot ask for more time

Marmot · 14 Sep 2014 at 11:04

Take the job, explain that you need a couple of days off next week for hospital appointments but otherwise you're really eager to start work asap. Go to the interviews, reassess situation.

ci_newman · 14 Sep 2014 at 11:12

It would help to explain the new roles. In future, don't leave one job without having another to go to

bradUK · 14 Sep 2014 at 11:18

Osprey said:
Take the job, explain that you need a couple of days off next week for hospital appointments but otherwise you're really eager to start work asap. Go to the interviews, reassess situation.

This.

I've done this before myself, new employers are understanding about pre existing things like this.

Mr^B · 14 Sep 2014 at 11:32

What are the similarities with your current role? It might just be that ALL jobs in your skillset are broadly similar. You can't really know what the manager is like to work for from an interview (although you probably wouldn't be in two minds if he was a complete Brent) and you don't really say what you do, "supporting a financial software" could mean anything...

dowie · 14 Sep 2014 at 11:38

you don't even have to lie about going to the hospital... when you start a new job you can tell them you've got holiday for X date(s)... or even just delay the start date perhaps

in an ideal world you ought to be able to tell them up front that you're interviewing at more than one place - if they're not playing fair and have given you an exploding offer (job offer but need to know within very short period of time get back to us ASAP etc...)as they appear to have done then they're also taking a risk that you still explore the other options you had lined up and screw them over if you get a better offer.... really they should be prepared to wait

Wmega · 14 Sep 2014 at 12:58

Thank you all for your help.

I want to avoid first accepting the job, then going to the interviews and in a week's time telling them that I found another one. It's just seems very unprofessional.

The similarities with my previous job is that both positions involve supporting a bespoke software. The set is the same, 1st-2nd line client support/management and the difference is the sector (finance vs energy). I also got mixed feelings from the interview about the management.

Both interviews are for Systems support roles and much more technical (2nd-3rd line).

It will be nice for a change to do something that I really enjoy but am I risking too much? What if I'm not being offered a position after those interviews? Decisions, decisions, decisions....

DiscoDave · 14 Sep 2014 at 13:05

When it comes to job offers I would usually go with your gut feeling. If something is telling you this job may not be right, chances are it might not be.

I've done that for a couple of roles, had a gut feeling they weren't exactly what I was really after, but went with it regardless. In both cases I left within 3 months.

I work in a similar position, and in previous experiences with job hunting I have always ignored jobs supporting bespoke software. It just doesn't sit right with me - your transferable skills are significantly less compared to if you were trained in more widely used software. But if you want to climb up the ladder at one specific company, I could see why.

What do you want to accomplish/where do you want to be in X years time? Would this role help you get there?

Also, I'd never resign and then job hunt. It looks far better to look for a job when you already have one.

Good luck though

.

dowie · 14 Sep 2014 at 13:06

Wmega said:
I want to avoid first accepting the job, then going to the interviews and in a week's time telling them that I found another one. It's just seems very unprofessional.

it is unprofessional but then again an exploding offer is pretty ****ty too... if you're going for interviews and you have a few lined up you should be able to tell the potential employer that you're interviewing at a couple of places - the fact they've given you an offer then demanded that you give them an answer before you've had the chance to attend your other interviews is pretty shady.