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I have been interviewing for 3 positions.

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Anonymous

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I have been interviewing for 3 positions. The first one I really want, the second one I'd do if I had to, but I would not be happy as I'd be right back in an understaffed department and I've seen how that goes, the third one ghosted me after a very long interview and tour.

I've had two interviews with the first job including one with the MD in charge of the program and his team. I feel this would be a great fit for me, but I'm still waiting to hear about a decision. I sent a thank you email hoping to hear from them but it's been almost a week.

The second only interviewed me once and after a week and a half they gave me a really low offer, almost what I was making when I first graduated. I told them what I previously made and they came up a bit. It's still 5K under my previous salary, but I can live on it if I had to. They want me to make a decision ASAP. I feel very pressured and it isn't as good a fit as the other position. I asked them for the details in writing to review and they took a few days to provide them, I got them at 4:12pm today and it's like they don't want me to think about it and just give them an answer right now.

If they can take a week or two to make an offer and a few more days to put it in an email along with the available benefits offered (as it's not all just about the money), shouldn't I get some time to review what they sent and think it over carefully? Is there a nice way to ask for time to consider my options? or should keep hoping for position 1 to make an offer and keep applying to other positions and forget position 2?

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  1. Anonymous

    I’d accept the offer and hope your first choice makes you an offer.

  2. Maggie Smith

    First of all, do you have a job now or not? If you do, is there an option just to stay at your current role?

    I don't think the second position is the right job for you, but the way they are approaching it, you may be better off accepting for now, if you don't have a job. They will have to do the background check anyway, so you could buy a few days. You can also approach the first position now again, to see what they have to say, in a few days when your background check clears you can tell them about the offer. If you do not hear anything, then go to position #2, but keep looking.

  3. Anonymous

    I'm currently not employed and can probably not worry financially for a few months. Both positions are with the same parent company in different locations. The one I really want is in a specialty that I have experience and certifications in that apply to the position, the other is a general "pool" position. I don't feel it would be right to say yes to the offer and then leave if offered the one I want since they are basically the same company. I may also consider going into travel/contract work just to have an income until I find the right fit.

  4. Anonymous

    I get the sense that you may be unemployed, is this correct?

    With regards to the low-ball offer: "Thank you for the offer. I will get back to you with my response by (end of day, 3 days later)." If you are unemployed, I would encourage to consider accepting this offer (provided the first one doesn't come through soon) while continuing your search.

  5. Anonymous

    I'm currently unemployed, one reason I don't want to accept the offer I have is that it is with the same parent company as the position I do want. They are in different locations and I don't want to say yes to one and then leave to go to another location with the same company as it might ruffle some feathers.

  6. Anonymous

    Accept the offer. If you hear from the target company you can always give notice to the first org.

    Don't feel guilty, company's resind offers all the time based on the org's unexpected budget constraints.

  7. GirlBossanova934974

    There are 2 huge questions that need answers. Are you currently employed or not? Second, what is the actual salary difference between job number one and job number two? $10,000? $20,000? Some employers want a quick answer as they have other candidates lined up if you don't accept.

  8. Anonymous

    Are you currently employed? If so then hold out for job 1. If you're not employed and need a job, then go ahead and accept job 2 but if job 1 comes back with an offer, then go ahead and accept and resign job 2. If they lowballed you then they shouldn't be surprised if you leave to take a better offer in pretty short order.

  9. Stephanie Ingle

    The best is to tell the offering company you need x days to review, that way it’s clear when you will respond. Then tell the company you want to work at that you have an offer, and you have x days to review it but you’d really prefer to work for them - and remind them how your interview went. Something significant you can bring to the company, and make it clear they need to extend the offer or you will be off the market. A week is enough time to follow up with them especially because you have pressure to take the other job. Don’t mention the crappy salary the other company offered or anything about it. Then to the company who made the offer, if it gets down to the deadline, you will have to decide and depending on how much you like to gamble, you could give them a response like” an offer of X$ for this role is more consistent with market value based on my research. They will say either ok or we can only pay x for this position and then you have to decide if it’s worth it.

  10. misskelleyp

    Take as much time as they will give you without "poisoning the well". Then if the the first job offer hasn't come through, take the second one. Then if the first one comes through take it! Tell the 2nd folks that you apologize, but something you'd previously interviewed for, that you feel is a better fit, came through. Honestly, that's a "no harm, no foul" situation and if they get annoyed about it, that tells you a lot about them as a company. Do what's best for you, but in this job market, I wouldn't turn down a bird in the hand.

  11. Anonymous

    The first job got in touch to say they were sorry it's taking a while but they've been booked solid and will be finalizing their choice soon. The second got back to me when I asked them to send me an email to confirm the salary they offered over the phone, however the email I thought was the updated offer turned out to be a lot of the benefits paperwork not one mention of the salary. We'll see how it goes. I'm still hoping job number one comes through... if not I can go back to travel/contract work until something permanent comes along. As soon as it gets sorted out I'll post to let people know how it went. Thanks for the comment!

  12. misskelleyp

    Good luck!!

  13. Anonymous

    How about contacting the first job and letting them know you have an offer from another company but really want to work for them. Get an idea of where they are in the interview process. Not sure how long you have before responding to the #2

  14. Celena Barton

    Oh wow. This is tough! It doesn’t sound like you’ll be happy with the second one but I get the pressure of needing a paycheck. It’s a gamble but if day hold out for the first one. Fingers crossed for you!!!

  15. Anonymous

    I ended up taking the position I didn't want. They came up on the pay some and the benefits are good. I'm going to continue looking but I need something coming in and I don't want an even bigger gap in my resume. The position I really wanted went with someone else and I'm pretty disappointed as it was a better fit for my credentials, licenses, and personal knowledge, and goals.

    I was reading on Reddit that a lot of people in my field are leaving or going into non-patient facing positions due to low pay, poor scheduling, and lack of respect for our training and expertise. You'd think that if you needed a Masters they would pay you like you had one. I guess it could be worse, at least I've got an income again. I am going to continue to look, this isn't going to be a good fit, I can already tell. Thanks all for your advice!

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