moi

Hello,
As some of you know my husband was laid off just over 4 months ago from the oil business as a Supply Chain Manager. I have some questions and looking for advice. He has been offered a job offer...not so fast to congratulate....here are the catches:
*It is 30% less (he was making 100k this is 70k - they knew he was laid off and even tried to do it for 65k, but he got them to 70k. Tried 78k and they would not budge). Had he still been employed, he would have told them where to get off. They are basically a 3rd party supply chain provider so they take a percentage of the $. However, it is onsite with a well known pharmaceutical company and he never had pharma experience (just oil, aerospace, beverage).

*The benefits are ok, not as good as last position, but not terrible.
*It is almost a 2 hour commute, but he would be able to stay at his mother's house during the week 1/2 an hour away. Sucks for me, my 1 yr old and 12 yr old in the week with no help.

So the question is ....does he take this offer and continue to job search or would you forget about it? It is hard to job search though with a new job as they want you to come in during business hours.

His current situation right now he has also been interviewing with a couple of fortune 500 companies for a little while but nothing set in stone yet. They each are flying him out to TX and Ohio. He has also had a couple more of interviews in our direct area that went really well, but the process takes a long time and each company has their own way of doing things.

So what do you think??? Take the job and keep trying to somehow interview with not really anytime to interview or hold out and keep searching and not happy with the salary??
Do you tell other potential companies that seem interested in you that you have another job offer or does that turn them off?
He also pushed the start date to 3 weeks start instead of 2 to give him extra time to interview prior. He is trying to fit in as many interviews as possible prior to starting.
I work part time 28 hours as an exec assistant a week and he is currently on unemployment (severance ran out).
Opinions and Advice please!! Any similar experiences?? Any HR professionals out there??

tom169

I say take the job and continue the search for a better one.

Every day not working is not only lost income, but a plague on a resume. Gaps aren't good.

Pulaski

After four months, take it! .... And keep on looking - the company offering the position knows he will.

And a year from now, with experience in pharma, he'll be worth more in that market too.

ian-mstm

I didn't much like my dad... but on occasion he had a few wise moments - one of which was: it's easier to find a job when you have one!

a) there's money coming into the house, regardless of pay or benefits... and that's better than nothing;
b) nothing is ever permanent; and
c) when you're unemployed, you're at the mercy of whoever offers a job.

My suggestion: he should take the job - even though it's inconvenient.


This is why Skype exists! He can interview on a break or during lunch. If they want an interview in person... he can arrange it for a suitable time - including after hours. If the company is interested, they'll accommodate.

Ian

Pulaski

With apologies to the pedantic I learned this from - no, no it isn't!

scrubbedexpat091

Take it I would say. If anything it might be a good opportunity to change industries and in a couple years and with some time the experience likely will lead to more pay.

Rete

We are all saying 'take it' but the more important person to ask that question of and whose answer is the only one that counts is your husband and you.

He has other irons in the fire and has a feel good vibe on several so is he willing to take the cut in pay, the long distant relationship with his family and is he willing to jump ship at a moment's notice if he is offered something better?

Only he can answer those questions.

A long time friend has a nephew who worked for PepsiCo in Purchase, NY. Was headhunted and moved to Ronaoke, VA with Lauder and just bailed from them to go with a chemical company in TN. Each of his job changes took 3 to 5 months for an offer to be presented. The higher up on the chain you are, the longer it takes for an offer to be made.

moi

[QUOTE=Rete;12300210]We are all saying 'take it' but the more important person to ask that question of and whose answer is the only one that counts is your husband and you.

He has other irons in the fire and has a feel good vibe on several so is he willing to take the cut in pay, the long distant relationship with his family and is he willing to jump ship at a moment's notice if he is offered something better? Yes, he is willing to do the long distance but he can drive back home mid week too if need be as it is just 2 hours. He is willing to jump shit at a moment's notice. I guess that is what "At Will" is all about.

Only he can answer those questions.

A long time friend has a nephew who worked for PepsiCo in Purchase, NY. Was headhunted and moved to Ronaoke, VA with Lauder and just bailed from them to go with a chemical company in TN. Each of his job changes took 3 to 5 months for an offer to be presented. The higher up on the chain you are, the longer it takes for an offer to be made. He used to work for Heineken near Purchase, NY (they even had a bar in the office lol). He was at $102k so when you start asking for 100-110k they are very picky and want to be 100% sure. I used to watch Suze Orman all the time and she used to say that it takes about 6 months to find a similar pay/job when in the 6 figure range. There maybe multiple interview stages too, not just 1 or 2. He has had full expenses paid trips to Maryland, TX and this week Ohio. When paying a higher salary they want to be 100% sure.[/QUOTE]

moi

Anyone know if you should mention the job offer to other potential interviewers? I guess it depends on the circumstances.


-If they ask and what stage you are at during the interview process.


He asked his brother in law who owned a very successful worldwide business and he said not to because from the other end looking in, we have our own process of hiring and it could well turn them off.


What do you guys think?

ian-mstm

IMO, no... never.

Ian

moi

Update....
He was making 102K with a bonus. Husband accepted the 30% less $ job (70K) in CT and stay at his mothers during the week to commute.
In the meantime this week a lot has happened, he has been offered 2 new job offers.
One is in NJ - very commutable - with a company that provides staff to Merck (pharma), but it is 14% less and not sure if there is a bonus or not yet. Apparently very good benefits (although still have to see them) and 4 weeks vacation to start.
One in Dallas area - would have to relocate with PPG company. An increase in salary at $115k and 10% bonus and pretty high on ladder and relocation offered.
What the hell does he do now? Obviously, the more money sounds better in a lower cost state than NJ and no state tax. However, I would have to give up my part time job of $45k and never been to Texas in my life and I'm not a big lover of intense heat. My 12 year old would have to start new school and friends and we would have to find somewhere to live. I was thinking my husband could go ahead for a year and see how it turns out and we would join him in a year or so. But dealing with my almost 2 year old who has so much energy and is maybe on the verge of ADD is maybe too much on my own and the thought of packing and moving is tough to me too.
I guess we could be in a worse situation with no job offers, but this one is a hard decision to make. He still has interviews to go to in Arkansas and Wisconsin next week too and he has another good vibe about a job in PA 2 hour commute away that he clicked with the Dutch guy.
My head is spinning....

Pulaski

Well now you're taking a lot of value judgements - which is better: 2 apples, 3 oranges or 4 bananas? And several possible states which are as different as chalk and cheese.

Personally I would grab the opportunity to leave NJ and go to Texas, .... so long as the job is likely to prove to be solid. So I think the idea of your husband going ahead for 11 months, and then you following a year later, is probably the best, though not ideal, option.

I wouldn't discard the other interview processes either, at least not until I was sure that they aren't better alternatives.

scrubbedexpat091

As much a I dislike Texas, I think it would be best to go there at that salary.

Lower costs and higher income and you may not need to make 45k yourself but depending on your job you could probably find something there as well.

As for heat that I'd what air conditioning is for...ha ha

Rete

Curse me if you will, but you and your husband debated about accepting this down graded offer after asking on BE what others thought you should do. You both knew that there were other irons in the fire and they were about ready to make offers to your husband but rather than wait a few more weeks, he signed on to the CT job.

Moi, we cannot tell you what to do and what is best for you and your family to do and where is better for you to live.

These are major decisions that belong with you and your husband and not, in my opinion, based on the input of a group of strangers.

Go online and check the weather in the part of Texas you would relocate to if he accepted that offer. Is it somewhere you would be happy to live.

Check your budget would you be happy with a 17% loss off the original salary to stay in the same state.

You make the decision. You and your husband are adults and parents. You emigrated to a foreign country. You can do this.

mrken30

Maybe moving State would bring new opportunities and lifestyle. Think about what ties you have to NJ. Have a family discussion about it.

Look on glassdoor to see what others says about the companies. One piece of information I find hard to research is the frequency of layoffs in a company. Glassdoor can be misleading sometimes, but is a good guide, in my case new senior management came in 3 or 4 years ago and took a lot of the good benefits away from new employees, yet HR had not caught up.

What pastimes do you have? If you like water sports and skiing , Texas may not be the place.

My first job took me 2 weeks to find here. My company relocated and my commute went up by just over an hour each way. It took me less than 3 months to find another job, both 6 figure jobs. Admittedly the second job is about $30k less per year, but now my commute is between 0 and 15 minutes and the office is opposite my sons school. However I have been looking for a different job for just over a year now without success.

You can always look at moving back if things don't work out.