To look or to stay?

splicecom

Hello All,

I would be very grateful if you could take the time to read this post and give me your honest thoughts. Feel really stressed out at the moment and I thought it may help to get some good advice.

I am 21 and have worked for the same company for three years. I have worked hard during that time, I have been promoted and had a pay rise (20k) to reflect that.

Myself and other staff at my workplace have always had issues with how the company is run - poorly organised.

Things recently have become much worse, we now have half the staff we had last year, no cleaner :eek: and no HR department.

Now more redundancies are on the cards and although I have been told I am not 'at risk' I still have major concerns of the company's financial situation. I don't know if the company will still be trading in three months time.

I have been unhappy at work for some time, six months I would say. It is not the job that makes me unhappy, it is the lack of structure and recognition. I dont have targets to hit, I dont have bonuses/pat on the back if we have a good month. I need a reason to get out of bed in the morning, I work best under pressure.

I am seriously considering leaving the company but Im not daft, I am aware that in this resession hit job market, to walk away from my current job without finding another job would be stupid.

I have seen a job advised with a competitor, a very similar role to what I have at present.

I have made an indirect approach to the rival company by creating a fake name hotmail account to contact them with. The reason for that approach is that I wanted to make sure the job is still available before declaring exactly where I come from - may jeopidise my current job, word could get round to somebody at the compnay I currently work.

They have replied, advising the job is still available and that if I am interested I should forward my CV and that they would then invite me in for interview. A key factor is that I cannot find out what salary would be on offer with the rival firm until I had the interview (dependent on experience).

Unsure as to what I should do from here.
Email my CV over to the rival firm and possibly attend the interview and run the risk of somebody finding out and it kicking off at my current job?

Or stick to the job I have at the moment and run the chance of it going belly up?

I have responsibilies, I rent a flat with my boyfriend but I have no children.


Please let my know your thoughts.

Thanks in advance.

I feel slightly better by just typing this out - it has made my head slightly clearer.

Chinkle

Forward your CV and, if invited, attend the interview. Only then will you get a better idea of the job they have to offer and salary.

Your current employer has said your job is not at risk and you've obviously performed well in the time you have been there and they consider you too valuable to loss.

Even if you're current employer "gets wind of it" you may find that this just highlights to them that you are a good employee and they want to do everything to keep you there. So you may be able to negotiate a better role in your current job or play one company off against another, especially if they are competitors.

splicecom

Chinkle wrote: »

Forward your CV and, if invited, attend the interview. Only then will you get a better idea of the job they have to offer and salary.

Your current employer has said your job is not at risk and you've obviously performed well in the time you have been there and they consider you too valuable to loss.

Even if you're current employer "gets wind of it" you may find that this just highlights to them that you are a good employee and they want to do everything to keep you there. So you may be able to negotiate a better role in your current job or play one company off against another, especially if they are competitors.

Thanks for your advice,

Think I know this is what I need to hear and the best decision but it is so hard to bite the bullet and fire off my CV.
Thanks for your advice,

Do you think it would be best to forward to forward my CV and covering letter via email or post. I am a little rusty!


Do you think it would be best to forward to forward my CV and covering letter via email or post. I am a little rusty!

ceridwen

Well - if you send it by email then you have the certainty that it will definitely get there - and quickly too.

Sending it by the Post Office on the other hand - that isnt so certain.

I'm not au fait with the current job market in that sense - as I've not had to apply for jobs for a while - but I think employers just as readily accept online cvs these days as far as I can see.

paulwf

Go for it, I just wanted to say don't worry about the new salary too much, it will take time to work your way up the ladder but you have plenty of time at 21. Before you know it you may be on a far better salary, and any wage is better than being redundant.

honeypop

OP, I have been in a similar situation and when I approached the other company with my CV I asked for it 'to be considered in confidence' and I'm pretty sure it was obvious why when they saw where I currently worked. They were fine with this, I think it's reasonable for them not to pass on to just anyone who you are or where from until you've been made an offer.

Also, if it did get back to your present employer that you were looking elsewhere and they spoke to you about it, it's an ideal opportunity to let them know the reasons why you are not happy in your role and that if they could work with you to improve things then you would love to stay (maybe a lie, but if you don't get the other job then you'd be stuck there for a while). The reasons for me wanting to leave my job were exactly as you say, poor management, no structure, no recongition, and non-existent organisation other than what was my responsibility. I feel your pain, I really do!

For me, I didn't take the other job (turned out to be not enough money), but I felt so bad at looking elsewhere that I stopped applying elsewhere, even for ones with a much better salary. Probably the wrong decision, as a few months later the company made all staff redundant and I had to take the first job offered to me after months of applying for a diverse range of roles related to my actual job, although it was about a 20% pay cut. I always look back thinking I could have already been in another job by then, but I had a mis-placed loyalty to the company I worked for.

Don't make the same mistake, apply for this other one! You may not get anywhere but at least then you won't spend ages wondering if things would have been better there.

Edit: Forgot to say, check you don't have anything in your contract about not being able to work for competitors, clients etc of your current company for a certain time limit after your employment ends at your current place.

desperado2

As you are young, I can sympathise with your fears, but really you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Firstly I would suggest you sit down with your manager and explain that you find the organisational structure less than satisdfactory and that makes you feel less valued, and that you are not encouraged to do your best.. you could give practical examples of what changes might help and the potential benefits. Nobody likes a whinger so always go to a manager with a solution rather than a problem.

Career development is something every employee has to look after for themselves, even if you are happy and doing well, it is good to know what your competitors do, what they pay, what conditions are like and so on.. It is amazing how long term employees are often on lower salaries than less experienced people brought in to replace leavers because the industry salaries have risen faster than real pay..

One way to do this is to register with some agencies that specialise in the type of job you do.. they should handle your details discreetly and if necessary anonymously and only send your CV to a client if you express permission to do so.

If the "other" company is not using an agency at present and you think there is a strong possibility your current company might get wind of an interview, I would remove the personal data from the CV - list approximate age, qualifications rather than where you studied, and take off company names so instead of saying Cashier, Lloyds TSB "Cashier at well known High St bank" etc..

I would leave a phone number where they can contact you - but if you are truly paranoid, beg / borrow an old mobile off someone (if you dont have a spare) and get a new sim card for it. you can get these for a couple of ££'s if not free.. then the number is not traceable to you.

In reality, even if your contract says you cant work for a competitor, do check what restrictions they place.. there was a legal case in the 90's where two people from a Recruitment Company left and set up their own Agency "within 5 miles" of the previous employer (5 miles was specified in their contracts). They won their case as the term was deemed unfair and restrictive. If you are in a specialist area, and there is only one competitor, you have to work for one or the other, so a restriction is likely to be unenforceable.

If your employer does get to hear of your interview/enquiries there is not a lot they can do other than put your name on the top of the list of folk to get the chop. Even then you could pursue an unfair dismissal claim suggesting they showed bias in getting rid of you. You have employee rights having been there some time, and you have bonuses and stuff to show you have performed well. If they do turn nasty, you are on a sure footing, they are not.

lifesizedoll

OP could you not email the company again with your fake email asking how much the salary is? If not then go for the job interview, as even if your company value you highly, it will be out of their control to keep you if the company goes bust.