Are there any HR experts here?

puddy

If one is going through a reorganisation in a local authority and has just been told that they have been successful in getting their own job (a job they were doing but had to reapply for under the reorg),, but there are tons of other jobs being advertised and interviewed for...what is the process of accepting jobs.

If you were applying for a couple of jobs now, with different interview dates and you know that there are other jobs coming up but which havent been released yet, can you just accept a job if you get it and then withdraw your application?

say you had an interview yesterday and you will know on wednesday whether youve got it, but you also had an interview this morning for a different job and will know today if you've got it, but you really prefer the job from yesterday,,, should you accept the job you are offered today an then withdraw that if you get offered the job on wednesday?

sorry if this doesnt make that much sense its difficult to explain.

DVardysShadow

Accept A subject to not getting B.

puddy

but what happens where there are C and D and E and F and so on which havent started interviewing yet

there are more interviews on Friday x 2, then more jobs to be released

titannia101

There is no reason you have to accept a job when it is offered, particularly when it's with the same employer in these circumstances. They may want a quick answer but you don't have to give it; ask for 24/48 hours to think it over.
I've always done this with internal and external job offers and have had lots of successful candidates do the same - have never had a request to think about it refused or refused a request. I'd rather someone thought long and hard than said yes and then later withdrew.

puddy

thanks. my OH will have had 4 interviews so far this week all for different jobs which he has different preferences for.

in addition there are other jobs coming out in the next few weeks that he also wants, he darent turn one down in case he doesnt get a better one, but they havent started the interviews for those yet

KiKi

Every organisation will have different policies around this, and it depends on the process, whether it's preferencing, or a free-for-all on applications (sounds like the latter).

If he can apply for what he wants, then if he wants to be sensible, he should accept a job he's applied for, but still apply for the others. He can always withdraw later, if it is truly an open application process.

KiKi

puddy

he's emailed HR but theres never anyone there to answer

he has his preferences for this week and this is manageable because the offers (if they do offer) should come close together so he can say that he will let them know tomorrow or the next day or whatever

however the job he really wants wont actually come out for a couple of weeks so he will have to accept one of these jobs this week (if he gets them) and then withdraw if he gets the job in a few weeks, he really doesnt want to do this

KiKi

If it's preferencing as part of a re-structure that comes with redundancy options, then there's the possibility that he has to accept a preference or he may forfeit his right to redundancy payments (depends on the organisation policy, but it may work like this).

It's not ideal (or nice) to accept a job then give it up if he gets a better offer. But if it's a preferencing exercise with fewer jobs than people, he will need to accept, or risk not having a job at all. It's not his fault that there will be other jobs on offer later in the year.

KiKi

puddy

thanks, no when i say preferences these are in his head about what he would prefer

its very confusing. he got a job 3 years ago at a certain grade (6),, within about 3 months he was asked to act up in an 8 and has been doing so for about 2.5 years.

the 8's that he was acting up in are being phased out so they dont exist anymore and at the same time within the reorganisation everyone has to apply for their own job

so he applied for his own substantive post (6) and luckily has got that. never have we been so grateful for a pay cut, huge one too.

as part of that application he was also matched to some other jobs which are interviewing on friday, which are higher grades than his substantive post, but although he'll go for them, hes not that keen on them, they are last resorts

at the same time, loads of jobs are being released to all internal staff, which are not ringfenced as far as we know, one was interviewing on monday, one was yesterday and some are being interviewed in the next few weeks.

out of those he wants the ones that are intervewing in a few weeks first, then his next choice is mondays (which rumour says he got), barring that he will take either fridays jobs or the one yesterday

but because the offers will all come at different times, its very hard to judge it!

so redundancy is now off the radar as he has his own substantive posts so thats not an issue, he also already has his substantive post so he wont be out of a job but obviously wants the higher jobs if he can get them

Bigmoney2

Does he have to accept each offer immediately or could he wait till all interviews are done and outcomes known and then say choose from what he's been offerd?
I would have thought that there would be set down proccess for this, it doesn;t seem very well thought out at all.

puddy

its a shambles

well he's emailed HR but no one has got back to him, apparently the woman who knows is never around