Graduate job problem

sharp910sh

Hello, I am graduating this year and during my degree I have completed a year's paid placement for a company X and a summer placement.

I have decided the job is not for me, so I have been searching for jobs. I have had 5 interviews and haven't been successful for 3 of them. Last week I thought whats the point, I am clearly not good at interviews and won't get a job. So I asked the boss of company X to talk about me joining as a graduate. We agreed to meet next week.

Then yesterday I had an interview with company Y and it went too well. The interviewer was impressed by my experience, said I was good blah blah. I will know if I have the job within a month, but I expect it will be sooner, as they usually pick the good graduates first. So I expect to hear from them within a 2-3 weeks.

So now I am having to meet the boss of company X next week. But after the success of thew interview I want to see if I get an offer from company Y. So now I am thinking what have I done??

My plan is to postpone the meeting with my boss for another week. So by then it would have been 2 weeks, since the interview with company Y. Then, if i do not hear anything from company Y before I go see the boss of company X, I will discuss the contract and what I want. Then I will say that I will need a week to decide if I am happy with the terms within the contract, such as the salary.

So by week 3 I will have to tell company X that I accept the contract and sign it. I am hoping by then company Y comes back and offers me a job.

If I then go to company X and tell them I do not want to accept the contract as the salary is too low and I have a better offer, is that reasonable? As I will need the boss of company X to provide me with a reference. I have no ties to the company, so to me I am free to go with the highest bidder.

You probably am over thinking things... What does everyone else think?

What I do not want is to decline company X before I know if I have an offer with company Y. Nor do I want to sign a contract with company X then go back and then break the contract to go work with company Y, as the boss of company X will not provide me with a positive reference.


Thank you. Sharp910sh

mademoiselle_2

Am I right in thinking that NO-ONE has actually offered you a job, as yet?

I would advise you to attend the appointment that you have already arranged. After all, YOU requested it! It does not mean that the company are bound to offer you a job - for all you know, they may simply be trying to be nice and offer you support in your job hunt.

But they certainly won't be feeling very nice towards you, if you phone up asking for their time, and then cancel it or put it off to another day!

I think you have rather a lot to learn about the world of work. Just because someone made nice noises towards you at a recruitment event, does not necessarily mean they are falling over themselves to employ you!

If you DO get an offer of employment from the other company, all well and good. But I would say, nothing is certain in this life and you would do well to say 'yes' to whoever offers you your first job. After all, it is your first job, not a life commitment! But you should expect to show some gratitude, and show some willing as well.

I hope these remarks are taken in the spirit they are intended - to help you secure your first job.

sharp910sh

Thank you for your reply.

Yes I agree it is not guaranteed from company X. For all I know he could just just say thanks but no thanks.

I am pretty sure the company I worked for will offer me a job, considering my experience with them.

My question is if I accept company X job, then the company I had an interview for came back with an offer, what could I do?

Oh and yes I agree, the interviewer I had met before, he was generally very nice. I guess then him being chatty and happy with me could just be his character.

Hmmm. I was planning and telling the company I was unavailable due to family emergency.

bodmil

The only problem seems to be that you gave up job hunting after getting interviews. Have you really spent 3+ years and so much money on university if you're going to give up on your career before even graduating? Toughen up, get some feedback and improve, many people would kill to get 5 interviews so even if they went badly make use of them.

The rest of the post is circumstantial and you need to cross that bridge when you get to it. Worry about getting an offer and then use it to your advantage to get the best position possible. Don't sign any contract until you are forced to and at worst case hand in your notice asap if something else does come though but don't expect a good reputation if that happens!

I'm in a similar situation with an offer on the table and another interview lined up. The first contract hasn't arrived yet and I intend to stall signing as long as I can to hear the outcome of the second. Of course telling then that I have an offer helps to speed up the process if they do want me.

GMbabies

Like others have suggested, go along with both interview/meeting as if you are going for both. Delay the meeting with company x if you will but you ain't got the job until you have a contract in front of you and signed. I'd imagine that it will take more time for the contract to come through the post too. If the timing is very close, drop the one at the very last minute and don't feel bad about it because there will be plenty more that can fill the post in this economy. It's nice to be able to haggle if you've got two contracts in your hands....let them sweat

sharp910sh

Yes I have another interview too! I think I will postpone for a week the meeting and take it from here.

Then again the interview I have I do not really want the job.

somethingcorporate

Lying to avoid an interview? Doesn't sound like you're a great candidate.

It's a competitive world out there for employer and employee. Just go to the interview or be honest about why you are not going. I don't see a problem with going at the agreed time and just dealing with the consequences of offers when (and more importantly IF) they come in.

sharp910sh

somethingcorporate wrote: »

Lying to avoid an interview? Doesn't sound like you're a great candidate.

It's a competitive world out there for employer and employee. Just go to the interview or be honest about why you are not going. I don't see a problem with going at the agreed time and just dealing with the consequences of offers when (and more importantly IF) they come in.

They will come, I am sure of it. But I am valuable to him, I have good experience as undergraduate with the company. I know he wants me. If I go to him then I will have to work for him. If I say "I am sorry I am waiting for a better offer", he will not even considering offer me a job. So I either stall it or go work for him and forgo the "potential" opportunity for a better company.

If I were to get a better offer I could negotiate with him as I would have leverage.

Yes logic would say just work for the company which offers first. But I know the salary will not be to my liking.

persa

Assuming you're applying for "graduate jobs" in the traditional sense, rather than any old job, it's perfectly normally to say to the first employer that you're grateful for the offer (if they make you one!), but you have to wait to hear back from another interview before you can fully consider your position. It's also perfectly normal to say to the second employer you have an offer elsewhere with a fixed time frame to accept, so would it be possible to bring forward the interview/speed up the process?

This sort of chat may not fly with other jobs, but it does for entry level graduate jobs, a bit of competition for the best candidates is to be expected.

A load of twaddle about made up family emergencies is plain weird though... IMHO.

Good luck!

GMbabies

persa wrote: »

Assuming you're applying for "graduate jobs" in the traditional sense, rather than any old job, it's perfectly normally to say to the first employer that you're grateful for the offer (if they make you one!), but you have to wait to hear back from another interview before you can fully consider your position. It's also perfectly normal to say to the second employer you have an offer elsewhere with a fixed time frame to accept, so would it be possible to bring forward the interview/speed up the process?

This sort of chat may not fly with other jobs, but it does for entry level graduate jobs, a bit of competition for the best candidates is to be expected.

A load of twaddle about made up family emergencies is plain weird though... IMHO.

Good luck!

Even though OP might think both are quite hopeful, it doesn't mean OP has the job. That's why I emphasised "job is not yours until you've got the contracts" Whether OP decides to give too much information or just enough information is up to her. It does not mean OP is lying if she withhold some information. This is like a game of cards, don't flash all of your good cards right from the beginning. Whether OP likes the other company better or having another interview elsewhere is irrelevant. She could potentially risk getting a position by mentioning about the other company too. Time to reveal must be at the last minute (when one's got the both offers on the table), then they might even be able to negotiate a better deal for you if you tell them that you've got another offer. Think carefully to maximise your potential and earning potential. All the best!

persa

GMbabies wrote: »

It does not mean OP is lying if she withhold some information.

See below.

sharp910sh wrote: »

Hmmm. I was planning and telling the company I was unavailable due to family emergency.

I think the OP is considering lying. But it's really not necessary.

GMbabies wrote: »

This is like a game of cards, don't flash all of your good cards right from the beginning. Whether OP likes the other company better or having another interview elsewhere is irrelevant. She could potentially risk getting a position by mentioning about the other company too. Time to reveal must be at the last minute (when one's got the both offers on the table), then they might even be able to negotiate a better deal for you if you tell them that you've got another offer. Think carefully to maximise your potential and earning potential. All the best!

Most graduate jobs have fixed starting salaries, there is no room for negotiation. Most graduate recruitment processes are handled by HR people who know full well the other graduate employers are after the same candidates, so sometimes they have to speed up the decision process or lose a potential new joiner.

It's a whole different ball game to getting a regular job - that tends to have more scope for tactics.