Monday Afternoon Update
It's been an interesting past couple of weeks, just as I expected it would. I had two great interviews at Branch-Smith printing in Fort Worth and they called on Friday to offer me the job. I was skeptical of the job from the beginning. Talk of lots of overtime, lower quality pubs than I'm used to working on, then I find out they have an awful vacation policy and not many paid holidays. But they want me really bad. When I told the lady my situation she was obviously a little concerned, but didn't want to back me into saying no because they really want to hire me. I'm not sure what it is. They looked at my portfolio for less than 5 minutes. I guess they just liked me for me? This is just more proof into the fact that employers hire people based on who they are a lot of time and how you act and represent yourself is SO important in an interview. I must have done something right, but I have no idea what it was!
I couldn't accept their job Friday because of my reservations and I had already scheduled an interview for today at a cancer institute that prints medical journals. It went fairly well but one guy was a total drill sergeant on all the questioning and scenarios. I think I handled them fairly well. On the way out the lady I'd been in contact with asked about my availability and I mentioned I had already had an offer for a position and she was glad I told her. I had thought over and over about bringing it up or not. I may hear from them in the next few days. Branch-Smith told me that if it came down to a matter of money, to give them the opportunity to counter offer me. WOW, right? Shawnee had a good point that that meant they were willing to pay me more money and I should barter. But I'm bad at bartering!
Anyway, ultimately, I have options. Either way I'll have a job in the next two weeks for certain. The future is just scary and I wish I wasn't in this position but I am. I think I've dealt with it fairly well and have way more success on searching than I ever could have imagined. I credit that to all the wonderful prayers everyone has been giving on our behalf and a Heavenly Father who seems to find me worthy of such blessings, even though I don't feel like I've done much to deserve it!
I'll let everyone know when I've made a decision on what I'm going to do. Hopefully things will all work out for the best!
Options are always great, no matter what! Good luck! We'll keep you guys in our prayers! When does John take his test?
Ah, negotiating. At a previous job (that I ended up leaving, cause it was awful), I negotiated for more money, and got some. Not what I wanted, but more than initially offered. ANYWAY, the point is, you can do it. One of the things I learned while being unemployed, yet having a consultant, is that one way to negotiate, besides money, is other benefits. The first company, you said, has a bad vacation policy. If you can get them to budge on some of that, would it be better? More money, plus more vacation than you thought?
Sorry to be rambly. ANYWAY, trust your instincts. And even if you have the offers, it doesn't mean these are the right ones for you. They may be, I'm just saying. And remember, unless they have you sign a contract, nothing is ever permanent.
Good luck!
Congratulations Missy on getting at least one job offer. Hopefully things work out the best for you.
I can relate to the anxiety that goes along with looking for a job. It works out in the end though.
As for negotiating, hopefully that works out for you as well. Salary.com is good for figuring out salary ranges and things like that. Also, Texas has a relative that was a corporate head hunter and he knows all about this stuff. If you are interested I am sure Texas could get you in touch with him. He is a really nice guy and he helped me out a lot when I was applying to law schools.
Let us know if you need anything.
(there were a few typos in my original post and being a perfectionist that I am I wanted to correct them.)
Wow, do you feel like a princess with the princes fighting over you? We'll continue to keep you in our prayers.
Yay, Missy. Like you said, it's always nice to have options. I definitely think Gabby is right - try to negotiate for better benefits. I hope you get what you want!