Trials of Finding New Job
Discussion
I got one of the jobs that I interviewed for yesterday. The recruiter said it was very close between me and the other person, so I am relieved to have come ahead. One thing I didn't do though was negotiate the salary today. It was a substantial increase and I honestly thought they would have offered me less so it was surprising they offered me what they offered. I am actually quite happy what they have put on the table, I know people always say to negotiate but because I just about piped the other person I didn't want to risk the offer being withdrawn.
Vyse said:
I got one of the jobs that I interviewed for yesterday. The recruiter said it was very close between me and the other person, so I am relieved to have come ahead. One thing I didn't do though was negotiate the salary today. It was a substantial increase and I honestly thought they would have offered me less so it was surprising they offered me what they offered. I am actually quite happy what they have put on the table, I know people always say to negotiate but because I just about piped the other person I didn't want to risk the offer being withdrawn.
Negotiating is about being cool, not revealing all your cards but playing them, sometimes as breadcrumbs, as and when needed for your benefit. The entire process from answering the recruiter's first email is a negotiation and sale - you're the seller, the employer is the buyer. Ultimately, if you're happy with the offer none of this matters.The recruiter could have said the above to make you feel good and deter your from negotiating. Ultimately you gotta be brave, having options and knowing your market worth (ie research everything from salaries, industry norms, company culture, reward and benefit schemes, flexible working etc) will help massively. You trade stuff in a good negotiation and don't make it an ultimatum - conversation should always remain open for a win-win approach . It's obviously a lot easier to do if you're already in a job too.
The old saying, "you don't ask, you don't get" remains true as ever. In my recently won job, I was a bit cheeky at a late hour and asked the recruiter an open question about how he would compensate me for X - I really love the job and want to commit, but how do you suggest we solve this? I was expecting them to maybe come back with something small like 2 days extra holiday or just a blank "no, sorry." But they came back with a large sign on bonus (golden handshake).
Women tend to be more risk averse and this is a contributor to lower salaries. Interesting how the government is trying to tackle this through mandated salaries - seems a bit bizarre.
Edited by silent ninja on Wednesday 24th October 23:40
Vyse said:
I got one of the jobs that I interviewed for yesterday. The recruiter said it was very close between me and the other person, so I am relieved to have come ahead. One thing I didn't do though was negotiate the salary today. It was a substantial increase and I honestly thought they would have offered me less so it was surprising they offered me what they offered. I am actually quite happy what they have put on the table, I know people always say to negotiate but because I just about piped the other person I didn't want to risk the offer being withdrawn.
Congratulations! As silent ninja says, you have to take what the recruiter says with a grain of salt. While there are good and bad recruiters, they are always going to be managing people's egos/feelings/whatever as well as playing a game of their own. The important thing is that you (a) have a job and (b) are happy with it (and [c], feel valued by the compensation)Thanks for the advice/info. I currently have a job but have been on the job hunt for about a good 9 months on and off. Had 7 interviews so far. The first 4 I didn't get. I think I must have been rusty as it had been 6 years since my last. I left it a few months then back in September seriously started looking again. Had 3 more interviews this week and got two offers. I am honestly happy with the salary offered as its 50% more than what am currently on. I just wanted to accept and end the whole process as job hunting is far from fun.
Got a 2nd interview following Tuesdays interview (the one I was late at).
In 7 months of job hunting its the first time I have been asked for a 2nd stage interview.
Plenty of time to prepare (again) and I am conscious of being slightly overweight so two things are gonna happen.
I am going to buy a new 3 piece suit (fancy the Southgate waistcoat look) that is a 32" waist - I am currently 36" waist with a beer gut - so time to cut out the crap food after a blow out this Saturday then shift myself to slim down to fit the suit. Eat well and do some exercise
Kind of gives me a real target now.
It should show at the meeting too with increased confidence in the new slimmer healthier me (or thats the theory).
interview is sometime in December so I guess they are planning on starting the new employee early Jan which would be bob on for me.
also knowing this has already given me a boost so that should come across in other interviews between now and then.
In 7 months of job hunting its the first time I have been asked for a 2nd stage interview.
Plenty of time to prepare (again) and I am conscious of being slightly overweight so two things are gonna happen.
I am going to buy a new 3 piece suit (fancy the Southgate waistcoat look) that is a 32" waist - I am currently 36" waist with a beer gut - so time to cut out the crap food after a blow out this Saturday then shift myself to slim down to fit the suit. Eat well and do some exercise
Kind of gives me a real target now.
It should show at the meeting too with increased confidence in the new slimmer healthier me (or thats the theory).
interview is sometime in December so I guess they are planning on starting the new employee early Jan which would be bob on for me.
also knowing this has already given me a boost so that should come across in other interviews between now and then.
Had an interview on Monday. Got a phone call today saying they want to hire me.
It's a completely different job to what I did before. It'll also mean being on the road all day when I have been used to being in an office.
Will give it a go and see what it's like.
Just jumping through the hoops to provide the required info now. They want multiple forms of ID, proof I've worked for at least two years, proof of residence etc. The two years work proof is the biggest pain as I need P60 copies or letters from my previous two employers.
It's a completely different job to what I did before. It'll also mean being on the road all day when I have been used to being in an office.
Will give it a go and see what it's like.
Just jumping through the hoops to provide the required info now. They want multiple forms of ID, proof I've worked for at least two years, proof of residence etc. The two years work proof is the biggest pain as I need P60 copies or letters from my previous two employers.
funkyrobot said:
Had an interview on Monday. Got a phone call today saying they want to hire me.
It's a completely different job to what I did before. It'll also mean being on the road all day when I have been used to being in an office.
Will give it a go and see what it's like.
Just jumping through the hoops to provide the required info now. They want multiple forms of ID, proof I've worked for at least two years, proof of residence etc. The two years work proof is the biggest pain as I need P60 copies or letters from my previous two employers.
nice one. got a start date yet? whats the job involve ?It's a completely different job to what I did before. It'll also mean being on the road all day when I have been used to being in an office.
Will give it a go and see what it's like.
Just jumping through the hoops to provide the required info now. They want multiple forms of ID, proof I've worked for at least two years, proof of residence etc. The two years work proof is the biggest pain as I need P60 copies or letters from my previous two employers.
Thanks.
I'll be travelling around auditing stock of pretty much anything with an engine.
Start date is just shy of two weeks away.
As I said above, never done anything like this before. Beggars can't be choosers though when it comes to jobs and this one will hopefully pay the same as my previous job. It's a zero hour contract but they are very, very busy.
I'll be travelling around auditing stock of pretty much anything with an engine.
Start date is just shy of two weeks away.
As I said above, never done anything like this before. Beggars can't be choosers though when it comes to jobs and this one will hopefully pay the same as my previous job. It's a zero hour contract but they are very, very busy.
Well, that's a funny thing. Since saying yes to the job yesterday, I've been contacted by two other companies to have interviews next week.
One is national chain of stores and will involve helping customers with kitchen designs, and the other is working on labelling for a factory.
I'm going to attend both interviews (and another for a cleaning job) just to see how they fare. The company that want to hire me now have only sent me an offer over email. I haven't seen a contract yet. Can't really accept an offer without seeing the ins and outs of the job.
One is national chain of stores and will involve helping customers with kitchen designs, and the other is working on labelling for a factory.
I'm going to attend both interviews (and another for a cleaning job) just to see how they fare. The company that want to hire me now have only sent me an offer over email. I haven't seen a contract yet. Can't really accept an offer without seeing the ins and outs of the job.
Prohibiting said:
Yesterday I sent off my email of resignation and will be starting my new job next month. What a funny feeling it was! My adrenaline was really pumping. Onwards and upwards! 
I'm in my notice period right now. When I sent in my resignation letter, it was relief rather than ecstatic excitement because the whole process took so long I had no energy left! Anyway, problem number two is remaining diligent and motivated at work. Right now, I have some utterly lazy b
ds, including two directors and our CIO, working on my project and the arses can't be bothered to do their actions. I can't be bothered chasing them or applying political pressure through other means - it's one of the reasons I'm leaving. What do you do when you're thinking those guys are going to get this project chucked over the fence when I leave and it'll be their st storm to fix. I have professionalism and pride but these fkers are constant hard work (it's a c.90m deal I'm working on).I've never been one for schadenfreude. But if they are incompent surely they deserve it?
Edited by silent ninja on Saturday 27th October 08:28
silent ninja said:
Prohibiting said:
Yesterday I sent off my email of resignation and will be starting my new job next month. What a funny feeling it was! My adrenaline was really pumping. Onwards and upwards!
I'm in my notice period right now. When I sent in my resignation letter, it was relief rather than ecstatic excitement because the whole process took so long I had no energy left! Anyway, problem number two is remaining diligent and motivated at work. Right now, I have some utterly lazy b
ds, including two directors and our CIO, working on my project and the arses can't be bothered to do their actions. I can't be bothered chasing them or applying political pressure through other means - it's one of the reasons I'm leaving. What do you do when you're thinking those guys are going to get this project chucked over the fence when I leave and it'll be their st storm to fix. I have professionalism and pride but these fkers are constant hard work (it's a c.90m deal I'm working on).I've never been one for schadenfreude. But if they are incompent surely they deserve it?
Edited by silent ninja on Saturday 27th October 08:28
t storms - why are management in the UK so st?I had the same situation in my last role. they announced one day that some new whizz bang system will be going live on XYZ date come rain or shine.
well we had the rain. it was awful. so our live work had to move migrate over to the new system and the transition was just so slow and clunky and due to the numbers of fixes it required or the times it froze on us we just began to fall further and further behind ( we was a service industry with people relying on us getting back to them in no more than a couple of days). I felt terrible for the end users.
even now 7 months since being made redundant with a mate still working there he tells "our" old department is really in the manure.
the management couldnt organise a piss up in a brewery - now they are releasing short promo videos on you tube telling the world how great they are and how the feedback from the end users has been fantastic and that they really love it etc.......all utter lies.Its hard to believe they have the gaul to come out with these statements when I know that behind the scenes and the fluff and the nice e-brochures etc that the remaining guys on the ground, the ones having to actually deal with the daily failures and drop outs and complaining end users are not coping. This puts them under stain from a mental and then physical health point of view. But management dont feel it - they ignore it - its not their problem, let the runts deal with the s
t and they take all the glory and the fat raises. they heard us - just didnt listen.The company I left recently are only small, but the management was awful (which is why I left).
Our dept manager was ex retail. Treated us all like weekend teenage workers who couldn't give a st. Used to shout at us, get angry with us, make the most stupid decisions, throw work at you and expect you to do it there and then with no prep or training, lied to customers, was very opinionated and was a real witch.
The CEO was no better. He was obsessed with looking good and everything looking expensive (apart from the actual tools we had to work with which were refurbished, cheap crap). He used to take work on the company couldn't do, rigourously defend his dev team even though they were rude and lazy, make really strange decisions and obsess over things like finger prints on the office doors, rather than kick his lazy no good developers up the arse.
He was really tight with his money. Hated paying people statutory sick pay. Hated the fact he had to pay pensions. Used to hire juniors on a pittance and then expect them to do all the work. He loved hiring cheap Indian labour, then kicked off when the work was crap. He bought a £500k house last year, then moaned about the mortgage being expensive. Ran expensive cars on silly priced business leases, then moaned about the cost. He was all about the look and bit about the substance.
We had customers leaving when I left. Rather than look at the cause, he blamed them and said they were fking idiots. We also had other staff leave. They'll realise their mistake and will be back, he used to say. Nobody came back.
I had heated discussions with him and my manager. I also raised complaints about my manager as she used to get shouty and swear. They went nowhere. They blamed me and then said my general anxiety disorder was to blame.
I left with nothing to go to. Glad I did it now.
Oh yes, they are currently gleefully parading the fact that they have won a local small business award. Well, the award is decided by a few local business who share it out each year and decide who will win it. It isn't voted for by customers or the general public.
Our dept manager was ex retail. Treated us all like weekend teenage workers who couldn't give a s
t. Used to shout at us, get angry with us, make the most stupid decisions, throw work at you and expect you to do it there and then with no prep or training, lied to customers, was very opinionated and was a real witch.The CEO was no better. He was obsessed with looking good and everything looking expensive (apart from the actual tools we had to work with which were refurbished, cheap crap). He used to take work on the company couldn't do, rigourously defend his dev team even though they were rude and lazy, make really strange decisions and obsess over things like finger prints on the office doors, rather than kick his lazy no good developers up the arse.
He was really tight with his money. Hated paying people statutory sick pay. Hated the fact he had to pay pensions. Used to hire juniors on a pittance and then expect them to do all the work. He loved hiring cheap Indian labour, then kicked off when the work was crap. He bought a £500k house last year, then moaned about the mortgage being expensive. Ran expensive cars on silly priced business leases, then moaned about the cost. He was all about the look and bit about the substance.
We had customers leaving when I left. Rather than look at the cause, he blamed them and said they were f
king idiots. We also had other staff leave. They'll realise their mistake and will be back, he used to say. Nobody came back.I had heated discussions with him and my manager. I also raised complaints about my manager as she used to get shouty and swear. They went nowhere. They blamed me and then said my general anxiety disorder was to blame.
I left with nothing to go to. Glad I did it now.
Oh yes, they are currently gleefully parading the fact that they have won a local small business award. Well, the award is decided by a few local business who share it out each year and decide who will win it. It isn't voted for by customers or the general public.
Edited by funkyrobot on Sunday 28th October 08:32
Phone interview for large chain of DIY stores done. Now they want me in store on Wednesday for a 90 minute face to face interview. The list of stuff I need to prepare is bizarre for something paying a little over national minimum wage. Oh well, I'm still going to go to it though and see how I get on.
I have asked the company that want to hire me for a copy of the job contract. They have only sent me an outline email at the moment and asked me to accept their offer. I said everything looks ok, but I need to see the contract. Will see what they come back with, but I've never known a company to give you a start date and loads of instructions on paperwork to produce, but not give you a contract to look at.
I have asked the company that want to hire me for a copy of the job contract. They have only sent me an outline email at the moment and asked me to accept their offer. I said everything looks ok, but I need to see the contract. Will see what they come back with, but I've never known a company to give you a start date and loads of instructions on paperwork to produce, but not give you a contract to look at.
funkyrobot said:
The company I left recently are only small, but the management was awful (which is why I left).
Our dept manager was ex retail. Treated us all like weekend teenage workers who couldn't give a st. Used to shout at us, get angry with us, make the most stupid decisions, throw work at you and expect you to do it there and then with no prep or training, lied to customers, was very opinionated and was a real witch.
The CEO was no better. He was obsessed with looking good and everything looking expensive (apart from the actual tools we had to work with which were refurbished, cheap crap). He used to take work on the company couldn't do, rigourously defend his dev team even though they were rude and lazy, make really strange decisions and obsess over things like finger prints on the office doors, rather than kick his lazy no good developers up the arse.
He was really tight with his money. Hated paying people statutory sick pay. Hated the fact he had to pay pensions. Used to hire juniors on a pittance and then expect them to do all the work. He loved hiring cheap Indian labour, then kicked off when the work was crap. He bought a £500k house last year, then moaned about the mortgage being expensive. Ran expensive cars on silly priced business leases, then moaned about the cost. He was all about the look and bit about the substance.
We had customers leaving when I left. Rather than look at the cause, he blamed them and said they were fking idiots. We also had other staff leave. They'll realise their mistake and will be back, he used to say. Nobody came back.
I had heated discussions with him and my manager. I also raised complaints about my manager as she used to get shouty and swear. They went nowhere. They blamed me and then said my general anxiety disorder was to blame.
I left with nothing to go to. Glad I did it now.
Oh yes, they are currently gleefully parading the fact that they have won a local small business award. Well, the award is decided by a few local business who share it out each year and decide who will win it. It isn't voted for by customers or the general public.
God that sounds familar.......Our dept manager was ex retail. Treated us all like weekend teenage workers who couldn't give a s
t. Used to shout at us, get angry with us, make the most stupid decisions, throw work at you and expect you to do it there and then with no prep or training, lied to customers, was very opinionated and was a real witch.The CEO was no better. He was obsessed with looking good and everything looking expensive (apart from the actual tools we had to work with which were refurbished, cheap crap). He used to take work on the company couldn't do, rigourously defend his dev team even though they were rude and lazy, make really strange decisions and obsess over things like finger prints on the office doors, rather than kick his lazy no good developers up the arse.
He was really tight with his money. Hated paying people statutory sick pay. Hated the fact he had to pay pensions. Used to hire juniors on a pittance and then expect them to do all the work. He loved hiring cheap Indian labour, then kicked off when the work was crap. He bought a £500k house last year, then moaned about the mortgage being expensive. Ran expensive cars on silly priced business leases, then moaned about the cost. He was all about the look and bit about the substance.
We had customers leaving when I left. Rather than look at the cause, he blamed them and said they were f
king idiots. We also had other staff leave. They'll realise their mistake and will be back, he used to say. Nobody came back.I had heated discussions with him and my manager. I also raised complaints about my manager as she used to get shouty and swear. They went nowhere. They blamed me and then said my general anxiety disorder was to blame.
I left with nothing to go to. Glad I did it now.
Oh yes, they are currently gleefully parading the fact that they have won a local small business award. Well, the award is decided by a few local business who share it out each year and decide who will win it. It isn't voted for by customers or the general public.
Our director would rather spend money on a company livered up Golf buggy, than actually keeping the workshop up to date, and then he wonders why quality is sh*te and why some customers leave us after their engineers come around to visit and spot all the 30+ year old tools/equipment. It's all about the BS, BS is cheaper than actually fixing sh*t..
Vyse said:
This wait for the written contract is killing me. I was given a verbal offer middle last week so not that many business days bit still. This is a very large organisation so many layers of personnel. How long do people typically wait?
I have never had to wait too long. Not weeks and weeks.I spoke to the company that want to hire me about my contract. They said I'll have it when they get it finished. I'm due to start next Tuesday.
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