Offer from previous employer and an interview with another? 2

[digitalcaptive]

Hi

I graduated this past summer with a B.Sc. in EE, and a previous internship employer (a major corporation), who i spent 16-months with, just offered me a job on short notice. It's a 1 yr. contract position in a project management type role and i have to make my decision by monday. But I'm also having a 2nd interview with another company tomorrow (thursday) for a Control Engineers job (the area I'd like to specialize in).

Both seem like terrific opportunities, but I don't have much time to make a decision.

What should i do? And what's appropriate for me to discuss in my interview?

Should I tell my interviewers about this other offer I recieved and if it's possible for them to make their decision ASAP?

Keep in mind, I also I want to keep my previous employer as a good reference.

Thanks,
d.c.

 

[buzzp]

I would not tell the company you interned for anything right now. However, the company you interview for tomorrow, I would tell them about your offer so maybe they can make a quicker decision. Who knows, maybe after the interview you will not want to work for them. The place you interned with is only offering you a 1 year job (Maybe longer who knows what can happen in a year) but you have worked with them so you know what kind of company they are. You have no clue what the control company is like to work for. In any case, I would not tell the intern company anything at this point but tell the company you interview for tomorrow that you have an offer on the table and need to make a decision by Monday. If they can not make a decision by then, then consider telling the other company you need a week longer to decide. This should be no big deal unless they have someone else in mind but generally another week is not going to break the company. I have always had a good instinct as to whether an interview is going to lead to an offer. I bet you will have some 'gut feelings' after your interview tomorrow.
I see no damage in telling one or both companies about your offer/interview since you are a new grad. I have been out of college for 8 years now but recently had a similar thing happen and I told both companies. Both still offered me a job.

 

[MadMango]

I'd hate to see you limit yourself so early in your career by accepting a project management position in a field that you have no desire to be in.

"But what... is it good for?"
Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.
Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[metengr]

Most people in today's economy would love to be in your position. I totally agree with MM's and buzzp's responses above. Having worked for a company (internship)and knowing the expected could be creating feelings of anxiety toward your 2nd interview (and potential job offer) because of fear of the unknown.

I would go into the 2nd interview with an open mind, and being a newly minted engineer, you will figure out what you need to do. Sometimes you are better off not anticipating scenarios or what the questions will be during an important interview - just be yourself.

Good Luck.

 

[IRstuff]

I would simply warn about how you might handle broaching this subject with the 2nd company.

If not carefully handled, it may be perceived as some sort of coercion.

as an aside, I had a funny experience with IBM, when I got out of school. Interviewed and got a job offer, but no salary in the offer letter. Called them up asking "what's up?" They responded that I had to accept the offer before they would tell me the salary. No go. So I ask, "how can I compare against the other offers I got?" So they ask, "What did the others offer?" I tell them and they say, "Well, we wouldn't have given you that amount anyway."

TTFN

 

[corus]

Knowing companies, it will take a lot longer than a day for them to make their decision. telling them to make their minds up quickly will only end the interview in a matter of seconds. Bear in mind that they will probably have a lot more people to interview so why make an offer to someone who appears 'pushy'. I'd accept the first offer and take the job providing they let you start work immediately. If you receive a better/permanent job offer from the second company after you start work then accept that. Don't have any scruples about suddenly leaving a company, companies have no scruples when it comes to getting rid of people.

corus

 

[controlnovice]

DigCap,

Do not follow corus' recommendation. You do not want to burn any bridges. If you accept a job, you should stick with it and not quit after two or three weeks into it because you are waiting on an answer. This would give you a bad rep. If things go bad at the 2nd company (after you quit the first), you'd have absolutely NO chance of going back to the first.

You can tell the 2nd company that you are interested in their job, but you do have another offer to consider and due to the tight job market you'd like a response in a timely manner (not necessarily a job OFFER remember - just a response). You can also tell the first company that you are waiting on a response from another company before you decide to accept. Companies would be naive if they think they are the only ones you are interviewing with.

I also agree with the other respondants - that you should go with doing something you would like to do. Don't go straight into project management in a field in which you don't have any desires.

I don't want to discourage you, but we had two project managers straight out of school at my company. They were great guys, but for that position, I feel one needs much more experience. One lasted 2 years, the other 3 years. Just my $0.02.

 

[digitalcaptive]

Hi,

Thanks everybody for their replies.

I had my interview today and it seemed to have went well. I decided to be upfront with them, and inform them of my situation. Although, I really can't put my finger on whether or not they will hire me, but I did inform them that I had an offer on the table and needed a response by Monday. The interviewer said he needed his superior's approval and that since that person wouldn't be back until Monday, they will do their best to inform me of their decision by Monday afternoon.

Now I am having trouble deciding what is the better opportunity and fit for me? If I have to make a decision, I'm still unsure of what to do.

The company I interned with is a very large multinational in a lot of different industries, and the contract job they are offering me seems totally different from what I did there as an intern (software development in the r&d of one of their product areas), I'm not sure if it's exactly a "project engineering" job or maybe like an assistant to project engineers? Anyway, it seems like they need somebody really quickly, as I did try to push back the date for my decision, but it didn't work out. I'll again be working under the same boss that I had as an intern, and he told me that it would be a good opportunity to get my foot in the door with the company and possibly get full-time employment within a year.

I don't really know if I don't like "project management" because I never really thought about it as an opportunity.

The other company is relatively small with only 100 employees or so, mainly engineers. It will be a full-time position with benefits and they said they have a low-turnover rate, and a lot of the projects are hands-on. A lot of PLC programming and that kind of thing.

I'm wondering does my first job really set the stage for what Ill do in the rest of my career?

Or, because I'm young, does it even matter?

I'm not sure I've experienced enough to know what I like or don't like. Everything seems really interesting at first glance, lol.

 

[controlnovice]

It's good to be in your position the way the job market is right now.

You can only do what you think is best. We can all offer recommendations, but in the end, it's still up to you.

And for my recommendation: if you are offered the position with the smaller company - take it. It is a permanent position, but more importantly, it sounds like that is more what you want to do. A one year contract doesn't mean they will have work for you after one year. And, in fact, they can still get rid of you within that year. I've found that larger multi-national companies are more likely to reduce staff when things are tight due to making their share-holders happy.

Definate hand-on experience is what you want at this stage in your career. What you do in the next 5 years won't affect the rest of your career....unless you get stuck in something you don't like, or are not getting enough experience!

 

[IRstuff]

You need to make the pertinent decisions. One thing to consider is how much money and travel and relocation you're willing to tolerate now, as well as after you have a family.

Going the management route puts you on a slightly higher salary path, but it comes with more travel and more relocation. Your family may be more important than that.

Higher salaries can be had in the technical path, but is more limited.

You need to find some quiet time and perform some thought experiments on how you plan to spend a typical day 15 years from now. Do you want to be running a part of an operation or do you want to be designing or architecting things. How will your family fit into the picture? Would you relocate to satisfy the job?

One consideration is that it's generally much easier to deal with travel and relocation while you're still young. Once your roots start grabbing hold, even short travel jaunts may be too much.

TTFN

 

[MadMango]

I think you'll get more opprotunities to work on a wider range of tasks in a smaller company, which should increase your experience base for the future.

Working for a larger company, your tasks are generally more specialized, and may hinder your professional growth and options for the future.

"But what... is it good for?"
Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.
Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[buzzp]

I tend to agree that the smaller company would provide more job security and more diverse experience (probably software and hardware rather than just software). And yes, which ever you choose will have some affect on where your career goes in the future (unless of course you change areas completely and start out as a rookie again after a few years). I have done this after 6 years of experience in circuit design (and your salary will reflect that). Now I am in a totally different area (power generation) and have to start over on the salary scale (pretty much).
When you have two offers on the table it is a difficult decision. I recently had this happen and being a semi indecisive person when it comes to this sort of thing, it was a difficult position.
Good luck.

 

[digitalcaptive]

An update:

Well it went down to the buzzer.

I told my former employer that I would give him an answer by 3, and as luck would have it, I got a phone call from the smaller company at 2:30 with an offer. They said they would need to check my references and all of that, and it would be official.

I asked about the company's turnover rate, salary, etc. I said I would consider it and phone them back.

I called my boss first and said that I had accepted the other offer.

It just seemed like the smaller company was more interested in investing me and the work would be more interesting and challenging, whereas my former employer was just looking for someone to fill a role for a year because they had a need there doing admin type work. He knew I was available so that's why he called me on short-notice.

Anyway, I'm happy with my decision and I'm not going to look back now.

Thanks everyone for their input.