Should You Take That Job? Trust Your Gut
You’ve just gotten a job offer. Congratulations! You should be elated, but you’re not. Something doesn’t feel right. You wonder if you should take the job.
In our career coa
ching practice, we talk to a lot of people plotting to leave a bad situation—or the bad situation has already ended unhappily. They often say they knew way back when that it just wasn’t right for them. Yet, they accepted the job and then stayed, hoping it might improve.
ching practice, we talk to a lot of people plotting to leave a bad situation—or the bad situation has already ended unhappily. They often say they knew way back when that it just wasn’t right for them. Yet, they accepted the job and then stayed, hoping it might improve.It’s like Bill and his girlfriend from hell. After arriving over an hour late for their first date, she spent most of the date flirting with another guy. A voice inside Bill’s head screamed, “Get rid of her!” But Bill ignored the voice because she was so cute—and he was lonely. A few weeks later, she stole his credit card and a few things from his apartment and disappeared. He shakes his head and says, "I knew she was trouble the first night."
Likewise, in employment relationships, things that end badly often start badly. Like Bill, we often knew right at the start—or we should have. It’s important to trust our gut.
A client I’ll call Sally applied for a job, then called the boss to follow up. In an icy-cold voice, he said, “If I decide I want to interview you, I will call you. Good bye.”
“Well, that was rude,” Sally thought. But then he called to set up an interview. In person, he wasn’t much friendlier, but the job sounded really interesting.
When he called Sally a few days later to offer the job, he said, “The salary is $X,000 (a low number), and if that isn’t enough for you, we can just stop talking right now.”
Sally said she felt like she'd been slapped. But instead of listening to her gut, Sally took the job. She was tired of looking--and she told herself that the job sounded really interesting.
A couple months later, it was a strain to be in the same room with this boss. He fired her after less than three months.
Of course, there are times when we need to take a job--any job--because we need to eat. That's OK. You do what you have to do. But often, we don't have to take the job. We just turn off our internal sensors because of a belief in scarcity. We think, “I’d better grab this one—who knows if I’ll find another.” Our belief in scarcity not only gets us into jobs that aren’t right for us, but undermines us in salary negotiations.
In business and love, those with no other options are less attractive and often get poorer treatment.
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Recently, I coached a young man named Sam. He had a good job, but wanted to work in another industry. After applying for quite a few jobs, he finally landed an interview.
Sam had done his homework and knew that he had great credentials. Friends at his professional association told him that the industry range for similar positions was between $65,000 and $80, 000. An inside contact tipped him off, saying the company's pay scale for this type of position ranged from $65,000 to $85,000. So when Sam got a letter from the company’s HR Department offering him $65,000—the bottom of the range--he was stunned.
I coached him to request a face-to-face interview with the hiring decision maker, rather than with Human Resources. However, the boss said he was too busy to meet in person. He could only spare a couple of minutes over the phone.
Sam tried to discuss his salary research, but the boss interrupted: "Quite a few people here are underpaid."
Sam couldn’t get him to budge on salary, so he tried to negotiate for more vacation (additional vacation is a raise that doesn't cost employers more out of pocket). The boss said, “No. One week is plenty."
Tuition reimbursement?
"No."
And so it went. Then he told Sam he needed an answer by the end of the day.
Sam asked how to handle the situation, thinking some magic phrases could transform these dead-end negotiations.
Sometimes there are no magic phrases. The boss wouldn't negotiate and wasn't interested in being fair--perhaps because Sam was communicating that he was overeager and wouldn’t turn down the job. I advised Sam on tactics for restating his position, but my most important advice was to be willing to decline the offer. This wasn’t the only job in the world.
The Boss wouldn't negotiate
But Sam accepted this poor offer. While I of course wish him well, I think he made a big mistake.
Employers should be on their best behavior during the interview process, just as we should be on a first date. This man, however, displayed no respect. By accepting the offer, Sam signaled that disrespectful treatment is acceptable. I believe Sam can expect more of the same.
Pay close attention to the signals from prospective employers and your gut reactions during interviews and negotiations. They are reliable predictors of the employment relationship.
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Aug 31, 2016 by
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