What should I do? Job offer pending, need to gain time...

Coney Island

I just received a job offer which sounds great and I am really interested in taking that job, although the location is in Limerick (I currently live in Dublin), but I don't mind moving there.
The problem is that now they are waiting for an answer from me as they need me to start working asap, however I still have contacts with a company located in Amsterdam with which I already had 2 interviews and they are paying me the flight over to Holland tomorrow for a 3rd interview...I believe that if they come up with an offer after that it will be much higher that the offer I received in Limerick, also the city would be a nicer place to live. But they may also not come up with any offer at all and I am under a lot of pressure to give an answer to the first company, whether I accept their offer or not.
I am trying to take time with the company in Limerick but at the same time I am afraid that if I take too long (I mean other 2 days) to give them an answer, they may recruit someone else, as they need someone to jump into the project they are working soon....I told them I will give them an answer tomorrow, but tomorrow I will fly to Amsterdam for the interview for the other company and I doubt they will come up with an offer the same day, although I already told them I need to know soon as I have an offer pending.
What would you do if you were in my situation?

Raz

Well you could accept the job in Limerick but don't sign any contract until you know about the job in Amsterdam. If they come up with an offer you can just say "sorry guys, I got a better offer" to the Limerick crowd and jump ship without any strings attached.
I'm not sure if accepting would quantify a verbal contract though. That would be worth looking into.

Coney Island

Thanks Raz....i was thinking about it, it is not really correct towards the company but I think i have to look at my interests first, anyway I believe that tomorrow after the interview I will have a better picture of the overall situation. I
just wonder if there are other back-up candidates for that position in Limerick....if there weren't everything would be much easier....

leeroybrown

Depending on how much pressure the Limerick based company is putting on you, I'd advise sitting the third interview in Holland first. Then you should have a good idea from your interview performance and feedback if you have the job or not. You can also politely inquire as to how long their decision makeing process should take.

Even though it's not a nice thing to do you can make a verbal acceptane over the phone and then back out before signing a contract. It's just not a very nice thing to do to a company.

Kobie

I was in almost exactly the same situation a while ago. The best advice I can offer is to string everybody along for as long as you can. In my case I was glad I did as the Amsterdam job fell through at the last minute & I hadn't said anything to the Irish company, so I just took the job as if nothing had happened (got the Dutch job a few months later though). It's not necessarily nice, but this is your livelyhood.

It would be well worth your while telling the Dutch crowd that you've been offered a position & need a decision quickly. They'll understand.

Lastly, don't worry too much. You've got two simultaneous job offers (or as good as) - it's not the worst problem you could have. Even if they both fall though I doubt it'll take long to find a third.

Good luck tommorow (though they're forcasting rain, so bring a brolly).

Let us know how you get on.

Coney Island

Back in the office after my trip in Holland, had interviews with 5 people in the company and managed to convince the company in Limerick that I will take my final decision on Friday morning, they were ok with it and both companies knows about the other offer. The dutch company will come on with an offer by close of business today, so I will sleep on it tonight and decide tomorrow morning.

Kobie, you were right about the 3rd option, I just received an email yesterday asking me if i would be interested in attending an interview for a job in Prague....it is amazing how the job market as changed since last year when i was looking for a new job so hard without finding it.....good luck to all those who want to change their job this year!

Sposs

Hey coney island congrats on all the job offers do you mind me asking you what you do?

Coney Island

I work in an IT company in a sort of project manager - system analyst role......something in between a technical role and a business role. My experience is not that huge (4 years) and I haven't got a college degree (only a diploma), but I have got some good education within the company I working for at the moment.

I think a well structured CV is the key, I was looking for a job last summer with only 1 year less of experience and a CV which wasn't highlighting my best achievements, and nobody was contacting me. This year I reviewed my CV carefully and things have changed.