Should i take a job i don't really want?

SpaceCowb0y

Hi all

Just trying to see what the general consensus is on my situation. I am a recent college graduate but have also been working in the web design industry for the last 2/3 years now.

I have been applying like mad for a new full time position for the last few months and have applied for no less then 100 jobs at this stage. Out of all the jobs i have applied for I have only managed to get 4 interviews so far. The first job i went for ended up going to somebody internally in the company, the second job they went for someone with slightly more experience, the third job i interviewed with two weeks ago and i was formally offered the job last Friday. I also have an interview tomorrow morning. I also have a few more applications in the process for graduate programs that are taking a while but are with extremely large multi national companies that i would love to work for.

The first two interviews i went for were with companies i really really wanted to work for and positions that i was really excited about. Unfortunately i wasn't successful in either however this third job i went for i am not really interested in, i feel while the salary is a big step up for me the work involved is almost a step back and not something i can get excited about at all. I kind of just went along to the interview as the agent was so eager to put me forward for it and i thought if nothing else it would be good practice. Turns out they really liked me and want me to start next month, am i mad to consider turning it down?

It seems like sods law that out of all the jobs i have applied for the one i want the least has offered me the job! Part of me feels it would be unwise to pass up an opportunity when all i have wanted is a full time job but the other half of me is saying to hold out, the job i want is so close now! Am i letting my heart cloud my judgement, am i being childish contemplating turning down a full time job in the current economic climate where people are crying out for work?

I went back to college as a mature student and while im far from old (Almost 30) i'm much older then most of the rest of my class and don't have the same amount of time to waste doing jobs i'm not interested in trying to build up my experience hence why i have worked throughout most of my time at college.

I really feel lost with this. I have worked too many menial jobs i've hated throughout the years and i know myself what i'm like when i have no interest in what i'm doing. Half assing the work and watching the clock and i never want to put myself or any employer through that again as its of no value to anyone.

The interview im going for tomorrow is for a position id much rather and is a lot handier for me to commute to but the interview process is done over two stages and i need to give the company offering me the job an answer on Thursday so I can't imagine i'll have heard much back by then.

The mother and the missus both say i should say yes to the job and if something better turns up before i'm due to start then just apologise and tell them something better has come up but i feel that would be extremely poor form personally.

Any advice would be welcome as my head is wrecked thinking about this.

tenifan

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. When you're in a job you'll find a job. etc etc

Take the job you're offered. Apologise and change your mind if you're offered the other job.

Berserker

SpaceCowb0y wrote: »

Unfortunately i wasn't successful in either however this third job i went for i am not really interested in, i feel while the salary is a big step up for me the work involved is almost a step back and not something i can get excited about at all. I kind of just went along to the interview as the agent was so eager to put me forward for it and i thought if nothing else it would be good practice. Turns out they really liked me and want me to start next month, am i mad to consider turning it down?

In short, no, don't accept it. You know in your heart of hearts that the job is not right for you. Be patient and wait for the right opportunity. If you take this job, you will end up being unhappy in it in a few months and you will end up job hunting again. That is brilliant news for the agent, as they can make more money but it is not good for you.

I am a lead developer myself, so I know all about the woes of the IT when it comes to finding work. There are loads of jobs advertised at the moment but there is an awful lot of garbage job out there. It takes time to find one that is the right fit. Be very wary of agencies. They do not have your best interests at heart. They are working on behalf of the company, so they are going to try and force you to go to interviews, accept the offer etc. If you are not happy with the job specification, tell the agent, in a firm manner, that you do not want to be considered for the role.

tenifan wrote: »

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. When you're in a job you'll find a job. etc etc

Take the job you're offered. Apologise and change your mind if you're offered the other job.

That "when you're in a job you'll find a job" can be a con, as a company will always favour someone who is available for an immediate start. Having a job on his/her c.v. at which he or she only spent a few weeks, is not going to look well, give that he/she is only starting out in the industry. The next company will think that the OP will jump ship if another "better" jobs comes along.

Big Bag of Chips

People often mistakenly think that they are the be all and end all for an employer! Accept the job. If something better gets offered to you in the meantime the company will just shrug and go to the next person on their list. It happens regularly. What pisses companies off is if you just disappear without letting them know what's going on. Once you are honest with them they don't care. It's your life, it's just another job position to them.

Carson10

Go for the job. Just say to yourself you'l do it till christmas at least to kill the bore of being off out of work all winter. If you dont like it after that then look for another job in January.

Dont worry about the boss or employer. leave if you want. At the end of the day the most important thing is that your happy. Employers dont give a crap at the end of the day about employees. They are only in it to make money.

jimmycrackcorm

OP, take the job. jobs in themselves are a progression to other jobs. It's not a prison sentence you are looking at.

SpaceCowb0y

Thanks all for the honest feedback.

I think what i'm worried about is taking something on that i have no interest in. I want to look forward to any new job i'm about to begin. I've done my time in college and have juggled that with work to have the experience on my CV that i already do and feel i have a lot more to offer then i will be used for in the position offered to me. I know what direction i want to head in with my career and have a dream and ambition to achieve it too if i just get the right break. Starting a job taking me off the path i'm hoping to go in seems counter productive but the sensible part of me is saying take the bloody job it's full time, the money is good and it's there on a plate for me now

Carson10 wrote: »

Go for the job. Just say to yourself you'l do it till christmas at least to kill the bore of being off out of work all winter. If you dont like it after that then look for another job in January.

This is exactly what i don't want to do though! Work a job for the sake of working a job. I still work part time and while there is no chance of being made permanent here i still find it easy getting up to come in here because i like the work i do and i'm good at it and interested in it, i just need to move on to develop and learn as i have pretty much got all i am going to get from my current position.

tenifan wrote: »

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. When you're in a job you'll find a job. etc etc

This is exactly what my mam said ha!

kylith

Honestly, I'd say take the job and still go for the better one, that way you'll have a job but you can always leave it if you're offered something better. I know you don't want to accept it for the sake of it, but that's how you get experience and you never know, you might turn out to really enjoy it or get promoted to something better, whereas if you turn it down you could find that you're kicking yourself in 6 month's time.

Having a full-time job shows other employers that you can do a full time job, and it's a good way to meet people in the industry and make contacts. Unless it's a soul-sucking hell-hole give it a year to demonstrate on your CV that you can reliably hold down a job for a period of time. If you really hate it you can always quit.

Rubberchikken

I'll be honest and say don't take a job you really don't want, just for the sake of it.

I can remember what it's like to be doing a job i really didn't want to be doing and it's not something i'd ever want to feel again.

Good luck with your decision

Sala

I got stuck in a job for many years. Don't let that happen to you. If I had been let go I would have done what I did earlier to get to where I want to be.

On the other hand I have heard it's easier to get a job when you're already employed. Don't know how true it is but at least in future interviews they'll be able to say this guy can get up in the morning, go to work and put in the effort. Too long hanging around waiting for the perfect job may turn an employer off you .

uck51js9zml2yt

If you've no interest in the job don't take it as you wont give everything to it and your lack of enthusiasm will be noticed quickly. You're better off waiting for the right fit.

On the other side, the company may have a reserve candidate who really wants the job and wont get it if you take it just for the sake of it.

LynnGrace

Big Bag of Chips wrote: »

People often mistakenly think that they are the be all and end all for an employer! Accept the job. If something better gets offered to you in the meantime the company will just shrug and go to the next person on their list. It happens regularly. What pisses companies off is if you just disappear without letting them know what's going on. Once you are honest with them they don't care. It's your life, it's just another job position to them.

+1.
You won't be the first or last to do this. At the end of it all, you have to do what is best for YOU. The company won't collapse because you took up another offer. It happens. Best of luck with the role you are going for.

kylith

Rubberchikken wrote: »

I'll be honest and say don't take a job you really don't want, just for the sake of it.

I can remember what it's like to be doing a job i really didn't want to be doing and it's not something i'd ever want to feel again.

Good luck with your decision

There's a difference between a job you really don't want and a job you don't really want, though. If it would be compromising one's principals then I'd say not to do it, but if it were a case that one didn't think there were great prospects or it might be a bit boring then I'd say to go for it and at least enjoy having the bank account filled up while looking for something better.

ongarboy

How does OP know what exactly this particular job will entail, the culture, the people he will be dealing with etc unless they type of work he is going for is very systematic with defined roles and processes that he is well familiar with from previous roles he worked in? I find job specs and interviews rarely paint an accurate picture of what the actual job is like in reality. I would also say even if first impressions of the job when OP starts aren't great, unless they are diabolically awful, stick with it for 6 months or unless a dream job offer comes up in the meantime. The unsettled feeling that usually affects a lot of people in those first 6 months dissapates once they settle in and become more comfortable in their role and the double dutch starts to become more understandable and even interesting.

I understand that they don't want to be pissing around in crappy stop gap jobs now that they are hitting 30, but unless OP has significant financial back up, I think he can't be too discerning either. A job isn't for life so if OP doesn't like it after a period of time, they can leave.

Being discerning is wise up to a point but you don't want a situation where you have lots of gaps on your CV... it starts working against you a lot from your 30s onwards. I would say go for it OP and take the job for a trial and keep up the job hunting in the evenings.

December2012

You mentioned your wife thinks you should take it.

If you're presently unemployed then I think you should consider her feelings about this very strongly.

LegacyUser

I would take this job due to the following

a) You will get more experience and possibly learn more which could led to another job
b) It is easier to get a job when you are working & your not try explain what you were doing for x period of time due a blank time on a cv
c) You will have a regular income & have money at Christmas and into the new year
d) You will met new people and you could hear of another position coming up in the company or with another employer.

Even if you only spend 6 months in the company you have 6 months more experience. You can keep looking for another job. To a new employer you are looking to move on to get more experience. Don't bad mouth an ex company or boss as you never know when you will need a reference or when you could met a boss again.

SpaceCowb0y

ongarboy wrote: »

How does OP know what exactly this particular job will entail, the culture, the people he will be dealing with etc unless they type of work he is going for is very systematic with defined roles and processes that he is well familiar with from previous roles he worked in? I find job specs and interviews rarely paint an accurate picture of what the actual job is like in reality. I would also say even if first impressions of the job when OP starts aren't great, unless they are diabolically awful, stick with it for 6 months or unless a dream job offer comes up in the meantime. The unsettled feeling that usually affects a lot of people in those first 6 months dissapates once they settle in and become more comfortable in their role and the double dutch starts to become more understandable and even interesting.

I understand that they don't want to be pissing around in crappy stop gap jobs now that they are hitting 30, but unless OP has significant financial back up, I think he can't be too discerning either. A job isn't for life so if OP doesn't like it after a period of time, they can leave.

Being discerning is wise up to a point but you don't want a situation where you have lots of gaps on your CV... it starts working against you a lot from your 30s onwards. I would say go for it OP and take the job for a trial and keep up the job hunting in the evenings.

I know exactly what the job will entail as it was spelled out to me in the interview. I am basically going to be a go between for a graphic designer and a team of developers, i will have no creative direction myself which is exactly the type of position i don't want to be in. I will also have to do some development type work (PHP) which i am desperately trying to avoid, i struggled with programming in college and feel i will be stressing myself out putting myself in to a position where i need to do it regularly. The culture of the team is very French, i guess that's the best way to put it. they are a new French start up based here in Dublin. They were asking things like would i be comfortable with them all conversing in French during the day etc, that actually doesn't bother me in the slightest. I work with a team of Romanians currently so well used to that type of environment.

December2012 wrote: »

You mentioned your wife thinks you should take it.

If you're presently unemployed then I think you should consider her feelings about this very strongly.

I'm not unemployed at the moment but i'm only part-time in my current position so obviously it's not ideal. There will be no blank space on my CV however.

wise lady wrote: »

I would take this job due to the following

a) You will get more experience and possibly learn more which could led to another job
b) It is easier to get a job when you are working & your not try explain what you were doing for x period of time due a blank time on a cv
c) You will have a regular income & have money at Christmas and into the new year
d) You will met new people and you could hear of another position coming up in the company or with another employer.

Even if you only spend 6 months in the company you have 6 months more experience. You can keep looking for another job. To a new employer you are looking to move on to get more experience. Don't bad mouth an ex company or boss as you never know when you will need a reference or when you could met a boss again.

All valid points! I guess the general feeling is to say yes, so i guess that's what i'm going to do. I will have until the 20th of next moth before i'm due to start so if something better comes up between now and then happy days and if not i guess i'll just give this position i've already been offered a chance.

I've also applied for a grad position with IBM but it doesn't kick off until January and i still haven't heard anything so you never know that might pop up and i'll jump ship in a heartbeat.