Job dilemma

blackraspberry

I'm unemployed and have recently emigrated to get work. I've been here a couple of months now and I haven't secured work yet. But I have a few options and I need advice.

1. I have been offered a great job in exactly the area I'm interested in. It will advance my career really nicely. The problem is, they want me to work in a voluntary capacity for the first couple of months, supposedly because they don't have the funding to pay me yet, but also because they want to see how I fit into the team.

The problems here are fairly obvious. I can survive without a salary for a couple of months, but it would mean I have absolutely no disposable money and I couldn't even buy Christmas presents. I'm also a cynical person, and they have offered no guarantee that they won't give the job to someone else when they get the funding. I'm not naive enough to blindly trust them, and I doubt they'd be willing to give me any kind of contract while I'm working for free.

2. Through a contact, I applied for an entry level role in an unrelated field. It's very basic work. The downside is they want a commitment to work until May 2015. The money isn't bad for the job in question, but is about 5 to 10K less than what I could earn in a job in my actual field. I told them I couldn't make that time commitment, and essentially withdrew my application. But the job is still being advertised, so I possibly could go back and say I've changed my mind and I'd stay until May. Doing this would mean I wouldn't be advancing my career at all, and next May I'd be back to job seeking. It would, however, mean I would have an income for the next few months.

3. The third option is just to keep looking for relevant jobs, and try to get temping work in the interim. There's more flexibility here, but it's also very poorly paid. There's no way to tell how long it will take to get a job.

Can anyone offer any advice? Because I'm living in a new country, there's no-one here I can really ask for guidance.

Rubberchikken

I realise it sounds stupid, so don't shoot me, but is there anyway you could combine the two? Talk with both and work the hours out to suit everyone?

sashafierce

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blackraspberry

Rubberchikken wrote: »

I realise it sounds stupid, so don't shoot me, but is there anyway you could combine the two? Talk with both and work the hours out to suit everyone?

Not stupid at all! It's not an option to combine 1 and 2, because 2 is full time and they can't compromise on that. It may be an option to combine job 1 with temping though. My future bosses are both away on business at the moment though, so I won't be able to discuss that with them until next week.

sashafierce wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Yeah, I was screwed over enough in Ireland to be very wary of being asked to work for free. But because option 2 came to me through a contact, I'd hate to leave before May because I'd think it would reflect badly on the person who recommended me. In the interview, they were really clear that they are looking for someone who can make the commitment to stay until May because of the nature of the project, and if I ask them to reconsider me for the role, I'd have to honour that.

El_Duderino 09

Option 1 looks best to me. Forget Xmas man. This time next year you'll be on the way to the career you want and it will have been worth it.

I'm in a similar situation where I have emigrated to the UK for uni. Finished and I'm applying for jobs. Once I have a job I'll in a job I want with cash on the hip. But right now I'm living on scraps. OH birthday soon and Xmas and we have decided to forget both this year. I'll make it up to her as soon as I have a job Not going to take a job I'm not interested in.

I don't mean to talk about myself. I'll just putting context. In reality Xmas doesn't mean a thing. Career is forever.

I know you can't be too demanding but you want to have a chat with the right person and let them know that you will do the voluntary work but you're not an idiot. You will work your arse off but you expect there to be a place for you at the end.

Hope whatever decision you make works out.

Jenneke87

I kind of feel you are being taken for a ride with option one OP. So they don't have the funding but do want you to come in and work for them, but not compensate you in any kind of way(will they reimburse your cost of traveling at the very least) and they cannot guarantee that you will have that same role after the money comes in. If they want you to make this kind of sacrifice of them(not having any money for a few months) they at least owe you something solid when your probation ends.

El_Duderino 09

Jenneke87 wrote: »

I kind of feel you are being taken for a ride with option one OP. So they don't have the funding but do want you to come in and work for them, but not compensate you in any kind of way(will they reimburse your cost of traveling at the very least) and they cannot guarantee that you will have that same role after the money comes in. If they want you to make this kind of sacrifice of them(not having any money for a few months) they at least owe you something solid when your probation ends.

Yeah fair enough. If you were to have a chat with them and ask when exactly does funding come in. If they say 'well some time in spring' or something vague then they are probably just looking for a rube to do a few free months work. If they said 'the new budget begins on Jan 21st' or something specific, then you know when the end date for freeby work is.

It's a tough one OP

Lux23

I would demand expenses for the option 1 or don't do it all. Even a 100 a week could help you survive until they actually decide you deserve to be paid.

seachto7

Option 1, I'd do it only if I got paid. They want to see how you fit into the team? Well, if it doesn't work out and they say to you on a Friday to not come back on the Monday, fair enough, but no way would I be working for free.

They could turn around and say you're not the right fit after a few months, and get someone else in and give them the same spiel.
You could take the second job and leave when something better shows up. You're not obliged to stay until May, what are they going to do, call the police on you if you leave?

Matteroffact

The thing about option one is that you will be getting the experience you want, you will have it on your CV even if you don't last longer than a couple of months. Could you get back to them and say that while you would really love the job, it is exactly what you want, that you cannot survive on fresh air and would need something to enable you to take up the position and just see what they say. It is worth a shot.

blackraspberry

Thanks so much everyone! I really appreciate the replies.

Job 1 got in touch to say that the 'couple of months' thing was worst case scenario, and it could be much sooner that I start getting paid (basically as soon as the funding comes through). They also said that, until I'm getting paid, I can work as flexibly as I'd like. So I'm going to see if I can secure part-time temping work and do that 2/3 days a week, and Job 1 the rest of the week, or even a week-on-week-off set up.

Once I'm a little more firmly established there, I'll push for a contract or something in writing.

As a few of you have pointed out, even if it's unpaid, it's brilliant experience and it'll look great on my CV. As long as I can get some money in, through temping or even working in a shop, I should be fine .