Never accept or reject a job before it's offered.
A tale of wasted energy and angst...
Several years ago I had an interview at a great company about an hour away from home. The commute would have been all highway driving, so not terrific. The job was neat but would require a lot of travel and time away from home, also not terrific. I went in to wow them nonetheless. It became clear during the interview that, due to the travel requirements, the job was not for me. I obviously did wow them, because the senior manager gave me a name of someone to network into at a major company 10 minutes from my house.
I made an appointment and went in on a Friday for what was supposed to be a one hour meeting. I wasn't aware of openings, so this was truly a network meeting, information gathering and an opportunity to add someone to my network. The one hour grew into two one hour meetings and a return to meet with others later in the afternoon. At the end of the day, the senior manager told me there was a job as Head of Organization Development which he thought I'd be great in. I didn't have a lot of experience in this area, but he was confident I could do the job. His request was for me to think about it over the weekend and get back to him on Monday if I wanted to pursue this opportunity.
I was certainly complimented and also a bit petrified. While I'd worked with others on several OD projects, I didn't have a wealth of experience in this field. So, I made myself crazy all weekend. Should I go for it? What if they asked me to do something and I didn't know how? They'd be viewing me as an expert in something I didn't feel expert in. How could I possibly be successful in this position? After a while I felt like a ping pong ball. I went back and forth over whether or not to pursue this job. Then the light bulb lit up!
No one had offered me a job. All they'd offered me was the opportunity to interview for a specific position. They didn't make any promises. After stressing myself out all weekend, I decided to tell the manager that I was interested in continuing the conversation. After all, what did I have to lose? I called on Monday to let him know I'd be happy to interview for the job only to find out that a job freeze had been announced that morning. What did I get from all of this? A weekend of wasted energy and angst.
I spoke to a colleague today who told me she'd been called by an HR manager to get salary information. She's had several interviews in the company so this call seems like a good sign. And maybe it is and maybe it isn't. It certainly is a sign of increasing interest. It clearly means they are seriously considering her as a candidate for the position. So we kicked around the pros and cons of the position and what she's looking for in a compensation package. As we talked more I realized she was beginning to sound like that ping pong ball - what if they don't offer a high enough salary, what about vacation time, bonus - a lot of what if this and what if that mixed in with what a neat opportunity this would be. So, I shared these words of wisdom...
Never accept or reject a job before it's offered. Make this one of your job search mantras. Do research and be prepared but don't react or angst over something that may or may not happen.
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