The Big Call

It was a Wednesday and I had just finished watching the final episode of the television series Lost which I had received on DVD for my birthday. I had turned off the television and was helping my son put up his newest edition to his Fisher Price GeoTrax train set—it was a big mountain which let the train ramp up and rocket down the hill.

The phone rang. My wife had been fretting about this call for days now. It had almost been a week since my last interview with the Director over the hiring manager (again, talk about micromanaging) and I had just finished up another round of cover letters and resumes that were going out in the mail the next day.

I looked at the caller ID and, noting the company’s name on the display, felt a wave of relief spill through me. This was it—the long haul was over and the tension in my house was releasing like a high E string being wound down two pitches on an acoustic guitar.

I answered the phone, trying to hide my pleasure. I about swallowed my tongue when the HR manager told me they were extending the offer at the price they were offering. Now, while I’m not going to tell you guys what the offer was, I will say that it was almost $10,000 more than I made at my previous employer and it happened to be almost $10,000 more than the highest cap that the HR manager told me the position allowed for.

What this meant is that this company wanted me in this position so badly that they extended an offer far greater than the highest salary level they were looking to hire the position in for. I felt flattered and justified at the same time. The years that I had spent building up my skill sets, gaining experiences, and focusing my strengths had paid off. I interviewed well through each step of the process and had been extended a great offer at what I believed at the time was a great company in the industry.

Despite my enthusiasm to accept the offer right away, I did the smart thing. I asked for 24 hours to consider the offer.

BWP Get a Job Tip: Never accept a job offer right away. You need to take copious notes when speaking with the person extending you the offer. Ask them about:
  • 401(k) plan (who administers it, how much does the employer match, and how long before they begin matching it)

  • Bonuses or profit sharing (guaranteed or not?)

  • Vacation/sick time (how much and how long do you have to wait)

  • Tuition Reimbursement (how much, how long do you have to wait, do they participate in any “floating” programs where colleges withhold your bill until after your grades come in)

  • Do they reimburse cell phone, car, computer equipment, etc.

  • Is there a company retirement plan? (If so, how much, how long do you have to wait, etc.)

  • Assuming you accept the offer, what are the next steps (background check, drug test, etc.)

I called the HR manager the next day and accepted their offer. I was told that I could start a week from the next Monday as that should be enough time to get my background check completed. In fact, it took two weeks to finally come through and set my start date.

I spent the next two weeks relaxing, purchasing new professional clothes to add to a wardrobe that had suffered after nine months of working at home. I rewatched season 1 of Everwood on DVD and enjoyed the time as if it were a vacation. Little did I know, but I would be “enjoying” another month off in less than two weeks.

To Be Continued Tomorrow…

TAGS: , ,

[Post to Twitter] Tweet This

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

You Should Also Check Out This Post:

More Active Posts: