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Second Job Offer?!?!

by

Say what?

Yes.

Just now I opened my email and found an email from the “other” department saying they are posting an ad soliciting an instructor/undergraduate coordinator and they would like for me to apply for the position. The ad should be posted by the end of the week and they hope to have a quick hire (7-10 day turnaround).

What? WHAT?!

My Mom (the real estate broker) says I’m like an empty house. I’ve sat on the market without any offers for months and then – all of the sudden – there’s a bidding war! (haha! Gotta love my mom, comparing me to a house!)

I haven’t responded yet. I was planning to email them today to say that I’d just signed a contract with another department but I haven’t actually signed yet and I wanted to wait until everything is 100% official before closing that door.

So what should I do? I’ve exchanged a couple emails with the department where I’ve received an official offer letter today. We’re still working on an exact salary number but I expect that negotiations should wrap up tomorrow and I also bet that my salary with this department will be higher than they could offer in the “other” department.

So should I reply now and say I’m unavailable – that I’m in contract negotiations with someone else? Or should I wait until the contract is officially signed and leave them hanging in the meantime?

I seriously cannot believe I’m even in this place. Just a few weeks ago I was unsure if I’d ever get a full time offer, and now I’ve basically got two? Craziness!


15 Comments

  • Reply C@thesingledollar |

    If you definitely intend to sign with dept #1 and it’s just minor salary details, I’d write them back and say thanks, under normal circumstances you would be very interested, but you are very close to a commitment at another institution, and if anything changes with that you’ll get back in touch.

    The more bet-hedging way to do this is to write them and say thank you for the notice, you will certainly apply once the ad goes up, and then if/when you have a done deal with dept #1, write them again and explain that you’ve accepted another offer, would have loved to pursue opportunity with them but timing was just bad, etc.

    In any case write tomorrow and say *something* because it’s a good idea not to leave them wondering what’s going on, in case you ever need to work with them again!

  • Reply Louise |

    I would definitely email department number 3 and say that you are about to sign a contract with department number 1, you expect that to close tomorrow, and while you really like both positions, you could only consider department number 2 if the salary is greater than x dollars. This will probably rule them out, which will be useful for solving your dillemma, If for some reason they call or email you back to say they can meet your minimum requirements, you THEN have decisions to make!

    • Reply S Baxter |

      This is a great tip. Let them know you are under negotiations with another department for a salary and benefits in the range of X and need to get back with them ASAP, and would be they in a similar range. If they have the salary, they will email you back on it and then you can see how you want to proceed. Do not close this door before you have the other one signed and sealed.

  • Reply Mary |

    You don’t respond back until you are officially signed. At that time you can thank them for their offer.

  • Reply Mysti |

    They just said they would like you to apply…not that they are offering you a job. Unless this job is what you would really really want .. I would tell them you are in contract negotiations and thank them for their interest. And maybe you will have the opportunity to work together in the future.

    Congrats.

    • Reply Ashley |

      Well, you are technically correct but there’s a bit of a caveat. In academia (at least at public institutions) they are required by law to post any available jobs. But the fact that they’re pushing a quick hiring turnaround (7-10 days is incredibly fast), and reached out to me to apply basically means that the job is mine for the taking. They just have to be legal about it by actually posting the job instead of just hiring me directly.

      • Reply CanadianKate |

        Unless they have another candidate in mind and they want you to apply so it looks like they didn’t just hand the job to someone else, but actually went through the job posting rules properly.

  • Reply Walnut |

    You’ll want to think about what the five year picture might look like for each position. If the position you are currently signing with seems the most optimistic, then wrap up contract negotiations with them and don’t look back.

    If there prospects are better with the other two positions are more appealing, then you’ll want to have a very up front discussion with each of them today. You definitely don’t want to let offer #1 hang too long.

  • Reply debtor |

    i wouldn’t just shut that door – see what they offer if it gets to that point….so reply and say thanks will do….. if you are official with the other one before then…then you can say…on 2nd thought….but it would be nice to get to the final stage with the 2 and compare.

    CONGRATULATIONS

  • Reply AT |

    Is Dept #2 under the same Dean? Which position has the best potential to lead to tenure track? Which one has potential research collaborators? Eye on the prize, which is not an extra couple thousand this year, but your career ten years from now.

    And it might be worth asking the two departments if they want to foster a joint program, with you as the head.

    • Reply Ashley |

      They’re actually departments housed within different colleges, so different deans and the infrastructure is such that it’d probably be very challenging to foster a joint program since the two departments are funded through separate pools of money.

  • Reply Adam |

    first, congrats. Second, in 3 months nobody will remember or care what happened in contract negotiations. But you will still be dealing with the job in 3, 6, 12, 24 months. So my perspective is don’t worry about being tacky and just go negotiate and sign for the job you want the most. Money matters but so does your work environment, colleagues, benefits, boss, etc. So figure out which job is best for you for the long term and go get that one. Also this is your one and only chance to really set the trajectory for your compensation so push it to the max.

    The biggest lesson I learned in job negotiations is that no one will look out for your best interests for you, so that part is totally up to you. Don’t worry about tacky, just worry about you. Some people will advise otherwise but I think the labor market has come to be much more contentious than it used to be – employers take advantage of employees and exploit information gaps, etc, so you have to stand up for yourself. Sometimes professional courtesy takes a back seat.

So, what do you think ?