Interviewing when you already have a job
Discussion
Without giving too much away, I was placed in my current role by a recruitment agency. I have been in this role for coming up to 2 years (out of uni) and am getting good responsibility, training and am enjoying it (most of the time) so I'm not really looking to move at this time. The same agency have just contacted me about a role that I would definitely be interested in in a year or so (pay would land me a £5-10k increase so the money isn't too much of a pull at the moment and I'm more interested in getting good experience), however, I can't decide whether to say no or not. Part of me thinks I'm happy where I am, why bother stringing everyone along, wait until you're ready to move and then commit to it, the other part of me thinks, it only requires an updated cv to start the process, see where it gets and I can't decide which route to take. I would assume I am likely to be frowned upon by the same company later if I interview and then don't go through with any potential job offer.
I'd go to the interview for the experience. I'd also tell the recruitment agency that the package (and that doesn't just mean salary) has to be more attractive and that you're in no massive rush to leave your current position.
If you don't need the job, then you're in a far better bargaining position. You need to convince them you're a good candidate for the role. However, they also need to convince you that you'll it'll further your career to move. That includes getting everything you have in your current position and more.
There's also a risk involved on your part (i.e. you'd in a stable job, like the job and those you work with and see future potential there), so there should be a monetary reward for taking the leap.
edited to add: Oh, and park the Polo around the corner
If you don't need the job, then you're in a far better bargaining position. You need to convince them you're a good candidate for the role. However, they also need to convince you that you'll it'll further your career to move. That includes getting everything you have in your current position and more.
There's also a risk involved on your part (i.e. you'd in a stable job, like the job and those you work with and see future potential there), so there should be a monetary reward for taking the leap.
edited to add: Oh, and park the Polo around the corner
yajeed said:
I'd go to the interview for the experience. I'd also tell the recruitment agency that the package (and that doesn't just mean salary) has to be more attractive and that you're in no massive rush to leave your current position.
If you don't need the job, then you're in a far better bargaining position. You need to convince them you're a good candidate for the role. However, they also need to convince you that you'll it'll further your career to move. That includes getting everything you have in your current position and more.
There's also a risk involved on your part (i.e. you'd in a stable job, like the job and those you work with and see future potential there), so there should be a monetary reward for taking the leap.
edited to add: Oh, and park the Polo around the corner
What's acceptable for a recruiter though...I'd like to keep them on-side since when I do want to move, they'll probably have the links I need.If you don't need the job, then you're in a far better bargaining position. You need to convince them you're a good candidate for the role. However, they also need to convince you that you'll it'll further your career to move. That includes getting everything you have in your current position and more.
There's also a risk involved on your part (i.e. you'd in a stable job, like the job and those you work with and see future potential there), so there should be a monetary reward for taking the leap.
edited to add: Oh, and park the Polo around the corner
What's wrong with my polo? 
It's my first car and is currently SORN in Cornwall, I'm in London where having a car is more hassle/expense than it's worth right now.AyBee said:
What's acceptable for a recruiter though...I'd like to keep them on-side since when I do want to move, they'll probably have the links I need.
What's wrong with my polo? It's my first car and is currently SORN in Cornwall, I'm in London where having a car is more hassle/expense than it's worth right now.
I just sold my Polo, actually, in preparation for moving to London Thursday week. Totally agree about hassle and expense of running it relative to value. What's wrong with my polo? It's my first car and is currently SORN in Cornwall, I'm in London where having a car is more hassle/expense than it's worth right now.As said above, go to the interview for the experience. 5k to 10k isn't to be sniffed at, if the role is a good one and the opportunity for further progression is there. You may find that because you don't need the job, you're less stressed, and can use it to actually learn something
Although I do keep toying with the idea of a Lotus Elise since I don't need a car Yes, the money would be nice, but being conservative and saying a £5k rise, won't make it top of my "reasons to move" list, I'd value experience, responsibility and training above it at my level, then the money will come later.
RichB said:
Don't worry about the recruiter, they are thick skinned and if they've placed you once they'll likely offer you other potential positions...
This. You're a commodity that they're selling. You literally couldn't offend them if you tried, they'd still offer you a job next week assuming they thought there was money in it for them. AyBee said:
Although I do keep toying with the idea of a Lotus Elise since I don't need a car Yes, the money would be nice, but being conservative and saying a £5k rise, won't make it top of my "reasons to move" list, I'd value experience, responsibility and training above it at my level, then the money will come later.
In 90% of cases in your first 10yrs of working experience = time to anybody who even bothers noticing you exist. Learning the details of *why* you think your experience might be greater than that 10 yrs or gained sooner is just blah blah blah, they dont care, some other bloke has already blagged the job and you are done like a kipper.
If after 10 yrs you cant blag any job you want that you feel you are suitably qualified for...irrespective of money on offer...then you arent worth employing in whatever it is you think you are qualified to do.
DJRC said:
AyBee said:
Although I do keep toying with the idea of a Lotus Elise since I don't need a car Yes, the money would be nice, but being conservative and saying a £5k rise, won't make it top of my "reasons to move" list, I'd value experience, responsibility and training above it at my level, then the money will come later.
In 90% of cases in your first 10yrs of working experience = time to anybody who even bothers noticing you exist. Learning the details of *why* you think your experience might be greater than that 10 yrs or gained sooner is just blah blah blah, they dont care, some other bloke has already blagged the job and you are done like a kipper.
If after 10 yrs you cant blag any job you want that you feel you are suitably qualified for...irrespective of money on offer...then you arent worth employing in whatever it is you think you are qualified to do.
OP - go to the interview and spec it out. You might walk in and it feels amazing. It might not be right.
I have no idea what you do but if your a software developer for say, Google, and a job on 5k more for the local website designers comes up then the google experience counts for more. Extreme example I know.
Don't worry about upsetting recruitment agencies, fundamentally they will always place you if you can do a role. They won't hold back good jobs just because you went somewhere else in the past.
AyBee said:
Thanks, that's what I thought - unfortunately the company is a pretty decent one so I may struggle getting a job with them in a year or so if I interview now and then turn down (this is always assuming I got the job ).
Which company, the recruitment company or the one they want you to interview with? If you mean the recruitment company, as I said, don't worry. If you mean the one they want to send you to then the very fact that you say they are a decent company suggests you should go for the interview.).RichB said:
AyBee said:
Thanks, that's what I thought - unfortunately the company is a pretty decent one so I may struggle getting a job with them in a year or so if I interview now and then turn down (this is always assuming I got the job ).
Which company, the recruitment company or the one they want you to interview with? If you mean the recruitment company, as I said, don't worry. If you mean the one they want to send you to then the very fact that you say they are a decent company suggests you should go for the interview.).blippo1984 said:
DJRC said:
AyBee said:
Although I do keep toying with the idea of a Lotus Elise since I don't need a car Yes, the money would be nice, but being conservative and saying a £5k rise, won't make it top of my "reasons to move" list, I'd value experience, responsibility and training above it at my level, then the money will come later.
In 90% of cases in your first 10yrs of working experience = time to anybody who even bothers noticing you exist. Learning the details of *why* you think your experience might be greater than that 10 yrs or gained sooner is just blah blah blah, they dont care, some other bloke has already blagged the job and you are done like a kipper.
If after 10 yrs you cant blag any job you want that you feel you are suitably qualified for...irrespective of money on offer...then you arent worth employing in whatever it is you think you are qualified to do.
OP - go to the interview and spec it out. You might walk in and it feels amazing. It might not be right.
I have no idea what you do but if your a software developer for say, Google, and a job on 5k more for the local website designers comes up then the google experience counts for more. Extreme example I know.
Don't worry about upsetting recruitment agencies, fundamentally they will always place you if you can do a role. They won't hold back good jobs just because you went somewhere else in the past.
You take the job at £5k more. Everytime. Nobody will look at the CV and go "Oooo Google, wow you must have worked on some damn funky software, but that little local software co? Man, I bet you did nothing." because anybody with half a braincell will reply "Well actually all Google taught me was how to be a small cog in a big wheel, I learnt nothing except being the teaboy and doing some config, whereas at the small firm I ran my own projects, I helped set up the entire network architecture aswell as writing the code."
So laddy dont tell me its a load of crap when I can back it up with experience across different countries, different aspects of indstry and different pay levels with different companies.
OP...you always go for the money. Whatever you do will be experience anyway and part of learning about what the hell you are doing is learning what and how experience is needed and how it has helped you. *Never* expect your career to be how you think it will...it wont, or if it then you will remain in lower paying jobs. Your ability to get the higher paying jobs will rarely depend upon your detailed specific technical knowledge but upon your ability to detail in an interview about how what experience you do have you have put to good use benefitting the project/company you were with at the time.
Experience is not linear. It is random, chaotic and often jumps around in different directions as your life does. The point is though that in your first 10yrs of work, those interviewing you or considering you for a position will not take account of that. It will be very much a case of your experience being linear, it increases with time worked, but *what* that experience is...so long as its broadly relevent...wont be cared about so much. Consequently then it is down to *how* you frame/present what you do have.
Interviewing/getting a new job is not about selling your CV. It is about selling yourself. The quality of your experience is only as good as you make it.
I don't agree with that at all. Your example is showing the money where the experience is which doesn't mean anything. A better analogy would be, you already work at the small company getting good experience and Google are offering you £5k more to move to them. I'm saying, I wouldn't move to Google in that case because I'd be getting far better experience and training being a big cog in a small wheel than a small cog in a big wheel.
I also disagree that experience is worthless, yes, you may jump around, but every job will have an effect on your future one, i.e. I wouldn't even have been considered for this one without the one I'm currently in.
P.S. I'm not a software developer
I also disagree that experience is worthless, yes, you may jump around, but every job will have an effect on your future one, i.e. I wouldn't even have been considered for this one without the one I'm currently in.
P.S. I'm not a software developer
DJRC said:
blippo1984 said:
DJRC said:
AyBee said:
Although I do keep toying with the idea of a Lotus Elise since I don't need a car Yes, the money would be nice, but being conservative and saying a £5k rise, won't make it top of my "reasons to move" list, I'd value experience, responsibility and training above it at my level, then the money will come later.
In 90% of cases in your first 10yrs of working experience = time to anybody who even bothers noticing you exist. Learning the details of *why* you think your experience might be greater than that 10 yrs or gained sooner is just blah blah blah, they dont care, some other bloke has already blagged the job and you are done like a kipper.
If after 10 yrs you cant blag any job you want that you feel you are suitably qualified for...irrespective of money on offer...then you arent worth employing in whatever it is you think you are qualified to do.
OP - go to the interview and spec it out. You might walk in and it feels amazing. It might not be right.
I have no idea what you do but if your a software developer for say, Google, and a job on 5k more for the local website designers comes up then the google experience counts for more. Extreme example I know.
Don't worry about upsetting recruitment agencies, fundamentally they will always place you if you can do a role. They won't hold back good jobs just because you went somewhere else in the past.
You take the job at £5k more. Everytime. Nobody will look at the CV and go "Oooo Google, wow you must have worked on some damn funky software, but that little local software co? Man, I bet you did nothing." because anybody with half a braincell will reply "Well actually all Google taught me was how to be a small cog in a big wheel, I learnt nothing except being the teaboy and doing some config, whereas at the small firm I ran my own projects, I helped set up the entire network architecture aswell as writing the code."
So laddy dont tell me its a load of crap when I can back it up with experience across different countries, different aspects of indstry and different pay levels with different companies.
OP...you always go for the money. Whatever you do will be experience anyway and part of learning about what the hell you are doing is learning what and how experience is needed and how it has helped you. *Never* expect your career to be how you think it will...it wont, or if it then you will remain in lower paying jobs. Your ability to get the higher paying jobs will rarely depend upon your detailed specific technical knowledge but upon your ability to detail in an interview about how what experience you do have you have put to good use benefitting the project/company you were with at the time.
Experience is not linear. It is random, chaotic and often jumps around in different directions as your life does. The point is though that in your first 10yrs of work, those interviewing you or considering you for a position will not take account of that. It will be very much a case of your experience being linear, it increases with time worked, but *what* that experience is...so long as its broadly relevent...wont be cared about so much. Consequently then it is down to *how* you frame/present what you do have.
Interviewing/getting a new job is not about selling your CV. It is about selling yourself. The quality of your experience is only as good as you make it.
I stand by my point.
It is rarely only about the money. I speak as a recruiter of nearly 20 years experience.
Having the right people, tools, environment and activity to work on is in my opinion more important than say around 10% of salary.
Many firms - including Microsoft, don't pay the top end of the market, they aim to be in the middle, why ? Because they are Microsoft and they offer something that not many firms can. If you buy that ethos, you fit in, if you are only about the last few dimes, it probably won't work anyway....
Having the right people, tools, environment and activity to work on is in my opinion more important than say around 10% of salary.
Many firms - including Microsoft, don't pay the top end of the market, they aim to be in the middle, why ? Because they are Microsoft and they offer something that not many firms can. If you buy that ethos, you fit in, if you are only about the last few dimes, it probably won't work anyway....
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