Salary tips : Job offer dilemma

Recently, I received a job offer from company A. I also interview with company B. I really want to work for Company B - It is a permanent job with all the bells and wistles. With company A, it is a great job, but only a contract position (no benefits). I contacted company B about the offer from Company A. Company A gave me a really sort time frame to answer (48 hours).

What does Company B actually do? I mean, can Company B really give me an offer? What do they need to do in order to offer me a position? What is their process?

If company B offers me something after I accept from Company A is it ethical? I mean, would they understand? Would that be wrong of me?

Thanks...

Company B can:

-Walk away from you assuming that you are now taken.

-Make an offer quickly because they don't want to lose you.

-Do nothing and plod along at their own rate assuming that if you aren't available when they make their decision, someone else will be.

You can accept A's offer and then back out when B makes an offer. It happens. May not be nice but it's only business.

The options available to company B. Your decision depends, at least in part, on how badly you need a job, contract or otherwise. If you' re employed now or for some other reason don' t need a job, you can decline A' s offer and hope B wants to hire you. But it' s also possible that B, for whatever reason, won' t offer you a job which could mean that you won' t be hired by either A or B. Furthermore, if you should take the job with A, you' ll be a contract employee and there could be penalties for quitting if B does make an offer, so be sure and read the contract before signing it to take sure you know exactly what it contains and if there are any consequences associated with breaking the contract.

I know the results of what they may do, but what do they actually do? They specifically said 2 or 3 times that if I get an offer to contact them. I did. My questions are:

How long do they typically need to respond or to make a decision?

Do they have some meeting about me and the position?

What issues may come up with their decision?

Do they need to get special approvals? What sort of approvals do they need to make an offer in these cases? HR? Hiring manager? VP?

Do they need to call all of your references before the offer?

Do they need to do the background check before the offer?

Can they just offer you a position contingent on the background check and references?

Do companies typically have a "plan" for these types of situations? (This is a big company, so they may have some process they follow if it comes up.)

How frequently can I bug them about this?

Any thoughts?

There' s no way to useful answer all the questions you just asked. Every company handles the hiring process differently, so I' m not ducking your questions, I' m merely telling you that how the process is handled depends on who' s doing the hiring!

As Paul said, it depends. Here' s what would happen if it was me.

How long do they typically need to respond or to make a decision? I can make a decision very quickly once I' ve talked to the applicants I' m interested in, I will know immediately who I want to hire. If I' ve got two that are neck and neck, that might take a couple days for me to flip a coin. The issue however, is that then I need to run it past my boss, she may want to interview you too (just to confirm and get to know you). Then we need hiring approval from her boss and his boss. Then we need the offer amount which is a lengthy conversation with HR, then approval from my boss, her boss and his boss. Then we make the offer.

Do they have some meeting about me and the position? Maybe. In my case we all work in different locations so most of these meetings are phone calls but they could be live meetings as well and you have to work around other people' s schedules. I' m going to be traveling 5 days this month, you wouldn' t hear from me then.

What issues may come up with their decision? Do they want you or someone else or are they torn between a couple people? Does someone else, somewhere else in the company want your spot for their group? Does someone want you but someone else want someone else? Is there a hiring freeze that has nothing to do with your or any other applicant coming up?

Do they need to get special approvals? What sort of approvals do they need to make an offer in these cases? HR? Hiring manager? VP? Depends on the company and the level of the job as well as if the offer is within whatever their regular rules are or if it requires some sort of exception.

Do they need to call all of your references before the offer? Most companies will do this before the offer, or at least call enough to confirm that they want you.

Do they need to do the background check before the offer? Some do it before, some do it after the offer but before you start.

Can they just offer you a position contingent on the background check and references? Many companies do this.

Do companies typically have a "plan" for these types of situations? (This is a big company, so they may have some process they follow if it comes up.) Yes, they have a policy, a practice and a way of how they approach this. The may allow exceptions to the program or they may not.

How frequently can I bug them about this? No more than once a week at the most. If they tell you it will be 2 weeks before you hear, then you have to wait until those 2 weeks pass before you contact them. If they don' t say, then one call, once a week, to the HR person.

I actually want to know what companies do when someone contacts them them about another company making an offer. I know that I am not the highest priority, but I would like to know what they do to make their decisions. Depends on how badly they want you. If it were me, unless I had no one else I was considering, I' d pass on you. I don' t want to be in a bidding war over you and I don' t want to be held hostage or have you thinking "I could have gotten $100 more from the other guys, why didn' t I take that one?" I' d hate to pass because I' m in a niche field and finding someone with the skills I want is tough, but unless you walked on water, I would. In other companies they may think "great, we better grab her quickly before the other guy gets her!"

You' ll just have to ride it out and see what happens. I would be very careful about giving up one job for another that hasn' t made a decision yet.

Play your cards so you win. If you have to take the job with the co. that has no benefits. Then, if the other job is offered explain to your current employer that you have been offered a position by a co. that you applied to a while ago and you really want to work there. Be sincere and try not to burn a bridge. I think many employers will be understanding if you come across in an sincere manner. I would offer them a notice if they want it. If I were that employer I wouldn' t hold it against you. Good luck.

I am not trying to start a bidding war. Not my style. Company B is late in making their decision (they should have made the decision last week - or so they told me). I am being as up front and honest about things.

If you take the contract position with co. A, and are then offered the job with B, certainly one thing you can say is that you' ve been offered a position you previously applied to (letting them know, in effect, that you weren' t actively seeking work once you accepted their job) and that it is a direct job with benefits, which you really need. Very few companies who have contractors working for them would NOT understand this. My DH has left one or two contract jobs to take direct jobs with benefits, and the contract agencies as well as the on-site employer totally understood, and in fact, he was hired back at one company later on, again on contract, after he had left the direct job he left the contract for. ... Of course, in your situation you' d be leaving pretty soon, but if you handle it properly, you should not feel guilty nor will you necessarily burn a bridge.

It' s never a good idea to try and play one employer off against another. The ONLY way that can ever work is if the job seeker is fully prepared to take the other job in the event that the employer being asked to match another company' s offer says they won' t do it and advises the job seeker to take the other job.

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Job offer dilemma