Job offer, but job title changedI responded to a job posting on Monster for a Director' s position. We began interviews in early spring. During the course of the process, the company' s website posting changed the title of the job to a Manager' s position. Received an offer today for the Manager position (which is below my current job title). While the offer is fair, I probably would have never pursued this had it been a Manager' s position. Their response to me was that they already have one manager in the department and want to bring in this second person at the same level. Is this type of job title "bait-and-switch" common in hiring today? Is this something I should be concerned about in terms of the company' s honesty? And finally, do I have a realistic chance of making my case for the Director' s title (and a better salary)? I don't think you can assume anything about the company's honesty based on this, nor assume that this is a "bait & switch." It may be that as the interviewing proceeded the company decided it didn't need someone in at the director level; because there's already a manager in place, maybe they decided it wasnt' wise to hire in at director level (that can be a sticky wicket); the department structure changed; someone above the hiring manager made a case for the dual managers rather than a manager and a director, etc., etc., etc. There could be any number of reasonable reasons. Since they did change the job title on the posting during the process, it doesn't sound like they were trying to deceive anybody (if they'd kept the posting as "director," then offered you a manager title, that'd be different). If I were you (and of course, I'm not), I would politely ask, if you think you can justify more money, if the offer is negotiable and see what happens. It does not sound as if you can negotiate the title, since it has already been changed. Aside from title, is the position itself a step up from what you have been doing? More responsbility, added managerial tasks, etc.? Is the salary being offered at least 10 to 15% higher than your current one? If the answer to both of those is yes and you want to work for this company, I'd take the job and forget about trying to negotiate anything. You said the offer was fair. If, in the long run, this is a good career move, with growth potential, then stop gettting hung up on title and take the job! Since you can stay where you are, you can probably say that you were expecting this to be a Director level position and hold your ground with the understanding that you may have to walk away from it. And I don' t think it was a bait and switch in that they didn' t set out to get you in the door and then change the rules. Rules were changed and you were in progress when that occured. Take it from someone who is going through the same thing now, yes, employers do "bait and switch." I started a new job on May 1st with a company, with the title of "Office Manager" while the job was advertised both as "Office Manager/Accountant". I was originally drawn to the position, thinking I would be doing just about everything to run the office of the small (20 employee) company, with an emphasis on bookkeeping. Well, I am now spending 75% of my day as the company Purchasing Agent, and the other 25% doing invoicing and collections. Turns out two separate people were originally doing my job. One lasted four days, and the other a week and a half. Another girl in the office, the Marketing Manager, also a direct-hire from the agency that sent me (as well as the other two who didn' t work out), lasted two months, and she quit. He now won' t pay the agency fee. The owner is a micro-manager, and can be quite unpleasant with people in general. It should have been a red flag when: 1) the girl from the agency told me the man I would be woking for had a very "strong personality" and 2) when he interviewed me, he complained to me about the other two employees that hadn' t worked out, and said he didn' t think he should even be woking with the agency anymore, because of the unqualified people they were sending. Very unprofessional for the owner of a company that does $20,000,000.00 a year in business, huh? I almost left after the first week. I' m doing all I can to hold it together, at least through the first three months, so she gets her commission for me. Then, it may be bye-bye for me. In my 30 something years in the work world, I have never actually dreaded going to work, until now... Just a word from someone becoming wiser by the day: be careful. At least they are telling you this before they hire you. Good luck!!! Great to "see" you! I' ve been wondering where you' ve been. Figured you landed a full-time job, but sorry to hear it' s not working out. Your boss sounds like a guy & his father whom I worked for many moons ago--small, family-run business where they acted like they were at home yelling at each other, stomping around, etc. They were OK to me, but the atmosphere was terrible. It' s really nice of you to see it through so your agency rep gets her commission... You may want to give her a heads-up to start looking around for something else for you (if you' re happy with her) in a month or so. Keep us "posted"! It' s really nice "seeing" you again, too. I really have missed conversing with the gang, especially you. My boss really isn' t ranting and raving, but he just says things in a way that really cut people down. And, uses a lot of profanity when he is talking to suppliers, and such. For example, this morning, he used the f word when he called our copier company demanding to know why they hadn' t fixed our copier, when we are paying $750.00 a year for maintenance. (I called the company last week, when he was out of town, and being an older machine, she didn' t have the parts to repair when she came out to check. She said it would probably be Friday or this Monday. It is usuable; just making a loud noise.) This isn' t the first time, either. That kind of language is unacceptable to me in a business. (I have a real potty mouth at times, but don' t bring it to work). Today, I am coming this close to walking out. He also took away another of my duties today: doing the bank deposits. He wants me to devote all my time to purchasing, invoicing and making collection calls. These are three of my least favorite things. So, I do not think I will be making a career out of working here... I am thinking of calling in sick tomorrow-it' ll be my 55th birthday. I think I need to clear my head... I can' t imagine very many employers going to all the trouble to attempt a "bait and switch" with prospective candidates over over something as relatively insignificant as a job title - that would seem like a huge waste of time to me. Since you' re employed, I' d ask about negotiating the title to one that' s at least equal to your present title. Furthermore, I think you can make the case that from a resume-building point of view, that accepting a job with a lower title really isn' t in your best interests over the long haul. See if they' re willing to work with you on the title, but I think you can, as Tess pointed out, politely stand your ground on this point since you have a job and can walk away from this situation and be no worse off than you are at the moment. Hope this helps. | |
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