what should i do about this job offer

[Bob]

i was offered a job, and i have to make a decision by monday. but i don't really want the job that much.

i have 2 interviews tomorrow morning (both for jobs i'd much rather have), and a third at some indeterminate point in the future, and potentially up to 4 more interviews as well. however as of right now, this offer is the only surefire job i've got, and i doubt i'll know whether or not i'll be offered any of the jobs i'm interviewing for by monday.

should i go with the sure bet, and take the job i don't want all that much, or should i take a chance and say no, and keep my options open? if i do that, i could end up with either a better job, or a much shittier job.

[DIGI]

IF YOU HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLD ON FOR ONE MORE DAY, THINGS WILL GO YOUR WAAAAAAAY things will go your way HOLD ON FOR ONE MORE DAY!

[Bob]

i live for the fight when it's all that i've got

[Otis Driftwood]

What's so shitty about it?

[roosta]

why cant you take it, and if you get the better jobs, quit?

[YoungRemy]

The designer's got your nuts in a vice! He's offering you three percent for every pair of underwear sold! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO!


Screw Him! Hold out for more!

[Bob]

What's so shitty about it?

well i won't say where it is, and i don't want to get into too much detail about what they do (you never know who's google searching), but basically i'm not sure if i'd like the kind of work i'd be doing. it's a legal job, i'd be a legal intern, doing research and writing and stuff, but mainly i'd be working on like 3rd party briefs, which are briefs from parties that are not actually involved in the case. so it's not terribly prestigious work, there are better things to put on a resume. also, i'm not terribly fond of their political agenda. again, i don't wanna get into details, but that factors into it a little too. given the choice, i'd rather work somewhere else

also it's unpaid, and one of the other jobs i'm interviewing for is paid quite a bit (though all the rest are also unpaid, so that's actually a minor detail)

why cant you take it, and if you get the better jobs, quit?

well, it's complicated. the way my school works, you go to class half the time, and you work as an intern half the time. so i'd be working for class credit. everything's sort of done through the school, so once i accept an offer i'm locked in, that's what i'm doing for the semester.

[Otis Driftwood]

Oh, so it's just a semester and you're kinda fucked if you don't come up with some offer soon. I'd say don't worry 'bout that too much and go for it. They'll find another intern to do their dirty work if you don't do it and employers are not allowed to take political stuff into account when you apply for another job later. Also, if their assholes, write Marxist pamphlets and copy them on the office machine. Remember to flush its memory, though. And steal a stapler every week. That way you'll have one handy to staple what needs stapling. :D

[abcdefz]

I'd do the other interviews, and if something else seems tasty, just tell them your situation: I have a job offer, and they want a decision by Monday, but I think I'd be a better fit here. How soon may I check back to see what your decision is?

Then you play it from there.

I'd be careful taking a job you already know you don't want.

So let's say everything falls. By what date do you have to sign up for an internship? It could be that the right job is a week away, and you just have to be confident and wait for it.

[Bob]

I'd do the other interviews, and if something else seems tasty, just tell them your situation: I have a job offer, and they want a decision by Monday, but I think I'd be a better fit here. How soon may I check back to see what your decision is?

Then you play it from there.

this is essentially what i did. i had two interviews today, and i told them that and they said "sure, we'll probably make a decision today".

and they did! and one of them hired me! the one that i wanted! the one that pays! so the problem solved itself.

it was kind of awkward calling back the other employer to decline their offer though. i expected it to just be like "hi i unfortunately have to decline your offer because i've accepted a position elsewhere" "oh that's too bad but best of luck" "thanks you too, and thank you for the offer"

but instead it got kind of weird. i mean, she kept a very polite and cheerful tone throughout the whole thing, but the things she said were kind of...unprofessional, i daresay. i told her i had to decline because i accepted a position somewhere else and she said "oh i'm disappointed to hear that but it's understandable...is it because we're unfunded?" and i said [without lying] "er, no, it's just that i've found a more suitable line of work somewhere else" and she said "oh, where is that?"

now i'm preeeettty sure that they aren't actually allowed to ask that, but it kind of caught me off guard, so i told her (probably shouldn't have), and she said "oh so do you have a special interest in tax law [i'm working at a place that hears tax appeals]?"

i don't know, i mean, she kept a very polite tone throughout the whole thing (that may or may not have been masking a little contempt, i really couldn't tell), but it's just...i don't think those are appropriate questions to ask, i dunno.

but, what's done is done. and it really wasn't about the money. even if the job i ended up taking was also unfunded, i'd rather have worked there. the money is just a happy accident.

[paul jones]

I have no clue on any advice to give but let's hope you get something good and have money in the bank to spend on stuff in the wonderful rat race that is life my friend(y)

[Documad]

Congratulations!

Does that mean that your new employer hears tax appeals or handles them?

I'm dying to know what the unpaid place does that would make her so snooty about handling tax cases. Did she think you're a filthy hippie?

[Documad]

I've have some newbies who are starting to work for me. I'm nervous about the newest one and whether she's going to hate the subject matter. I don't know what she's been told.

[Dorothy Wood]

maybe she was just trying to figure out how to capture another intern. maybe they have a hard time finding them and she wants to know how to make the place more appealing?

pretty unprofessional though, yes. good thing you didn't take the job.


good work bob! everybody wants some bob!

[insertnamehere]

everyone on the mb is a lawyer these days

[Bob]

good work bob! everybody wants some bob!

well not exactly

i applied to 10 employers originally, and within 3 days they all rejected me

thank god for supplemental resume mailings

[Yeti]

I bet your fancy new shoes helped get you the offer.

[monkey]

congrats bob! (y)

[Nuzzolese]

Nice job. What year of law school is this?

[Bob]

I bet your fancy new shoes helped get you the offer.

i know you think you're kidding but i think you underestimate exactly how shiny these shoes are (dress shoes, not every day shoes). people love these shoes

Nice job. What year of law school is this?

i've just started my 2nd year

i accidentally typed "yeah" instead of "year" originally...i've been in boston too long

[BangkokB]

Drink 6 Beers in the parking lot and wear a wife beater Tshirt that says my other shirt says Scorpions vs the World and Guess who Won~With a Scorpion on it. Talk to them on the level. If they're eye to eye to you then you've found a workers paradise.

[marsdaddy]

Glad it worked out. There will be plenty of times when you have to weigh the "prudent" thing vs. what you really want. Do what you want, and don't regret it.