Dream and Nightmares
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Dreams and Nightmares
I have a friend whose wife just turned down a job. She left her old job last year (voluntarily) and tried to make a go in a new career field. Eventually she decided it wasn't quite what she wanted and went looking for a new job. She got offered one, but turned it down because the offer was too low. Actually her words were "it will cost me $20,000 to take this job", meaning that it was that far below her last position.
Now she isn't in IT, but it's not much different.
I started thinking about this because there have been a few times when I needed a job and would have taken anything just to have work. Maybe even something that put me in a situation like this one where a worker took a job that put them in a tough spot, and a job with a nightmare boss.
Finding a dream job is tough, mostly because you get so little information in an interview that can help you figure out if it's a great job. Most of us fall into those dream jobs when we're least expecting them.
You can go a long way towards eliminating the nightmare jobs in the interview by asking lots of pointed questions, even if you're not completely comfortable with them. Asking about on-call, dress code, and hours are pretty standard and easy for most people. Asking about cash-flow, budget, and to speak with existing team members isn't something that most people will do. But those are some areas that can help you find out if it's a going to be a nightmare.
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One time I had two interviews. One offered lower salary, one offered higher salary than I was earning. Of course I took the high salary without looking further into the company and asking too much questions. I ended up working for a terrible company and terrible people for two years. After that I found out money is not everything.
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Actually her words were "it will cost me $20,000 to take this job", meaning that it was that far below her last position.
Sometimes our 'last position' may have been an anomaly. Because we made that once under some highly favorable circumstance does not necessarily mean it can be repeated, or repeated right away.
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-- FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers --
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