Setting Free the Bird in Hand Job offer doesn’t always equal acceptance of offer

I’m typically not a risk-taker, yet lately I have been. Last week, while I was on vacation, I turned down a job offer. In fact, the position was with the company for which I most want to work. Perhaps I should clarify.

I mentioned previously the quick response I received after a recent application frenzy. I submitted my online application just before midnight on a Thursday and by 9 a.m. the next day I received a voicemail reply. I’m pretty sure that was a record.

The phone screening that followed consisted of really basic questions: Can you provide proof of eligibility to work in the United States? Do you have reliable transportation?

The interviewer also asked what shift I preferred to work. She implied there were multiple openings. I replied that I’d rather work days, but I was pretty sure the posting was for a second-shift position. Third shift was my second choice.

Apparently the only openings were for second shift.
Then the interviewer asked in what part of town I lived. She gave me the impression there might be an opening nearby. I discovered none of the openings would be a convenient commute.

She also let me know the starting pay rate. I made more on unemployment. Seriously. But that was no longer an option, so I decided to grin and bear it.
I went to an interview and left with a strong sense that I would be offered the job. On the same day, I learned of another opportunity, still within the same organization: a higher pay rate, day shift, but only part time.

Like I predicted, the HR coordinator offered me the position for which I had interviewed. I asked for a few days to consider the offer. Next I listed the pros and cons for both opportunities and had a long powwow with my husband. The adage “a bird in hand is worth two in the bush” came to mind. Though I saw the job only as a temporary solution, it was mine if I wanted it. The part-time opportunity was not a done deal.

Where do things stand now? This week, I submitted my resume for the part-time position, and I know it is in the hands of the hiring manager. My volunteering for the organization has given me a slight advantage, but I’m still in wait-and-pray mode. I have only a tinge of regret from turning down the job. However, I know I did what is best for my family and me.

So here I sit, still unemployed and likely gaining no sympathy from those of my readers who have decided I’m being too picky. True that I gave up what some might say was a worthwhile opportunity.

I recall something a former co-worker once told me: “I work to live; I don’t live to work.” I can be a loyal, hard-working, valuable employee, but that doesn’t mean I have to give up what is most dear to me, namely time with my family.

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by Cynthia Baxter