Interviewing etiquette, multiple companies at the same time.

Giggles_Funsworth

I've got a phone interview in less than an hour with a member of the team I'll be working on if I decide to work for the company I'm interviewing with, and another one shortly there after with a different member of the same team. It's an East Coast company but I'll be working remotely in the Bay Area for the most part. I've already been through an interview with one of their corporate recruiters, the manager of the team I'd be working on, if I make it through this last one they fly me out to the East Coast for a final interview before I get to work.

At the same time I was contacted yesterday about a position for a local company. The situation there seems to be that they want an expert, but they can't find an expert, so they're willing to train one up, including paying for higher education, any industry certifications and courses I want, etc. Only downside to this one is I'd need to get basically an entirely new wardrobe because it's pretty formal even though it's a similar job.

Upside to the first job is I work remotely. I could travel anywhere I want with my girlfriend and still have a job. Or just work from home in my robe and pajama pants erry day. This sounds great except...

I'm still pretty new to the industry I'm currently working in. I have about a year of experience before I got fired from my old job. There's a lot more room for growth at this other position, that's multiple roles to my job instead of just the one, and my knowledge base wouldn't stagnate since they'd be actively mentoring me and I'd be working as a team instead of almost 100% independently after a week of training. Also going to college on somebody else's dime. That's huge. I have an AAS right now, and obviously that's not something that's holding me back...yet. Depending on how much time I have to take advantage of it the educational benefits could end up being a good chunk of my salary every year. According to the person I talked to there should be a phone interview, followed by an in-person interview, and an almost immediate hire after that. I haven't actually talked to anybody from the company there yet though, so I'm a lot more shaky on this position than the other.

Other than the educational benefits, pay, health benefits, retirement plans, etc. are equivalent.

I feel pretty positive about my odds for either of these positions. I have some pretty hard to come by skills that I picked up from my last job in an industry that's growing too fast to meet demand.

TL;DR: Both of these jobs the interviewing process (including the flight out to the East Coast) should be over by the end of next week. I really want to take the local job if I can get it, because it's just the smarter move for me right now. On the other hand, the other company will still be there later, and I don't want to sour my relationship with them by wasting their time and money on plane flights and interviews. At the same time, it's very possible I'm going to need to let them know what time I can be out there before I know if I've got the local job or not. What is the best way to do this gracefully without ruining my chances at working for them now if things don't work out with the local job? I'm completely new to negotiating for multiple jobs, last time I was looking for work I hadn't had one in two years and the first offer I got, I took. I don't want to pull any hijinks with salary negotiations or anything, both jobs pay roughly double what I was making before I got fired, just need to stall, politely.

Giggles_Funsworth

@Deebaser ?

khain

You should continue with both until you're given a written offer which will have a deadline attached to it and that's when you tell the other company to hurry up. If you don't have a written offer then don't worry about it since its expected to be interviewing at multiple places. If needed you can ask for more time, but I don't think I'd ask for longer than a week.

PlushyCthulhu

There is no etiquette breach in interviewing for both companies at the same time - they're interviewing multiple candidates, you can interview multiple firms. You also don't have to volunteer that you're looking at another company until after they have made an offer. If they ask, be honest, but you can also say something vague like "I am exploring my options."

Anyway, you are not going to burn any bridges by declining an offer to choose another company. In fact, if they liked you enough to make an offer, they'll probably still have that positive impression on file if you end up looking for a job with them down the line. Be polite, and explain your reasoning (local, mentor, room for growth), and there will be no hard feelings.

The only problem I see is if the first company requires you to accept their offer before you've heard the decision of the second - in that case, ask for a week or two to think about it. They'll almost definitely grant it, and then you can let the second know that you have an offer on the table and the timeframe. A good problem to have!

Edit - you don't have to explain your reasoning - but if it is something that you would want in a later job (room for growth for example) it can't hurt.

Giggles_Funsworth

I am not so much concerned with hurting their feelings by interviewing multiple places or asking for an extra week to consider-- That's expected!

It's more the them spending a plane ticket to ferry me off to the East Coast and then me turning them down. Working remotely so that I could have unlimited working holidays is certainly something that would be AWESOME, but right now, the educational benefits and close mentoring, not to mention diversification of my skills (they would be giving me on the job training in computer forensics and incident response, I know people who make almost $200k+ a year using basically the same skills they they would be THROWING at me) are the smarter decision to make because they will be much more valuable to me in the future.

Really I am just not used to being considered this much of an asset, and it's pretty cool, but kind of scary, because I am just not so great at corporate kata.

Anyway, both interviews today seemed to go as well as they could. Hopefully I'll hear back about the final, local one at their HQ soon, and the local company will like my resume and schedule a phone interview for screeing, and then an in person interview.

Giggles_Funsworth

I guess it boils down to, is if the local company drags their feet at all, and it gets to the point where they want to fly me out for the final interview before I know one way or the other about the other position, would it be bad to let them know the situation and stall? Or do they expect that after spending money on me I can still turn them down?

They are an industry leader and I could well end up working for them in the future, even if I don't right now.

Darkewolfe

You can always turn a company down if they offer you a job. If they fly you out and decide not to offer you the job, would you consider that rude of them? (Well, maybe you would, but it'd be part of the hiring process.)

Just as you want to compete yourself as the best hire for them, it is their job to compete themselves as the best employer for you. Usually we disregard this, because there are more potential employees for a company than potential employers for an individual. However, if you are in position to compete yourself, you are fully within your rights to turn them down after a final interview.

However, you are absolutely right that if they extend you an offer and you don't take it, it could harm you in the long run with them. You will be signaling to them that they aren't the end-all, be-all employer for you, and they might take that into consideration if you come up again in a later hire. Employers want employees that want to work for them, too.

Giggles_Funsworth

Yeah. If it doesn't work out I will definitely position it as I want to be the best at what I do, and that I think there's a better chance of that with closer mentoring and more opportunity for continued education, so that if I come back to them later, I will be a much better candidate than I would have been, more able to steer and continue to grow on my own than I would have been if I had taken their offer initially. Ah well, this is all just speculation at the moment anyway.

Deebaser

You've got the right idea with regard to staying local if you can. Working remotely sounds like the dream on paper, but in reality you're stuck well outside your boss's monkeysphere and it really hurts your chance of advancement.

I really wouldn't worry about burning bridges with the other company. If they're the sort of company that flies in second round candidates, they probably aren't the sort to hold a grudge if you turn down the position. It's likely that your travel expenses aren't even a line item on the hiring manager's budget. (This is based on the assumption that the company isn't some mom and pop <10 employee outfit. If it's a 500+ company, no one that can hurt your future career prospects gives a crap )