When it rains, it pours!

So, the same day that I started to get an inkling that I was going to get an offer from Company A (I got contacted by HR to complete an employment application) I also got a call from a recruiter at Company B. He and I chatted and he told me he wanted to set up a phone interview with the hiring manager for a position I applied for after I had interviewed at Company A.

The next day, I was called by the recruiter at Company A who asked me if I would consider an offer that was a little lower than my requested salary. I told her that I would consider it and she said that she would have to get special approval for the offer and would plan to send me an offer in two days.

Day 3, I had my phone interview with the hiring manager and I started to get excited about that position. Although it was not a consumer-facing business, it would be working on a product that had a lot of exposure and could include some international travel. The hiring manager told me that I would be contacted to schedule a round of in-person interviews in a week and a half. I also got contacted by a recruiter at Company C who had encouraged me to apply for a position at her company a week or so back. She wanted to talk to me more about the position and some of my past experience. Now, I knew when I applied for that position that it was a good fit from some of my prior experience but not really something I wanted to continue with in the future. I still applied though because any job is better than no job, okay! But, now that I knew that I was getting an offer, I declined to go any further with Company C.

Day 4, I was supposed to get the offer. Instead I got a call from the recruiter at Company A going over the offer. While I didn't quite get the money I wanted, I reasoned that given their historical propensity to payout well on the yearly bonus (something that didn't really live up to it's potential at my old company) I would end up at about the same as what I was making before, if not a little better. But, you should always negotiate. Women historically are afraid to negotiate, and black folks as well. It seems to be drilled into us that we are lucky to have a job. But, traditionally, white men aren't hindered by the same viewpoint and just about always negotiate. So remember, always negotiate --- they will not take the offer from you! In fact, they expect you to! If you don't, you will be leaving stuff on the table. And there are more things that you can negotiate on besides salary. I was able to get a few more vacation days out of the deal.

Day 5, I got the offer. It was like we discussed but I was confused that there was not anything to sign and send back. So I sent an email asking about that.

The weekend was pretty quiet, save a yummy dinner that I cooked and a Brazilian party with a few too many caipirinhas!

Day 8, the recruiter from Company A saying that email acceptance would be fine for the offer. When I was just about to send the email accepting the offer, I got an email from Consulting Company D. (are you confused yet??) A great friend of mine who lives in the city I used to live in works for Company D and when he heard about my situation at the beginning of the year, he offered to submit my resume as an interal referral. Now, I was not all that excited about the travel associated with consulting but like I said before, a job is better than no job, okay! To be honest, I had forgotten all about it until the recruiter contacted me. Now Company D has done some really exciting projects in my industry and it was very flattering that a senior director there was interesting in my resume. But what do I do?!

Well, I tried to find out as much about Company D from my friend as I could and I called back the recruiter there the next day. I also called a guy I knew in the group at Company A to ask some more specific questions about what it is like to work there on a daily basis and what it is like to work for my potential new boss. Then, about 45 minutes later, I got a call from the recruiter at Company A telling me that she was hearing rumors that I was going to reject the offer. First of all, rumors?? It was a little bit of a strange conversation. It was like she was trying to do the final sale, telling me that there were 300 applicants for the position and how great my manager would be, and also trying to put the screws to me. So, I don't know if someone actually talked to her or if this was just a final negotiating tactic but it sort of worked. After the conversation I knew that I would not be able to effectively stall Company A until I could get anything tangible from the other companies. I called Company B and declined to interview further.

I did still follow through with a call with a principal at Company D, just to find out more about the company. And I made a decision. It was rather flattering to have multiple companies competing for me, even if the timing wasn't right. And, while I got the position that I wanted, this situation underpins the need to continuously network, even when you have a job, so that you won't need to start from scratch when "things happen." I am the kind of person who really dedicates themselves to their job and the group that I work in but there are no guarantees, no matter how big the company is. So, while I will continue to be dedicated to my job, I will still keep my eye out for the next opportunity.