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Here’s the story of my new job that wasn’t.
So, I really love my current job, but I go on interviews because (1) you never know when the dream job will come along and (2) it’s immensely satisfying doing interviews when you don’t actually need a job and are being wooed. Thus far, it’s been entirely the latter, but two weeks ago I ran into one that was the former. Not the best thing I’ve ever heard of, but essentially just as good as my current job with a good chunk of additional money. (Not a life-changing amount, but a very pleasant bump).
I get the offer, and come to my current job to let them know, and see what they’ll do to keep me. (Context: half our department has quit and we’re in complete disarray.) I agonize a lot, receive a lot of advice from all my friends (thank you for dealing with all the drama!). This is legitimately the toughest choice I think I’ve ever made in my life. Monday morning, my current job come back with a counteroffer that is… not spectacular. More importantly, the attitude is “here’s what up, now make good choices!”
Still on the fence, I call the recruiter, and try to say that I’m staying at my current job. He spins me an excellent yarn about how happy I’ll be, how flexible the new place is, how I need to grow, and how much they’ll love me there. He even promises a bit more money. Hyperventilating and crying because I’m petrified of leaving a job I love, I agree to the new job.
I come back to the office, call a meeting with HR, and tell them I’m leaving. THEN I get the reaction I initially expected: emotions running high and desperation and “what can we do to keep you?!” (Per a post-mortem, apparently I was supposed to do this move before actually accepting the job, because they’ll only negotiate if they know it’s not a bluff.) Having already accepted, I say that I’ve committed to the new place. Current job feels completely betrayed.
Current boss accuses me of leaving right after holiday bonus. I make the point that I’m not trying to screw anyone over (the only reason I’d consider leaving is because I believed I could come back if anything). We agree that I’ll stay until Jan 31st to help with the transition. I call back the recruiter, and with no hesitation, tell him that I need to stay until Jan 31st – it’s a big ask, but is non-negotiable. If new place agrees, yay new job! If they disagree, I’m staying put. Because while I can agonize over what to do that’s best for me personally, I have no qualms about loyalty and trying to do the right thing by people who were good to me.
A day goes by, and I’m finally in a good mental place. If new job agrees to this big ask, they’re clearly wonderful people I want to work for. If they disagree, I can stay at a job I know I love.
At the end of the day, I call the recruiter. It’s not the one I’ve worked with (the one who clearly has a knack for dealing with an overemotional Hufflepuff), but his senior partner: a 61-year-old man who’s been at this for 30 years and prides himself on “no nonsense.” The verdict: new place will wait a week for me (Jan 14th), not a month. He then gives me a 15-minute lecture about “doing what’s best for me” and “no one’s ever heard of six weeks notice” and “don’t make big mistakes.” When I finally get a word in edgewise, the decision is easier than ever: I’m not leaving.
Ironically, today my current job was hiring someone new with the exact same ask: to start in February. They agreed. I felt completely validated in my choice.
So today, I gave my office the good news. Everyone is feeling a little wronged by the whole experience, but everyone is also very happy I’m staying. And not for nothing: I got an 11% raise and an extra week of vacation time! And I can stay with a clear conscience, knowing that I did what I consider the right thing.
If there’s a moral to the story, it’s that I am now so clearly a Puff first and foremost. Logically, I should have taken the new job, and I genuinely believe I would have been happy there. But I stayed out of a sense of loyalty and fairness, and I’m happy with that. My current job’s mistake was negotiating as if I were a Slytherin. The senior recruiter’s mistake was lecturing me as if I were a dispassionate Ravenclaw. But in the end, I’m not a threat – I’m just a Puff trying to have a job I love.