Take the job or leave money on the table?

[fast mover]

Hypothetical here:

You get invited to a campus interview by a fast mover who is way ahead of the other places you have applied. You have no information about your standing at the other places, but this place wants you.

They offer you the job, but it is below your expected salary. You negotiate for more, but it is still a bit lower than you would like.

Do you take the job or leave the offer on the table in favor of the unknown?

[sharp]

If you like the job better than unemployment, take it!

[crimey]

Isn't it unethical to take the job and then change your mind if you hear from some other place?

How long is it ok to ask for the offer to wait?

[ohh]

Is money the only issue? Do you like the dept? The job? The place? Etc?

Do you think you are a super-star-ish person who might get another offer? How many jobs are you applying to?

If it's overall a good gig, I personally would probably take the job because I am not sure about the job market.

[rrr]

Some people will be able to make up their minds and decide this based on available information. This is the safest strategy.

Other people might wait and take the unethical option of breaking a contract, or drawing out negotiations. But if you do that, word can get around and damage your reputation... So you probably don't want to do that if it's just a matter of a couple thousand dollars.

[fast mover]

I am not a super-star-ish person, but I am from an R1. I think a middle of the road state school or a nice SLAC is where I belong. I enjoy research and would enjoy mentoring graduate students.

One of the places to which I have applied is a small, small private school that doesn't enjoy high prestige. It pays normally about $10k less than what I have been told to expect. There is no grad program and research is not required.

To be honest, if the job paid MORE than my expected number, I would jump all over it since tenure appears to be a lock for my skill set and based on past results. However, I am really worried about accepting a less than desireable job before the application deadlines of some of the more desireable positions.

[aside]

As an aside, do you all here think it is ok to be completely transparent and tell an institution in this situation two things.

1. I have applied all over the place, and some of those places may be more attractive to me. I can't make a decision on your university until I compare it to these other ones.

and/or

2. If you pay me x amount, I will sign right now.

[bandit]

Do NOT accept an offer, then change your mind and go to another school. I saw that happen once in an econ department, & everyone in the department became really pissed off at this junior person. I am not sure what happened to the person, but (1) other good candidates did not get hired [the position was unfilled] and (2) the econ department wrote a letter to other hiring university about 'highly unprofessional conduct'. That might hurt one's chances at tenure, not to mention the rumors and informal effects [ranging from rejections at conferences, to difficulty moving later in your career].

Bottom line: Don't accept an offer and reject it. The proposal above saying 'I will not accept until I see other offers, but will sign if you give me $X" sounds like a very good idea. If the department wants you, they will make an offer. If they are by-stepping the interview process for 'bargain hunting' or doesn't have money, you may not want to work there.

[rrr]

The uncertainty is exactly why this school is trying to lock you in now. If you don't think you'd take it, then why not go with your option 2 and negotiate hard?

[brokademics]

Oct 21, 2011 17:08:59 GMT -5 @bandit said:

If the department wants you, they will make an offer. If they are by-stepping the interview process for 'bargain hunting' or doesn't have money, you may not want to work there.

Sometimes schools go early because they have the money, but the type of school and extreme timing here suggests the latter.

[guest321]

There are a number of factors that may be more important than initial salary in this situation:

1) Type of institution at which one is eventually hoping to settle in: If there is a sense that dissatisfaction would be the effect of working in an environment that doesn't care about research, then I'd be skeptical about taking the job no matter how much it paid.

2) Responsibilities for tenure and how they impact mobility: If this institution is not one at which spending a long career is desirable, then what are the prospects for doing the kind of work that will make a candidate attractive to a hiring committee at a more desirable department later on? If R1 is the goal, then a 4/4 teaching load is gonna make it very tough to produce the kind of grant and publication record that can get someone at a small school noticed by an R1.

3) Location: What are prospects for being content with the location of the department? If there are things to do that might be enjoyable outside of the work environment, then maybe the tradeoff is worthwhile. If not, there is not a lot to be said for taking an unappealing job in an undesirable location just because it is the first offer returned.

[been there]

congrats n a job offer!


I had a situation like this last year. after gathering more info(talking to diff committee members) -and listening to my gut--i decided against the position and am glad i did. for me it was not the right fit and I don't think even an extra $10 K would have made it right (that's not what I was asking for).


1) Do not take then break a contract. sociology is a small world. i have since run into faculty from the departments I declined (at conferences, etc). all is well b/c I did not sign then screw them over.

2) have you let the other schools that you are really interested in know that you have an offer? i am not saying contact every school you applied to but if there are some you think you fit well with and are really interested in you could let them know. I did that with a couple places and got more specific details from the search chair on where I was in their pile of apps and a sense of their timeline.



3) are there other things to negotiate for besides salary? undergrad RAs, more conference funds, reduced teaching load, whatever,

4) there is data out there that shows that a couple thousand dollars initially adds up to lots more when you compound over the years (not that we are in this for the money). have you checked out the salary of recently hired faculty? are you sure they don't have the money?

what is the cost of living? Iowa costs less than California so we would expect some salary differences.


i know friends who have hired a faculty coach for just this type of issue. It can cost a few hundred $ for a couple session but if in the end it helps you get what you need (job at a level you feel compensates you fairly) and the institition needs (a faculty member), then it is worth it.

[fast mover]

Good points.

They have the money, and it is a situation that I could be happy with. I just legitimately require a higher salary than they have offered prior new assistants (sole breadwinner, children, etc.)

[guest321]

Oct 25, 2011 23:37:34 GMT -5 @fast mover said:

Good points.

They have the money, and it is a situation that I could be happy with. I just legitimately require a higher salary than they have offered prior new assistants (sole breadwinner, children, etc.)

A) When do you have to reply by? Do you have some leeway with this?

B) Have you reached a decision about what to do if a deadline arrives and you still have not received any other offers or interviews?

[fast mover]

A. Yes, several weeks. They seem to understand my situation.
B. No