When the time comes for you to look for a new job, do you ever put all your eggs in one basket? Probably not. You will always keep your options open to ensure that you get the right job for you. Whether you’re a contractor looking for a short-term position or somebody who is looking for a permanent position, it is highly likely that you will have several options open to you.
People have different motivations when it comes to their next career move. As contractors they can differ slightly in that you will be looking at the location and salary more closely than say company culture, ethos, benefits, career progression etc. The role matters and the responsibilities that you will be taking on board, the technologies you will be working with all still matter. As does the actual company to some. After all, these will be additions to your skill set and experience on your CV. You can finally get that ‘Financial industry’ experience, or ‘must have experience within a re-seller’ environment. Ultimately, with contracts you can be in and out, it’s not a forever job.
When looking for a permanent role, other accountabilities will be taken into consideration. It’s about the whole package. Why are you leaving your current role? What are your motivations? Are you looking for more money, more training, an opportunity to progress your career? Were you unhappy in your working environment or are you moving to a new house? Did you feel underappreciated, were there too many company politics? Whatever your reasons, you always look to move onwards for better opportunities. The company itself will be just as important as the actual role.
Often, you will be dealing with a recruitment consultant handling your needs. Moving jobs, especially if you’ve been in your current one for a long period of time, is a daunting and unsure time. People become ‘institutionalised’ and can lack confidence, and maybe a change in personal circumstances has led them down the path of a career change. Others are so frustrated where they are they cannot wait to move on to pastures new and aggressively look for a new job.
We build relationships with our clients, who entrust us to find them the right candidates. Most companies who look for highly technical people with niche specialised skills, will use agencies to get to the right people. They can get on with their business at hand while we find the people. Not only do we build these relationships and understand their core business and company culture and ethos, we are also building a relationship with you. We spend our time, listening to you and gaining an understanding of what you do and what you are looking for. We have those relationships with our clients that we can approach them and generate those opportunities for you. We invest a lot of time on our database, ensuring we have everything detailed and track every stage of the process.
In today’s market, and with no guarantees, recruitment consultants know that you will be looking at more than one potential job opportunity when looking for a new position. It’s a competitive market place after all, and you must keep your options open. So, what happens if you’ve sent your CV, been short listed for the role, managed to get the initial interview and then in some organisations, gone through all 6 (yes 6) stages of interview and you’ve managed to land that job offer but, here’s the dilemma, you have several job offers and you can’t accept all of them? Maybe, you get an offer for a job that for one reason or another, you’ve decided, isn’t right for you. Perhaps you’re holding out for the ‘other’ offer, slightly more money, or a better location, preferred choice of company, perhaps you put it down to your gut feeling.
Whatever the reason for not wanting to take the job, do you choose to:
A) Be honest and say exactly what it is you’re feeling and turn the job offer down?
B) Not say anything, and avoid all calls from your recruitment consultant?
C) Ask to think about it and then avoid all calls from your recruitment consultant?
D) Happily, accept the role, then just not turn up on your first day, then avoid all calls from your recruitment consultant?
E) Come up with some elaborate excuse for not turning up or for not taking the job, e.g. you were kidnapped by aliens, your fish dies, or you’ve been offered a job as an MP?
F) Get your mum, dad, spouse, partner, sister, brother, gran or neighbour to call for you saying you can no longer speak?
These are all actual, real, every day occurrences to recruitment consultants across the globe. Speaking as someone who has been on every side of the ‘recruitment’ fence as an IT contractor, and Infrastructure Engineer looking for a permanent role, a recruiting IT Team Leader and a recruitment consultant myself, I only know too well, that there are some unfavourable characters out there in the world of recruitment. However, for the majority, they take the approach of having two clients, the hiring manager, who are trying to recruit the right person with the right skills and experience to perform the job they are trying to fill and you…the job seeker.
If you decide you do not want the job, don’t worry about it, be honest and tell your consultant you no longer want the job. It’s your career, your future, we will help the company source someone else and often they will have a 2nd choice anyway and we will then be able to move the process on quickly, assisting them to recruit the right person. We can then help you in your continued search, to secure the right job that you are 100% happy with, or of course, to wish you good luck in your new role!
Don’t feel bad for turning the job down, be honest!
