<p>My son is looking for a job in his field for one year. He plans to apply to graduate school this Fall and then attend school in Fall 2012.</p>
<p>He has interviewed for a job he really wants, but they asked him during the interview if he would commit to staying for two years. He said yes, but now he’s not sure what to do if he’s offered the job, since he doesn’t plan to stay more than one year.</p>
<p>If he’s offered the job, should he tell them his real plans and see what they say? Not tell them anything and take the job? Other choices?</p>
<p>I’ve told him he should take the job and not say anything. In my experience, nothing ever happens according to plan, so he should just take the good job if it’s offered to him.</p>
<p>Will the company commit to keeping him for two years (or pay severance up to the two years if they lay him off before then)?</p>
<p>Also, would going to graduate school after one year versus two years make much of a difference to him? Working for two years instead of one between bachelor’s degree and graduate school could have advantages (e.g. save more money and/or pay off student loans, more and better work experience, etc.).</p>
<p>Oh boy. These nice young people with scruples! [ I say that in a sympathetic way, as I’m going through a somewhat similar situation with DS]
One problem he may not have thought of was who is he going to ask for LOR’s for grad school? Not his employer I take it? Is there any down side to staying on the job for 2 years? Are there any grad schools what would look down on someone having 2 years worth of work experience, and a great LOR, instead of only one year?. I know of none.</p>
<p>It sounds like your son maybe going back to school because lack of job. If this is the job he has been looking for, he may delay going back to school for a year or two. </p>
<p>Most of us start a job with the intention of working there for many years, but it doesn’t always work out. Same goes for employers. </p>
<p>I think it’s fine for your son to take the job, then figure out how long he wants to stay. If your son was going back to school in 3 to 6 months, it may be more of an issue.</p>
<p>Additional information: He actually graduated a few years ago. So he definitely has experience between his BA and what would be a PhD. He has numerous candidates for his LORs – prior supervisors and some professors from undergrad whom he’s still in touch with.</p>
<p>And I strongly doubt the company will commit to keeping him for two years, or paying him severance if they don’t. Does that suggest that, since they have no obligation, he shouldn’t either?</p>
<p>Why are they asking him to commit to 2 years? That’s somewhat unusual. A woman in our office who has been with us for 4 months just turned in her notice, having taken a job closer to home (she was commuting a hour). People understand, life happens.</p>
<p>Personally, I don’t think asking for a two year commitment is fair unless they will guarantee(in writing) they will keep him for 2 years. That seems pretty one-sided on their part. I would take the job and not say anything.</p>
<p>This is what I was wondering too. It has to go both ways. For him, it should be a contract. For them, it should be some kind of incentivizing bonus if he stays two years.<br>
It’s not clear the offer would be contingent on staying two years, it’s merely an interview question at this point. </p>
<p>No one knows what the future holds. Not for the company or for your son (who might end up hating the place regardless of his intentions now, or end up wanting to stay longer than he currently thinks he will).</p>
<p>Hmm, I’d say that a strong letter LOR from a CURRENT supervisor is going to have a LOT more “weight” with grad school programs than ones from a professors he had 3-5 years ago or from prior work supervisors [ given he works for at this new job at least a year or two] . Applying to grad school and NOT having a LOR from his most recent employer is not going to help him. So if the company REALLY wants him to commit to 2 years, he should take that request seriously and live up to it, if at all possible.</p>
<p>In this business climate, with jobs so scarce and so many looking for work, I’d be really surprised if a company offers a contract to a new hire , or severance pay to a relatively recent college graduate, unless they are being hired for a corporate management position. New hires are mostly “at will” employees, and are not in the drivers seat to make demands.</p>
<p>I’ve been let down by several employers, so I don’t see any problem with your son offering up the 2 years and then changing his mind down the road. The business world today is not what it used to be. There simply isn’t a whole lot of loyalty out there in any direction.</p>
<p>^I think it depends upon what kind of grad school. We never pay attention to employers letters (unless I suppose they were negative but we don’t get those…but then I’m referring to an academic track so we are looking almost entirely for particular academic strengths for a PhD program, not an terminal Masters that is gearing students to go back into the workforce). </p>
<p>So maybe its useful to him to have this employer’s letter, but either way I’d also encourage him to stay in close touch with his former profs in the next few years as well. Drop in, keep them updated on where he’s at, maybe even ask for letters from them now to help with his job search (if he hasnt already…then they’ll have those to assist their memory when he goes back to get letters for grad school from them).</p>
<p>Just had a thought…I wonder if the reason they are asking for a 2 year commitment is that they’ve had a lot of turnover. That could be a big red flag in this economy where people are reluctant to leave jobs.</p>
<p>There’s a difference between taking a two-year job and changing your mind a year later, and taking a two-year job, intending from the outset to stay for one year. JMHO</p>
<p>OP, you said that this was a job in his field, and apparently the employer feels strongly about this issue. People in the same field talk to each other. Is there a possibility that if your son takes the job and then breaks the commitment, it could come back to haunt him later?</p>
<p>It may depend on the job. My d. was asked for a 2 year commitment for the job she holds, but it is a dream job for her career goals, and the 2 year stint is essentially a direct stepping stone to a top graduate program. They hire top students a year or so out of college, and then every one of them goes on to a prestigious funded grad program – and from what I know of the job, 2 years is about right for the learning/experience that goes with it. I think that the employer wants continuity – there is a huge amount of responsibility that goes with the job, and no time really for training. The new hires hit the ground running and rely on the ones who have a year in to guide them.</p>
<p>I’d add that legally there is no way the employer can enforce that – your son can take the job and quit after a year. But if they want a 2 year commitment, he should go in with the mindset that he will stay there 2 years if the work environment lives up to expectations. I think there’s really an expectation and a duty of good faith on both sides of the equation. One more year before grad school won’t ruin your son’s life, if the job is worth having.</p>
Why’d he say ‘yes’ if he knew he was planning to leave in a year? If it went down as simply as this then I’d say your S was unethical and dishonest on this point. And I think that statement says what he should do if he’s offered the job - i.e. he should be straight up on this point to them and they can decide if it changes their position on the offer. </p>
<p>While most employment nowadays is ‘at will’ where the company can legally let the person go at any time without even having to state a reason and the employee can leave at any time as well, ‘both’ sides should be honest and ethical on this point. Turn it around - how would your S like it if he was looking for a more permanent position and was offered a job by a company who implied it’d be a long term type of postion, so your S turned down his other good offers, then he was let go in a year and then found out that it was planned to let him go after a year all along?</p>
<p>If he continues to be dishonest with them on this point, takes the job, and then leaves in a year he’s liable to burn some bridges he might want to cross in the future plus it’s just not the ‘right thing to do’ to the manager who hired him, the group he’d work with, the company, and the other candidates for the position who might be rejected in favor of your S. In a lot of positions there’s a fair amount of training and coming up to speed that happens in the beginning. This has quite a cost for the company and a certain hit on the group and the manager who hired him in good faith. </p>
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I think your S’s ethical instincts are kicking in here - i.e. the angel whispering in his ear. I think he should listen to it and not accept this job if offered without clearing up this point with them. If after clearing up the point the offer still stands then your S can take it and leave after a year with his ethics intact. If the offer is rescinded as a result then it’s a lesson learned by your S and the impact to the company is next to zero and your S’s ethics are still intact.</p>
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I think the answer is obvious and you know it or you wouldn’t have posted it here and wouldn’t have created that title - he should do the right thing which in the long run ‘is’ looking out for number one which is measured on more factors than a one year salary.</p>
<p>Are you sure he interpreted the question correctly? At the company where I work, we ask for 2 year commitments but generally it only applies to internal movement - that is, you would not be available to move to another position within the company before that time period expires. It doesn’t apply if you are leaving the company.</p>
<p>^Yes.
At my employment, you must stay in one position within the company for 1 year before applying for a transfer. Maybe that’s what the recruiter meant?</p>
<p>No, that’s not what the recruiter meant. This is a job that requires some training to get up to speed. It’s also a job that lots of recently minted BAs take as a stepping stone to grad school. </p>
<p>Given that DS has already worked for several years, he does not want to delay another year before going back to school. He applied for grad school two years ago and did not have the success he hoped for. So the plan this time round is to be more targeted in where he applies (i.e., he’s focused more on schools and professors that are a match for his interests and experience) as well as broader in the types of programs to apply to.</p>
<p>He should just take the job. He also has no idea where or IF he will really be going to grad school. I know he wants to do so, and will do a more targeted application this time…but you never know. Also, he might actually LIKE this job…and decide to stay.</p>
<p>Character is developed by the everyday decisions we make when faced with right and wrong choices. This includes individuals and companies. It does not appear that good character is of value in todays business world.</p>
<p>My family is big on ethics, morals and character. We believe that in the end that is all you have. Your word is golden. It is a personal choice.</p>
<p>It is becomming increasingly difficult to be passed over by those that lie and scheme and become very successful.</p>
<p>veryhappy said: “No, that’s not what the recruiter meant. This is a job that requires some training to get up to speed. It’s also a job that lots of recently minted BAs take as a stepping stone to grad school.”</p>
<p>Then, yes, your son would be unethical to accept the job unless he is willing to fulfill his promise. The recruiter is trusting him to make the company’s investment of time and resources worthwhile. The recruiter has made him well aware of the fact that the company has been burned and is trusting him not to be like all of the others who have let them down.</p>
<p>If we do not have our integrity, what do we have?
If he wants the job, then postponing grad school for one more year would not be all that big a deal, and he’d have the two years of experience. And who knows, there might be an educational benefit from the company if he sticks it out and shows loyalty.</p>