I don’t know which job he should take. I don’t see it as a red flag not to have an in person interview. I see it as a plus for the applicant. In 2018, I think it’s borderline ridiculous, some companies expect you to fly across the country and take a day or two off work, assuming you’re already employed, for a thirty minute interview which could have occurred over Skype. It’s even worse if the company won’t pay travel expenses.
When a candidate offers to go to the site and is turned down for an on-site visit, that would concern me and raise some alarm bells. Our S has interviews on his campus as well as near his potential job site before he was hired.
His job offers included relocation expenses and time for him to move and get settled before he started working. Not getting relocation expenses is ONE factor, as are the other things noted by OP. Sounds like OP’s offspring made a careful choice.
“Offer B requires Immediate (1 week or less) relocation but no assistance in relocation expenses and no company car, or assistance in purchasing/leasing a vehicle, although a car will be necessary”.
What kind of company requires an immediate relocation but offers no relo package in the job offer? Sounds like B is a real lowball type of company. Your son made the right choice.
The in-person thing didn’t bother me as much as the other red flags. Hiring practices feel all over the place these days…sorta like college admissions in some regard.
@cnp55 wrote “He just accepted Job A – and they bumped the base a bit (7% actually).”
Congrats. Job B’s recruitment and hiring practices seemed very sketchy
Did he tell them he was declining an offer with a higher base or did they just bump his spontaneously?
It would be helpful to know the industry.
As unusual as the job offer in City B sounds, it is very similar to many offers that were extended by two different prestigious, major international firms in three different locations to several folks that I know with a few years experience. No relocation costs. The pay varied from the high 90s to low 100s with small end of year bonuses. And these offers are to folks with multiple degrees & professional licenses. The three cities are all very high cost of living locations in the US.
As for those phone interviews… There are many who advise for legal reasons to do the screening this way (with the same questions being asked of everyone ). Makes it harder to discriminate on basis of race, age, looks, etc. From a practical perspective, it can focus an employer on what is really important to the position rather than “I liked him!”
I always want to meet face to face (as employee or employer) before making a commitment but can say that a good phone interview can save everyone a lot of time!
Phone interviews also save time for the applicant, even in the same city (in NYC, it can take over an hour to get from one end of Manhattan to the other). If they don’t make the initial cut, they haven’t wasted half a day of vacation/non-paid time or personal time.
Re: #46
Seems like those employers have a buyer’s market where numerous employees desire to work there and are willing to put up with no relocation funding and other employee-unfriendly policies.
This may or may not be true for company B in this case, although it seems to be acting like it believes it to be the case.
@ucbalumnus : You are correct re: my post #46, but there are no “other employee-unfriendly policies”. In fact, the benefits are excellent as is the mentoring & ability to exit to much higher paying positions with client companies. Additionally, lateral moves are not uncommon & freedom to transfer worldwide is open.
Hmm… both my s’s were given relo cost when they moved for job. Only one was a well known company. One was big, but not hugely well known. One was a start up/expanding, but still did help with cross country relo.
I had a government job and didn’t get relo, although almost everyone else did. It was just the way they put in the job order and I got the short end of it. Some agencies pay relo, most do not.
My daughter just started her first job for a big engineering company. She did not get relo costs but did get a signing bonus. She will not get the signing bonus until she’s completed her first full month of employment, so Aug 31. She’s already had to move in, buy a car, and pay all those costs herself. The bonus will not cover her costs at all. Also, she had to sign several papers agreeing to repay the bonus if she leaves before one year.
If companies dont have to pay relo or bonuses to be competitive, some won’t.
Sometimes it’s not the company; sometimes it’s the level of the job. Some places won’t pay relo for entry-level employees but will for mid- or senior management.
It may also be partly how much they want to entice a particular employee. If you are their top choice, they may try harder and offer what they can to make the offer as attractive as possible, like merit aid for Us.
Seems your S dodged a bullet in choosing A, honestly. Good luck to him, i hope you will let us know how it works out!
@OHMomof2: We don’t know that. It would be helpful to know the industry & a little bit more specifics.
No, we don’t know that @Publisher . Hence my use of the word “seems”.
Decision is made so all we can do is hope for the best for OP’s S.
Thank you for all the good wishes. We are all hoping for the best! He did do a little salary negotiation, at first they said no, he accepted the job, and they came back a little higher! He has chatted with many classmates and contacts in the industry. They consider the company he is going with to be one of the up-and-comers in this newish segment of the industry. (Not going to get more specific than that … sorry but I’d answer a PM)