I have a job. Another opportunity comes?

laptop

As you may know, I was unemployed for a long time after graduation.

A friend gave a referral which I ended up getting a job. Worked for a few months so far.

Now, "ANOTHERr" friend told me that there is an opportunity at his company. No job offer. No interview yet. He told me not to worry and let him know. I guess he will hook me up. And there is a very high chance of getting hired because my friend got promoted and i will take over his position. The things he told me was very interesting and alot better.

The only thing now is that if i leave my current position, i feel bad because it might looks bad on my friend because he gave me that referral.

What do you think? Go for the better position or stick with what i'm doing now.

phantasm

That's the way it is. Same thing when you get married. As a single guy no woman wants anything to do with you. But once you get married, they all want something to do with you. Quite scary trend I might add. lol.

As for your question, how long have you been with your current employer? Are you under a contract? If so what happens if you break the contract? You have to look at it from all sides, no matter what, a friend referred you for either position. If it were me and depending on the difference in job duties and where I was taking my career, I would decide accordingly.

earweed

How do you like the job you have now? You may not like the new job as much.
There is also going to be that "spot" on your resume where you job-hopped. I think that while your concerns for your friend who referred you are admirable those should be the least of your worries.
Unless you are just miserable where you are or the other job is just an opportunity you can't pass up then I'd stay where I am. A lot depends on what your present job and the new opportunity are and if changing jobs would help your career in the long run.

laptop

phantasm wrote: »

That's the way it is. Same thing when you get married. As a single guy no woman wants anything to do with you. But once you get married, they all want something to do with you. Quite scary trend I might add. lol.

As for your question, how long have you been with your current employer? Are you under a contract? If so what happens if you break the contract? You have to look at it from all sides, no matter what, a friend referred you for either position. If it were me and depending on the difference in job duties and where I was taking my career, I would decide accordingly.

good points. i'm not locked into a contract. i cannot work for a competitor and i must give 2 weeks notice which is the standard procedure these days. thats all. been with current employer for about a month or so. they have been treating me well...there might be potential growth within the organization. but, these skills are slightly harder to transfer because the things i learn is proprietary (custom built). therefore, if i work here for 2+ years and find jobs elsewhere....then i'm back to square one (with zero knowledge). Since its a family owned business which is private, the salary is usually lower than large public organization.

earweed wrote: »

How do you like the job you have now? You may not like the new job as much.
There is also going to be that "spot" on your resume where you job-hopped. I think that while your concerns for your friend who referred you are admirable those should be the least of your worries.
Unless you are just miserable where you are or the other job is just an opportunity you can't pass up then I'd stay where I am. A lot depends on what your present job and the new opportunity are and if changing jobs would help your career in the long run.

The current job i have now is something i don't see myself doing. however, there might be growth opportunities within the company as this was mentioned by HR and coworkers (may take about 2 years). I worked at different places before but the work environment doesn't make me feel comfortable. Salary is low. Whereas my "OTHER" friend told me that salary is way higher than what i earn right now.

powerfool

Here is something to keep in mind throughout your career and each new job you take. Your new salary is almost always based on your old salary. If you get a raise at your existing employer it will be a percentage increase, so it is directly based off of your old salary. If you are offered a new job, they may ask for your salary history (something that I am vehemently opposed to as they aren't going to give you a history of what they have paid for that position) which means they would base their offer off of that. Even if you aren't truthful when answering your salary history, your personal tolerance to push your salary will be based on what you already make (e.g. if you are making $50k, you will likely look for something better but not something that is unrealistic).

So, with that being said, you should always be aggressive with your efforts to increase your salary. This means changing jobs to improve your salary. This means furthering your education. This means getting certifications. This means increasing your work responsibilities. This means increasing the value you provide for your employer. I am not saying to just hop jobs all day, but I certainly do mean that you shouldn't stay at one employer for too long. Early in your career it may be normal to only be there for a year, but I would try to temper that with a 2-3 year cycle. In addition, I don't think anyone would fault you if after you take a job, you leave in short order for another job assuming that you stay at the new job for a decent amount of time; just explain that it didn't work out for whatever reasonable motive you could have... some jobs just don't work out.

That being said, when you make a move in your career, it needs to be calculated. You need to take into consideration your benefits (tuition reimbursement, vacation days, flexibility, insurance and such), your salary, your opportunity to grow (specifically to skills and responsibilities), and your opportunity to advance. In addition, if you are taking jobs that are essentially lateral moves (Network Admin to Network Admin), don't take too many of those without getting a title advancement, it will eventually stifle your ability to get promoted; work with your employer to adjust your title to something more suitable (Network Admin to Network Engineer to Senior Network Engineer, etc.).

My view: do everything within your control that is legal and ethical to increase your earning opportunity. You are trading your time (the most finite resource that you possess) for money; get as much as you can get. At some point in your life, the time will seem infinitely more valuable and you will need something to show for your own well-being and sanity and you will need some money put back or a hefty salary with a flexible schedule in order to use your time more to your liking.

Lastly, seek opportunities to give yourself good experiences. Work with people that you enjoy. Work for a company that gives you a sense of pride. Take advantage of travel opportunities and work in mini-vacations. Give yourself personal goals and work to meet them (specific special vacations, a home, a vehicle, payoff debt).

Life is a tough balancing act and your work plays one of the most significant roles in that. I wish you well in your endeavors.

mikedisd2

powerfool wrote: »

If you are offered a new job, they may ask for your salary history (something that I am vehemently opposed to as they aren't going to give you a history of what they have paid for that position) which means they would base their offer off of that. Even if you aren't truthful when answering your salary history, your personal tolerance to push your salary will be based on what you already make (e.g. if you are making $50k, you will likely look for something better but not something that is unrealistic).

I don't fall for this anymore. I'm grossly underpaid right now and I refuse to remain like that. When recruiters ask, I add about $13k to my salary, which is where it should at least be.

Bl8ckr0uter

phantasm wrote: »

That's the way it is. Same thing when you get married. As a single guy no woman wants anything to do with you. But once you get married, they all want something to do with you. Quite scary trend I might add. lol.

+1 this is so true (both the analogy and the actual situation). I've had someone call my work phone at my current place and offer me a job because of my "background" and experience. I've also had a few women offer me a good time on the spot. I guess women want what they can't a have, and employers are the same way.

veritas_libertas

mikedisd2 wrote: »

I don't fall for this anymore. I'm grossly underpaid right now and I refuse to remain like that. When recruiters ask, I add about $13k to my salary, which is where it should at least be.

I wouldn't lie about how much you make. It will probably at some point come back to haunt you.

@Powerfool: Thanks for some great advice!

jahsoul

I'm in this same situation. I just got into the IT field 3 months ago working help desk . I got promoted to a Level 2 Tech and now just got put up for assitant pit boss. But I had an interview for a network support tech job last week at a Cisco partner. I have company loyalty but if they offer, I'm taking. I have to look at what's good for my career progression and my family. I'm not being cutthroat about it but I have learned in life that windows of opportunities aren't guranteed to stay open. Matter of fact, they are called windows for a reason. They stay shut most of time.

earweed

jahsoul wrote: »

I'm in this same situation. I just got into the IT field 3 months ago working help desk . I got promoted to a Level 2 Tech and now just got put up for assitant pit boss. But I had an interview for a network support tech job last week at a Cisco partner. I have company loyalty but if they offer, I'm taking. I have to look at what's good for my career progression and my family. I'm not being cutthroat about it but I have learned in life that windows of opportunities aren't guranteed to stay open. Matter of fact, they are called windows for a reason. They stay shut most of time.

Don't blame you a bit. Since your goals are to be in networks it would be a good career move.

BradleyHU

since you're doin proprietary support, i'm assuming the job your other friend is telling you about is more broad like desktop support, right? if so, and if thats wat u want to do, then by all means go ahead & go for it. do wat you think is best for you career. i've done proprietary support, it sucks IMO. some skills from there can transfer to desktop support, like the soft skills, but its not much more than that. but like i said, if you wanna do desktop support, go for it, cuz who knows what might happen in the future if you turn that down, might take you a while to get another opportunity. i know it took me a while. I turned down a chance to work at this fashion company doin desktop support, since i had just started at this Info Services company doing proprietary tech support. I ended up staying there for almost 2 years. after my first year there, i started looking for a dst position, and i had a bunch of interviews, but i didnt land one until about 8 months after i had been interviewing & applying to jobs. i feel as if had i decided to not turned down the initial opportunity, i would be further ahead in my career right now.