Need some career advice

I have recently come across a difficult employment scenario that I am having trouble dealing with regarding my current situation of employment and future career.

So a little background, I have recently been browsing around for employment opportunities and last Friday had an in person interview at a company where I was told that I was one of two candidates they were considering so basically a 50/50 chance to get hired. They have informed me that they will be making a decision one way or another early next week.

Also, I have 2 possibly 3 other companies that I have been in contact with and that are interested in pursuing interviews in the next 2 - 3 weeks. One of the potential employers/positions from what I know at this point would basically be what I would envision as my dream job, so I don't think I can pass up on at least trying for it.

Now, the twist is, I don't have any vacation time or any ability to take time from work aside from using sick days without telling my current employer of the situation that I am in. Do I bite the bullet and inform my current employer that I am going to be leaving the company or not? The company has been really cool up to this point but I'm not sure what would happen if I informed them I was leaving because I don't want to get fired since none of these other leads are 100% done deals for sure yet.

tldr; having trouble deciding if I should tell my employer I am planning on leaving the company.

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Comments

Mrock4

Me, personally, I'd wait to say something till I had something lined up for sure. It would suck to end up not getting any of those positions, and then your job is now expecting you to leave.

I'd still give them a fair notice, though..but be sure to cover your bases first.

jmreicha

Mrock4 wrote: »

Me, personally, I'd wait to say something till I had something lined up for sure. It would suck to end up not getting any of those positions, and then your job is now expecting you to leave.

I'd still give them a fair notice, though..but be sure to cover your bases first.

That's an excellent point. I think I will sit tight until I hear back from the 50/50 to see what their decision is before I make any other moves. Hypothetically, if I get an offer from them then it could at least make telling my current employer my position a little bit easier.

N2IT

Mrock4 wrote: »

Me, personally, I'd wait to say something till I had something lined up for sure. It would suck to end up not getting any of those positions, and then your job is now expecting you to leave.

I'd still give them a fair notice, though..but be sure to cover your bases first.

I agree with this, but this is never clear cut unfortunately.

My example is a little different, but I wanted to show both sides. I was going to play the same hand but for some reason I went on to tell my boss I would be leaving. (I really don't know why). He mentioned that just because I was leaving the state didn't mean I would have to quit, I would just have to be realigned/reassigned. One thing led to another and "if" we land this Windows 7 project I will be the project manager for this project. If I didn't go to him early this might not have happen. Again it's "if", but his willingness to look out for me and help me is related to me being completely honest with him.

Just something to think about, but each situation is unique and should be treated as such.

Mrock4

Well, to build off what you said, N2IT- if he waits to tell his employer..his employer could say "hey, why not stay? we have this great position for you", then he now has two jobs to choose between. Just a thought.

I felt a little bad, but at one point I had 3-4 offer letters in hand, and was telling each one of them "I'll get back to you soon..", because I wanted to make sure I made the best choice for me and my family. I'm glad I did, because LITERALLY at the last second, my best offer came in (the job I ultimately accepted)

N2IT

Mrock4 wrote: »

Well, to build off what you said, N2IT- if he waits to tell his employer..his employer could say "hey, why not stay? we have this great position for you", then he now has two jobs to choose between. Just a thought.

I felt a little bad, but at one point I had 3-4 offer letters in hand, and was telling each one of them "I'll get back to you soon..", because I wanted to make sure I made the best choice for me and my family. I'm glad I did, because LITERALLY at the last second, my best offer came in (the job I ultimately accepted)

I wouldn't feel bad, you voiced your opinion just like anyone else would. You did it because you felt it was right and in some situations you would be right. I would be inclined to say MOST of the time you would be right. My first instinct was just that. Give them the customary 2 weeks and end quietly.

The only advice I would say is don't make a decision based off of fear or any emotion. Use as much fact and logic as you can. This should put you in the best decision to make the best choice.

jmreicha

It seems to me that both of you are suggesting that telling the company that I'm currently at would be the best (most logical) thing to do and just assume that they would be understanding of my position?

This employer has been totally cool to me about hours, setting realistic goals, etc. so I sort of feel like I should let them know what my plans are sooner than later.

Everyone

Depends on your relationship with your boss.

At one job I was leaving a few years ago, I had a good relationship with my boss. I told her I was going to start looking for a new job, and she was very supportive, even offered to be a reference.

The last job I left, I was really uncertain, and afraid I'd be let go if anyone knew I was looking around, so I kept it quiet until I had accepted an offer.

SamLea27

Could always try to schedule interviews during lunch hours or after work, then "call in sick" if you had to....just a thought

Akaricloud

Yeah, this really depends on your boss.

I was in a very similar position, told my boss and he was very supportive. He told me to take as much time off as I needed, to feel free to do phone interviews while on the job and use him as a reference.

jmreicha

Yeah those are both good points, thanks. Let's say hypothetically that I didn't tell my boss about my situation. What the correct course of action be in that case? I have used up all of my paid time off/vacation etc. already so I would have to find a way around that.

What are thoughts on the interviewing approach to take if I don't tell my boss what is going on?

Akaricloud

jmreicha wrote: »

Yeah those are both good points, thanks. Let's say hypothetically that I didn't tell my boss about my situation. What the correct course of action be in that case? I have used up all of my paid time off/vacation etc. already so I would have to find a way around that.

What are thoughts on the interviewing approach to take if I don't tell my boss what is going on?

I'd either try to get the companies that you're applying at to do an interview at a different time, or tell your current company that you have a Dr's appointment and need to leave early/come in late.

SamLea27

SamLea27 wrote: »

Could always try to schedule interviews during lunch hours or after work, then "call in sick" if you had to....just a thought

I will say it again

jmreicha

SamLea27 wrote: »

Could always try to schedule interviews during lunch hours or after work, then "call in sick" if you had to....just a thought

Yeah I will definitely keep those suggestions in mind. Some of these jobs though are located 5 hours away so I can't really get by with the "take an afternoon" or "take a lunch" approaches.

I guess if it come down to it, I will take unpaid time off but just feel weird about it so I'm thinking it may just be best to tell my boss.