Possibly going back to old job - advice needed

Hi guys,

So I worked at this job as a contractor for a year and a half in 2008-20010. Although my contract kept getting extended the company was unable to hire me as a permanent worker for what they said were financial reasons. I left them on good terms and they understood that I was looking for something more permanent. I really liked it there and have had a great relationship with a person who is now the supervisor of the department.

Since leaving them I've been working at my new job in a more managerial role, working on many new projects and constantly learning new things. The downside at my new job is that there's no salary raise and no promotional opportunities available as I see it. My newest project is to configure Configuration Manager to be able to deploy our PC images over the network as well as to do some other stuff. They bought me a server for this purpose and are paying for a week long training which starts on Monday.

This week the supervisor from my old job contacted me with an offer to come back as a permanent employee. I told him that I'm concerned leaving my current position now because my job invested so much in me (training, server, software) and I was indecisive. He said to apply anyway and after asking me how much I'm making said that I could make somewhere in the high 50s (almost 15K more that I'm making right now). After submitting my resume yesterday, today I received a call from HR scheduling an interview with him when my (Configuration Manager) training is over. HR person said the salary for position is 45-50K.

I just wanted to ask everyone what do you guys think I should do and what would you do in my situation? I will be letting down my current supervisor/coworkers who are putting my through training and have high expectations of me if I just leave them now. At the same time I've already agreed to have an interview after I come back from the training because the money incentive seemed nice. Any suggestions?

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Comments

J_86

This is a prime reason why you should never burn bridges when you leave one position for another.

Sounds like a good opportunity if you really liked working there before. Will your current job be upset? Maybe, just be honest with them. Sometime you have to make difficult decision and have difficult conversations, but enjoying where you work is pretty important.

loss4words

Yea, I'm sure they'll be really upset with me if I just up and leave unexpectedly after investing so much in me. I would definitely be burning bridges at my current position. I would enjoy working in either place, but I'm indecisive if I should leave or not.

ajs1976

loss4words wrote: »

. . . downside at my new job is that there's no salary raise and no promotional opportunities available as I see it.

should be an easy decision.

AwesomeGarrett

Plus, they haven't invested that much when you consider your current pay rate.

It does sound like you may like the people you work with which is understandable.

loss4words

Thanks guys for the replies, I really appreciate it. I understand that I should be thinking about myself first, but I do like the people I work with and don't want to let them down too much... What kind of concerns me is that he said he could get me a salary in high 50's while the hiring HR manager said the salary for this position is 45-50K.

AwesomeGarrett

I'd suggest stick to the salary that you want. Employers that really want your skills will work with you.

Plantwiz

The simple fact that you appreciate the current employer investing in YOU (training and such) tells a lot about YOU. (in a good way)

Couple flags (to me) and maybe it simply is how you typed it (not how you meant it).
- old boss offers you a position says you can earn high 50s
- HR person states 45-50K

So the difficult question...are you chasing the money? Or do you honestly enjoy what you are doing and see a way for yourself to grow over the next several years with them?

Why did the company who had you as a contract worker now decide they can bring the work in-house? How long are they willing to maintain that position? Are you ready for a company who is creating a position and deal with the bumps and bruises that come with making the newly created position? (None of these questions are necessarily good or bad, but honest questions IMO that should be asked...new positions are fun and can be very troublesome when upper management starts looking at the bottom line).

To me, without knowing more than what you typed...I would likely stay put. This current company pays for training and it doesn't sound like they stop paying, they WANT smart employees. Second, when you wanted the first company, they didn't want you. You have kept a great relationship open and SHOULD continue to do so, but I would respectfully pass at this time.

Now, you may have a variety of 'other' reasons one job is better than the other and therefore the decision is yours to make. I appreciate those who appreciate me. The first company may not have had the means to appreciate you initially, but does that mean you should jump back to them? I'd let someone else take the job, stay where I am, and in a few years when that other person doesn't work out...consider the offer at that time.

my 5 cents

loss4words

Hi Plantwiz,

Thank you for your reply. Yep, you read correctly..the old boss offered more than the HR person during a phone interview. It does concern me, but I haven't asked any questions regarding compensation to either person.

I think that when the old boss offered me such a big increase in salary that's what really made me decide to apply and not the job itself although I'm sure I'll have a good time doing the actual work. Now I feel like he only said that to make me apply and not sure if he can follow up on that promise. He was the one who originally trained me and liked my work ethic when I was working with him. So to answer the question, I think I was chasing the money because it was so much more than what I'm used to now and I don't see another opportunity like that in a near future.

Since I left them there has been a lot of internal changes in management. I'm not sure how much has changed and how reliable the job will be but I think my old boss will do anything he can to keep me onboard in case something happens. My current job though is very stable and I don't have to worry about being let go anytime soon. I'm assuming someone must have left or the amount of work increased and they need an additional person. He said he needed me back so I'm thinking there's a lot of work.

In any case, what you said about staying put makes a lot of sense to me. He probably won't be happy that I decided not to go back to work with him but I think he'll understand.

Plantwiz

I do agree it is a very difficult decision, however, loyalty pays off (in my experience).

I understand how it is when relationships are made and both options have good people involved. Your pay today may not be 'as much' as you would like, but I suppose the option is to negotiate for more pay at some point and tell them you will pay out-of-pocket for all your training? Though, for me, it is 'easier' to know that it is covered and that I feel more obligated to pursue the training then if I have to pay out of pocket.

The change of management has me concerned now too. I have worked places like this early in my career...glad I did for the experience, but twice it was a mess, so I do not recommend that path.

thenjduke

@loss4words you have a very careful decision to make here. I would ask a few questions of yourself.
1. Which company do you like working for? The change in management is the company still run the same and did you like the old management? You may not like the new management and their work ethics.
2. I am proud to hear you are dedicated to your current employer and glad to hear you feel they will be upset about investing money in you. Maybe this might be a chance to explain to your current employer about what has aspired and negotiate your current salary. You would be really surprised what may transpire from this. I would just explain straight up the situation.
3. Is the commute easier to your current job then the other job?
4. Health benefits which one is better and other perks like training and so on?

Alot of questions to answer in yourself. Write down your questions on paper and then answer them for both positions. Once the cons vs pros come together from this you will know your answer. I will say personally from what I have read on your response you do not want to leave your current employer.

loss4words

Thank you, everyone. I decided to mention my concerns to one of my current supervisors this morning. I was very surprised to see how understanding she was about my situation, didn't seem upset and said that I will not be burning bridges if I decided to leave. She said I should still go through the training, then go to the interview and then decide for myself where I will be happier. I was really surprised when she said that I should be thinking about myself first and the department second. The only thing she asked is to give them a few weeks notice if I did decide to leave.

loss4words

Thanks thenjduke.

1. I like both companies and people that work there. I'm not sure but maybe this is something I should ask about on the interview regarding what has changed in recent years while I was away.
2. I mentioned my situation to one of my supervisors this morning. While she was very understanding the question of possibly increasing my salary at my current position didn't come up.
3/4. Commute and health benefits are about the same, but there are more learning opportunities with my current employer.

dspielman

If the old company actually offers you the job talk to your current position about the opportunity you've been offered. Tell them you like working here and you guys have been so great etc... but you were offered a position that paid 15k more and there is room for growth. Mention how you dont see much room for growth with the current position. See how they respond, that should make it easier to make the decision.

Edit: Just read you mentioned it already to someone. I think it is a bit premature to bring it up until you've officially been offered the job however it sounds like you got a positive response. In the future, I would hold off from doing that sort of thing until it is set in stone.

kriscamaro68

Your current supervisor is right. Always look out for number 1 when it comes to your livelihood. Don't think for a second that if your company could find a way to automate your position or find someone with the same skillset but lower pay that they wouldn't fire you. Business is business in my opinion. You can always have great managers and bosses but just because they treat you good does not reflect how things will go down when layoffs come around. I saw it just recently at my job actually. The company I work for needed money for some upcoming projects and the quickest way to get that money was to layoff 23 people. One of our very good helpdesk guys was laid off. Didn't matter that he knew more than the rest of the helpdesk or that he was easy to work with what mattered was where the money was going to come from. I have seen this all too often.

I think you should always take pride in your work and have a very good work ethic but, I would not put my loyalty into a company cause in the end, the company exists to make money and had no loyalty to you. If that money needs to come from laying people off everyone is on the chopping block. You just have to hope that your work ethic is good enough to maybe have someone fight for you.

I would say weigh your options. Look at all the chips on the table. More money isn't always better. If you will touch more tech with your current company then it may be worth staying there as you will gain more experience. Also if they will pay for training but your old company won't that is also something to consider as part of your salary at your current company. Which has better benefits? Job stability is always a plus as well. Just look at everything but in the end make the decision that will have the best outcome for you not them. In the end the company is not a person that has loyalty its just a entity that makes money and the company will have no problem dropping anyone in a heartbeat.

TheProf

I would say be careful with how you make your decision. Everyone wants to make a high salary, it's one of the reason why we make the jump another company.

However, sometimes the experience you get at a lower paying job, could ultimate be a much better investment down the line then a higher paying job with less projects and responsibilities. This is the factor I always take into consideration when switching jobs. If you're good at what you do, you'll eventually earn a lot of money, as the positions that pay the high salaries require good experience and skillet, something you get from doing projects that make you learn new stuff.

loss4words

Thank you everyone for the replies and sorry that I haven't posted an update for a while. I had the interview and I thought it went well. It's been couple of weeks now and I haven't heard back from them. Maybe they changed their mind, I don't know. In any case, I decided to stay at my current position for another year or so and move on to bigger things next year. I seem to be stuck in the helpdesk/desktop support role now and would really like to move up to become a Systems Administrator. I have made a different thread about it, but hopefully you guys could suggest me some things I need to concentrate on to achieve my goal. Thanks again for all the help, I really appreciate!! You guys are awesome!