Accepted job offer but have been offered another one.

So a couple week ago, after some negotiating, I accepted a job offer for network administrator position. It is a local network with its own data center and lots of locations. The interview was pretty technical thus I was satisfied knowing that I would be working with individuals around my skill level or beyond . After some probing questions I knew almost exactly what I'll be dealing with on a daily basis.

Fast forward to this past week of the 18th. A Cisco gold partner calls me stating they have a network engineer position at the local conglomerate, a fortune top 10 company with a global network, a job I applied to over a month ago. I read the job description and I'm thinking this might be out of my league. They comeback stating that 90% of the job is routing and switching but they do expect you to run in issues that you know nothing about and deliver in a reasonable amount of time. So, I was like " ok sure, why not?".

The phone screen with the gold partner was a piece of cake. A few things above CCNA knowledge but no big deal. The second interview was with two of the heavy hitters of the actual clients networking team, almost 40 years of experience between them. After a few minutes of getting to know me it turned into a half hour grill session. Nothing above CCNP level but I was nervous and I was unable say somethings as eloquently as I normally do. Truth be told, I forgot the last step in a TCP handshake but somehow was able to dust off proxy ARP.

So after this interview which I did not walkout very confident from, (should have reviewed my basics) I'm thinking "oh well, live and learn". A couple hours go by and I get callback saying that the director of their global network wants to talk to me.

Spoke with the director the next day, he elaborated more on the position asked me a lot of questions, nothing too technical just general technical questions. It was only for about 15 minutes, I felt that it was kind of short but hey the guy is busy I'm sure.

About ten minutes later I get a call back from the recruiter for the Cisco partner stating that everyone was very please and they want me to start as soon as possible. Great right?

Well, although that sounds great, I already accepted the first offer to start on the 2nd of next month. With the upcoming holiday it would probably be the 2nd of next month after all the paperwork cleared and I would have an official offer from offer #2.

Now to the meat and potatoes of the offers.

Offer #1:
Monday through Friday schedule, 8 to 5, no after hours,and no weekends.
Full time employment with good salary and full benefits after 30 day(lots of vacation time).
Local network with lots of locations but I would have to drive out to replace equipment or troubleshoot issues at remote sites.

Offer #2:
Monday through Friday schedule, 8 to 4:30, on-call rotation after hours, and no weekends.
90 day contract to hire with 10% percent higher pay and 25% higher pay than offer #1 after 90 days. Similar benefits but not as much vacation as offer #1.
Global network with tons of locations and would be supporting internal customers at the local campus as well.

So, why post this super long story? Because I want other peoples perspective. I already have an idea of what I want to do but I always like to look at things from different perspectives.

Any advise or ideas? Hey, I'm all ears.

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Comments

lmoworld

Congrats on the job offers. Both jobs sounds appealing. Don't really know what I would do in your situation but hopefully you can come to a conclusion that your satisfied with. Offer 2 would be my pick. Sounds like you would have more responsibility than Offer 1.

Plantwiz

Follow your heart!

You are not the first in this sort of situation and won't be the last. You have to discern for yourself which offer meets your long-term goals and what it is you truly want. With the acceptance of the one position already, you are putting yourself in an awkward position to drop it without every giving it a chance, but you wouldn't be the first person to do this and if handled correctly, it is just a part of business.

RouteMyPacket

Ask yourself, "What do I want to be doing 5-10yrs from now, where do I want to be professionally and technically?"...then choose the job you feel would assist you in getting there.

Do NOT take the job that seems easier, take the one that seems slightly over your head. That is the only way to grow..always push to take things that keep you out of your comfort zone.

So which one is it going to be?

Dieg0M

Even though I am against job hopping, I would go with the second offer. I personally don't like driving around and the first job sounds too much like a technician job more than an engineer job. Offer 2 seems like you would have more space to grow and fast learners like you need space to grow. It seems like in offer 1 you will get bored pretty quickly.

Tremie24

Just go with the one that best fits you, and the one that you feel is going to help take you where you want to be in your career.

instant000

I have a question for you: what is your number? That is, how much would an employer have to pay you, for you to stop looking at other job offers for a couple years? Even though the offers may be more, how much would be enough for you to say that you don't need to look any more?

I ask this question because if you accept this Gold partner, what happens when the next employer comes offering you even more money?

Also, I notice that you're studying for CCIE. Unless the lock-in rules have changed recently, a free agent is more valuable to a company trying to make its partnership levels. This means that it may be more advantageous to NOT be working for a partner when that happens.

I believe that every job has its things that come up, that you're expected to implement or resolve in a reasonable period of time.

Of course, you also need to consider your time. I don't know your current situation. I do know that on-call can sometimes be very demanding. Now, if you've found a job without on-call, you may need to consider how valuable it is to not be on call. Jobs using your skillset are likely to require on-call.

Think this through, carefully.

If it was me, I'd probably choose the global opportunity. It seems that I would grow more in that role, versus taking the local opportunity.

In my current situation, it's just me and my wife. The global opportunity makes more sense at this stage of the career. Now, if I had a few kids, I might choose the job without on-call and with more vacation, in order to maximize time with the family. (I am working the job to support these people I love, and I probably want to spend free time with them, right?)

I'm just trying to give you some things to ponder. Make sure that you know for yourself whether 25% more is worth doing on-call and having less vacation.

Hope this helps.

ptilsen

Offer #2 seems to be substantially better. If the vacation time is a big show-stopper, you can probably even negotiate for it, but certainly the higher pay more than makes up for it. It sucks to have to go back on accepting the first offer, but it seems like an easy choice. What everyone is saying is accurate, but I can't see one compelling reason why you'd truly prefer to first offer.

googol

I am/was in this situation just now and I went with my "offer 2" which I would do in this situation as well. Why you may ask? It brings me to the highest level, not necessarily some rung in between, but I figured it skips the intermediary and goes straight to the excellence. I will be changing up my disciplines some, but all for growing and expanding my knowledge and abilities, while still doing the things I love.

Exactly what the guy earlier mentions..think about where you are now and where you want to be. Thats what helped me. Find out what your passion is, what fuels you.

AwesomeGarrett

Thanks for the great advise. I really wan't going for the money. I actually have been asking for more money after accepting the first offer and most recruiters just go away. With offer #2, at first they weren't so sure if they can come up to the pay that I was asking but after interviewing they didn't have problem.

What really got my attention what that they came all the way down the list to me. I'm sure that I was no where near their to 10. Maybe those stories of so called senior network engineers that can't even describe spanning tree are true, who knows?

What I'm really interested in is the size and complexity of their network. I mean, how often does a network engineering position become available at a company in the fortune top 10 with a global network? and they want to bring you on? Its kind of a too good to be true moment.

This is definitely something that I have been carefully considering over the past several days.

roch_greg

Gr8t advice has been given on either option.

One of the biggest differences between the two offers I see that no one is talking about is #1 is direct-hire, and #2 is contract-to-hire.
#1 you are an permanent employee from day one, #2 you are an permanent employee after 90 days (maybe).

Also you've indicated that you have excepted the 1st offer already. While you certainly don't own them anything per se. They've invested time and resources in just bringing you through the process. In fact they are already planning on you coming aboard. Jerk them off now and they may just remember you for all the wrong reasons for a long time.

Had you not accepted the first offer already then it would be a simple question of are "two birds in the bush worth more than the one you have in your hand".

When offer #2 showed up did you tell them you had already excepted a position already? Did you tell them that at any point during the interviewing phase? Seems to me if they really wanted you more the the 1st offer then they would skip the contract-to-hire thing and make you permanent off the bat.

ande0255

If offer #2 is contract to hire I'd be very hesitant, unless the company is growing, as there are a lot of contractors at my old job (fortune 500 company) that got laid off at the end of their contract dates due to an internal hiring freeze.

Also the advice on a lot of opportunities opening up if you obtain the CCIE, though I think this role would actually help you achieve the CCIE. Decisions, decisions, good luck

WGUGeekGirl

Wow, everyone here has brought up a lot of incredible points I didn't think about. If it were me, I would first pray about it, and then do what you are doing now, seeking others advice and feedback. Totally understand where you are coming from about not being overly concerned about the money aspect, because money isn't everything. It might be a plus, but it's not everything IMHO.

Like roch_greg, the point that stood out for me most was in the sentence "90 day contract to hire with 10% percent higher pay and 25% higher pay than offer #1 after 90 days.". 90 days is a long time to not be sure if you are permanent employee, and a lot can happen in 90 days. With offer #1 permanent employee status has already been decided, with full benefits after only 30 days. Since you already accepted offer #1, you might want to ask yourself "Is offer #2 so fantastic that I'd be willing to go out on a limb with a contract to hire position, and risk leaving a bad taste in the mouth of the company of offer #1 which would give me a permanent employee position from the get go?"

You ultimately would be the one who has to live with the decision day in and day out, so it's up to you how you might reach that conclusion. However, I would be very careful with handling the company of offer #1 if you decide to go with offer #2. Because you never know when you have to recross a bridge, so you definitely don't want to go burning them too quickly. I hope and pray it works out well for you, and keep us posted please!

beads

Did either corporate culture attract you any more than the other? Room for advancement? Are the benefits substantially better at one or another: HSA, 401k, Health, Dental, Vision? These things make up your total rewards as well as salary and PTO. All things to consider besides the first bottom line salary numbers.

- B Eads

petedude

Resurrecting thread as there may be others facing similar decisions soon.

ande0255

1. Obtain coin to flip
2. Assign job to each side of coin
3. Flip coin

The job assigned to side facing upwards after flip is your dream job

JoJoCal19

I myself may be facing this dilemma soon. I've been told by a large company that I have been selected for the job. They are changing the job description and then sending to me to approve before making the offer. But I have a lot of other potential things brewing and I think if offered, they would most likely come in after the first offer.

Mike-Mike

what did he decide? I would have picked #2

Blackout

WGUGeekGirl wrote: »

Wow, everyone here has brought up a lot of incredible points I didn't think about. If it were me, I would first pray about it, and then do what you are doing now, seeking others advice and feedback. Totally understand where you are coming from about not being overly concerned about the money aspect, because money isn't everything. It might be a plus, but it's not everything IMHO.

Like roch_greg, the point that stood out for me most was in the sentence "90 day contract to hire with 10% percent higher pay and 25% higher pay than offer #1 after 90 days.". 90 days is a long time to not be sure if you are permanent employee, and a lot can happen in 90 days. With offer #1 permanent employee status has already been decided, with full benefits after only 30 days. Since you already accepted offer #1, you might want to ask yourself "Is offer #2 so fantastic that I'd be willing to go out on a limb with a contract to hire position, and risk leaving a bad taste in the mouth of the company of offer #1 which would give me a permanent employee position from the get go?"

You ultimately would be the one who has to live with the decision day in and day out, so it's up to you how you might reach that conclusion. However, I would be very careful with handling the company of offer #1 if you decide to go with offer #2. Because you never know when you have to recross a bridge, so you definitely don't want to go burning them too quickly. I hope and pray it works out well for you, and keep us posted please!

My current job at cisco was 90 days to hire.

AwesomeGarrett

Sorry guys I've been busy. I had something already written up for this. Let me look for it and I will post as soon as possible.

AwesomeGarrett

I went ahead with offer #1. I started and it went pretty well the first day but then offer #2 called me later that evening at home. They wanted me to start right away. I thought about it for about a half hour or so and emailed them back raising my rate thinking they would not come back. The next day the client emails me directly asking if I was coming onboard soon. I told them no, as I was given a very short notice, 90 day contract, and the pay was not acceptable for the risk that I was taking. They came back stating they understood and were going to move on with their standby candidates. According to them I was the top candidate and if I was still interested in the near future they would hire me right away.

At this point I'm thinking, okay that’s great I'll stick with this job and now I don’t have the stress of this other offer over my head. About a half hour later I get an email from the recruiter stating they are agreeing to my new rate but I need to start right away, I didn't not respond. Later that day while working at offer #1 we have a pretty easy issue with the network. Someone has brought in a wireless router, have connected it to the network, and they are using it for their laptop. This is where I realized maybe offer #1 was not the best move. My team lead was under the impression that port security would mitigate this issue. I showed him the show command output and drew a crude diagram as to why the wireless router would circumvent port security. He still didn't understand, so I broke it down to simple networks and ARP. Unconvinced he proceeded to check the wireless router personally and confirmed my findings.

At this point I'm thinking, okay maybe he just forgot how networks work no big deal. However, then he proceeds to call the network engineer. The network engineer makes the same assumption that port security would mitigate the issue and again I had to explain how networks work and ARP. This was the network engineer idea of how it worked and why port security would mitigate:

The wireless router would get an IP address from the DHCP server and assign it to its WAN port. Then the router would have its own DHCP server and assign an address to the laptop (Good so far). Then once the packet from the laptop goes to leave the router it would need a NAT translation and at this point the laptop would use the IP address the router received from the DHCP server but would use the MAC address of the laptop thus the switch would see two MAC addresses and port security would shut the port down.

I'll admit, I laughed for a few seconds. Now, I don't want to give the impression that I go around being some kind of know it all but I'm trying to get to the next level and when trying to get to the next level I need to surround myself with people that know far more than myself. I went to lunch and was thinking this might not be the best environment for me to grow. Came back from lunch and one of the guys I was working with asked me what I was doing there. The team I was working on consisted of a guy with plenty of experience built not very technical, a fresh CCNA, and a guy who just finished college and had no IT experience whatsoever. Then I started thinking, what was I doing there? I finished off the day and went home to think about if I wanted to proceed with the current job or if I wanted to go ahead with offer #2. By the time of got home I was definitely much more excited about offer #2. After talking about it with the wife we settled on offer #2 that evening. I contacted them immediately and got the ball rolling and started later that week.

Although not my proudest moment, it has definitely been the best move career wise.

networker050184

Sometimes jobs just aren't what you thought it would be and you have to do what is best for you. Good luck!

kohr-ah

networker050184 wrote: »

Sometimes jobs just aren't what you thought it would be and you have to do what is best for you. Good luck!

I agree with this (what networker said) and to what you said +AwesomeGarret as I am going through the same thing but unfortunately no 2nd offer exists. I had a recruiter call me tell me about this job I am at now and it sounded great. The on site staff when I did my interviews told me how I would get all this experience in BGP, etc etc. After my first 2 weeks here I have learned they dont deal with any of it. All the things here are managed out to a MSP on the East Coast. I felt so dumb leaving my last job so early (who was relocating so I was going to lose my work) and my recruiter greatly misrepresented what I would going to do.

So I looked at it as finish my CCNP and keep moving forward after I pass that. I already scheduled my SWITCH and will practice a lot then do TSHOOT hopefully in 2 weeks after. I actually was lucky and was contacted by 2 recruiters this week who are going to look for permanent work for me and hey if something better comes up I am definitely going to hop and make sure I stay at the next place for 2 - 3 years at minimum as I can't afford another short jump. Until then the recruiter did get me 10k more a year so I will enjoy the extra finances to take care of my family.