An offer

[cjsmith]

Companies T, X, MP: resume submitted, never a peep. Probably not a fit.
Company G: wants a phone call early next week but has not yet scheduled it.
Company Z: usually does two interviews. I've had one and then took off for the East Coast for a week. May be interested in seeing me again or may think I rate somewhat lower than boogers.
Company V: interview tomorrow.

And job offer number one of the 2006 Job Search Season is at company M, a place so small and so deep in stealth mode that their web page has nothing on it but a logo. It's verbal so far, by which I mean spoken, and I don't think they're even going to bother checking references before putting it on paper. They want an answer from me ABSOLUTELY RIGHT NOW, as in "start Monday".

I pushed back on answering before tomorrow afternoon's interview at Company V. That one had already been scheduled and I didn't feel at all right about:
- saying yes to Company M and ditching the V interview last minute
- saying yes to Company M and going to the V interview, wasting their time
- saying no to Company M without any time to think
or, honestly, simply being pushed to decide so fast.

So I'm now expected to call as soon as I get out of V's building and tell M what I have decided. Deep breath. I hate being rushed, but it does look appealing...

If I say yes, I break things off with V quite suddenly, and I cancel the call I'm supposed to have with Company G early next week (marking the second time their process has simply been too slow to catch me, thus probably blacklisting me forever in their eyes), and I tell everyone else (including some recruiters) I'm out of the running.

If I say no I... well, what is this, do I want a job or don't I? I mean, they want me, and they want me to write code, and for this they will pay me a salary. What am I looking for, flowers and a serenade?

Time to sleep on it a bit.

Comments

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

As someone doing the small startup thing right now (employee #2 of 5!) I'd definitely agree that it's a blast :) The way I see it, if the pay is good and the people look like they'd be people you'd want to spend a large portion of your waking week with, it's definitely worth taking a chance on.

The only real problem is the opportunity cost of the jobs you *might* have been offered had you only waited a few more weeks and shopped around more. As several other commenters have noted, it's not unreasonable pressure because startups often need to hire people with desperate urgency, but that doesn't make it any more comfortable from your side. Can you negotiate a bit more money (either salary increase or signing bonus) as a compensation for immediately telling everyone else you're not interested and not waiting to hear what they might have had to say?

There's also the "it's a startup - what if it doesn't survive" fear, but I've personally always taken the attitude that even if things do go pear-shaped, I'll only be more marketable the next time around.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this comment! After my interview with Company V, I'm realizing that if Company V makes me an offer I'd have a tough time choosing. V is 40 people and is more in my comfort zone. I wondered on the drive home: "Can I find people who are working in very small companies and ask what it's like?" Your first paragraph was just what I needed!

Sometimes I wish I could take 'em all. *sigh* But there's not enough of me to go around even when I have only one!

I agree completely about the "what if it doesn't survive" fear. I too am banking on being as or more hirable than before.