Phone interview with a company I just found out, sucks.

[Myrina]

I applied online for a gig (thru Indeed.com) and got called last Friday for a phone interview.
Did a bit of research over the weekend (Glassdoor etc) and almost universally, this company sounds shitty to work for. Low pay (average pay for my position is $15k/yr less than i'm making now), micromanagers, excessive workload ....

So do I cancel the interview call today, do I purposely bomb, or do I take the call & wait to see if they want to move forward, then bow out gracefully?

[sharp_stick]

1. Once I've accepted a phone interview

I'll always go through with it unless I find out that the job is a scam. Don't intentionally blow it either, it's always easier if they offer you a further step to bow out then.

Something like... "Thank you very much for this opportunity but I've accepted another offer already."

Never burn a bridge if you don't have to, you never know when you might meet someone, like the hiring manager or HR contact, again.

[Agschmid]

10. I like ^^this^^ response. n/t

[Victor_c3]

2. I say still give it your best shot

Interviewing, in general, isn't something that you can get too good at. Take it as an opportunity to practice.

[ohiosmith]

3. Do the interview. Persue the position until you get their final best offer. You can back out at any

time.

Good luck!

[charlie and algernon]

4. You never know if you'll NEED to take that job

If your better options fall through, that may be your job of last resort, so you don't want to burn that bridge.

[Myrina]

5. Thanks for the input ...

.... I will still take the call, but neglected to add in my OP that I also have an in-person interview with a different company on Weds of this week, 6-months-contract-to-hire making close to $10 more/hr than I'm making now.

My ultimate "plan" is to move away from here within a year, so the contractor gig would go a long way toward my ne$t egg for that relocation, while hiring on permanent at the first co. for less than I'm presently making would slow my plans, financially and mobility-wise.

I really wouldn't mind being a contractor for the rest of my work-life .... its nice to know that just about the time one starts to understand the politics of a company and dislike what they stand for/how they treat their employees, the contract's up & it's time to move on (I am also hugely committment-phobic).

[supernova]

7. Beware contracting jobs

Yes, in theory you can keep getting gigs, but in practice you can have a lull between jobs. Make sure you are prepared economiclly for the lulls. Check the contract sometimes they have a non compete clause, meaning you are not allowed to hire on for a similar company at the same job site for a period of time after the contract ends, often for three months and up to a year.

[Myrina]

8. Thanks, yeah, the one I'm working for now is snotty like that ...

... which is why I'm thinking this is a great time to plan for a relocation.

My kiddo is graduating from college in May, I don't have any family/connections here & the work I do is plentiful on the east coast & down FLA way, and in a worst-case scenario, I could always go back "down" to doing Admin Assisting to meet the bills.

As far as a lull goes, I've paid off all my debt except my mortgage so the higher contracting rates have allowed me to stash some decent cash, and honestly a month off every so often sounds really nice.

[Sanity Claws]

6. do it and do your best

Interviewing is a skill and this is an opportunity to hone that skill for other positions.

You can also use that interview to ask questions about the company about its practices that you read about. You get to find out whether those reports are accurate.

[talkingmime]

9. Put on King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man", skip to 0:29 pause it and wait.

Wait like a spider for its prey. Be patient. When they call, hit the "talk" button, put the phone over the computer speaker and hit "play". "Da, dadada da da, dum, dum, dum. Da, dadada da da, dum, dum, dum. Da, dadada da da, wheeer wheeeeer wheeeeeer. Catch foot, iron claw, neorsurgeon screams for more..."

[Myrina]

11. Ok, that's done.

They are supposed to be an 'environmental testing' company and it turns out that this position is in their Lab Ops division for a project between Eli Lilly/Elanco and Cargill. The Elanco division of Lilly does a shit-ton of animal testing, so I politely declined to pursue the position further but said if they have positions with other clients that are environmental (air, water, soil), please keep me in mind.

She (said she) appreciated my honesty and would keep my resume on file because of my strong Project Mgmt background.

Oh well.

[Paulie]

12. Good!

Ya got aome practice and declined professionally.

It's a small planet, and you never know what the future brings.

Good luck on the inperson this week!