To not know what to do

[DieLemma]

Posting here for traffic and more of a WWYD.

I’ve got a massive dilemma and those around me just tell me to go with my gut but my gut keeps telling me different things!

So, I’ve been offered a new job for 30k with potential for promotion in 6 months and pay increase (not been told how much).
It’s a new start up, would be me and a manager to set up the department and when he’s unavailable, I’ll be in charge effectively.

He will be out on the road a lot so I will be working alone most of the time.
It will be 5 days in office, 5 miles from home.

Current job, I’m paid 28k but there is zero chance of progression or increase in salary. We do get a bonus if we hit target of £500 at Christmas. I work in the office 3 days, home 2. Office is 10 miles from home. I do like the people I work with and we have good banter.

Im unsure whether to make the leap as the extra responsibility is only paying £2k extra a year.
Also, risky as it’s a new set up.

WWYD?

Why not ask for £33k and tell your new employer you love the idea of the job but the jump in responsibility and the lost flexibility wfh and the start-up risk means you’d need more money to consider the move.

£33k would mean you are taking home over £300 more a month compared to current job, which feels like it’s worth doing.

then if the new employer turns you down, you can simply stay put in your current job.

Hi @DieLemma i would stay in my current job because:
You'd be on your own which means you'll be doing everything.
You're only getting 2k more for added responsibility.
You don't get to wfh.
No guarantee of promotion.
Hope the above helps, all the best in your decision x

Could you talk to your current employer about being offered a job with higher salary and would they consider giving you a pay rise to keep you?

I’ve asked new employer if 30k is their top and they said yes as after 6 months, it will increase.
My current salary has just gone up to 28k from 26k so current employer will not offer me more to stay.

I probably wouldn't go just for £2k more. But keep looking for something else.

No I would not switch.

Not for 2k more. New start ups are notoriously risky for a start and if you like the office environment you'll feel lonely and isolated. I wouldn't.

I wouldn't lose 2 days at home, but then again I fully wfh and wouldn't change that.

Probably not if you like your current job. You’ll be doing everything if it’s only you and the manager. Keep looking.

A good question is to ask the new job if they’ll write the “pay rise after 6 months” into your contract. If they reply fudging the answer, you’ll know it’s all talk and in 6 months time there’ll be lots of excuses why your salary won’t be raised.

Start ups are a gamble really. They offer huge opportunities for career growth but they come with risk.

Do you like working from home and is there a significant reason why that's attractive, e.g. family commitments that you'll babe out under pressure to meet by being the office five days a week?

How reliant are you on your income and how much risk can you afford? There's a huge difference between someone with no dependents and savings making a move to someone with a mortgage and depending on their wages.

Would you be happy on your own for long periods of time or would that demotivated you?

You need to ask and have it some sort of writing what the pay will be in 6 months so you can make a proper decision.

I’d stay in the old job as it’s less risky, and you’d get more redundancy.

No I wouldn’t move job for £2k, not unless I was desperately unhappy in the existing job anyway. You need to make your job moves pay for you.

It doesn’t sound like the offer is high enough to be persuasive for you given you like your current workplace, and it has more flexibility and stability. Whether it is worth sacrificing those for the career development opportunities for me would depend on my ambitions and my home situation (are there dependent children, is there another income coming into the household, any savings). If you’re ready for progression there will be other jobs come along too though, it doesn’t necessarily have to be this one.

Questions:
Are you happy in your current job? Is the work fulfilling? Do you have fun with colleagues?
If the latter, how much of a part of your social life is it? Do you have friends outside of work?
Do you rely on WFH to give you a good work life balance? Put the wash on etc to free up some weekend time?
What will be different in 6m to mean he can afford the extra salary? Is this certain? Have you actually seen the projections?
What will your contribution be in relation to his? Do you trust him that you will 'grow' with him, or will you be working hard to facilitate one guys dream/success?
Do you respect and like the guy enough for such an exclusive work relationship?
Has he employed people before? What is his approach to HR?
How easy would it be to go back to your old job?
How generally employable are you if the new business fails?

I wouldn't.

But if I was you I would ask myself:

• does this experience fill a cv gap and increase my earning potential and skill set for the job after this one
• how easily can I get a job if this start up fails

-am I excited about the job offer on the table

I wouldn't move to a new start up. Loads fold.

It's a start-up, are they offering you a profit share or stake in the company?

Did you at any point consider the start up when you applied for this job? Wasting the time of any organisation by applying for and then turning down a job is terribly bad practice but when it's a start up this is the lowest of the low.

Startup life isn't for everyone - I personally love it, and there's something special about being part of building something from the ground up.

The critical question is: what's their funding situation like? How much operating capital do they have, when do they plan to become profitable, how many investment rounds do they have remaining, and how long can they survive if they fail a funding round?

If they've got enough of a plan to be genuinely 95% certain of lasting a couple of years at least, then I'd go for it. Working as part of a startup seems to be a genuine boost to the CV, so you'll likely be in a better position career-wise if it fails anyway. Just make sure you insist on 3 months' notice.

Did you at any point consider the start up when you applied for this job? Wasting the time of any organisation by applying for and then turning down a job is terribly bad practice but when it's a start up this is the lowest of the low.

Eh? She hasn't signed a contract and then backed out. The only way to get any feel for the company and role is to interview.

Don't be daft. It's perfectly reasonable and common practise to apply and be interviewed (which is a two way process after all) then decide whether the job is right for you.
Increasingly so in a environment that's becoming ever more an employees market. Anyone who employs staff accepts that allocating an hour or so of your time to interview someone, and possibly even sell the role to a great candidate, is part of the job.

The risk element would bother me. I'd be looking for a third option tbh.