Formal Job Offer Dilemma

[MysticalMelody]

Hello.I was wondering whether you could help with some practical advice on my current formal job offer dilemma.I have received a formal job offer from a civil service department. I dug a little deeper, had some conversations and it turned out the job does not exactly offer the working arrangement I prefer – flexible working (hybrid or working from home). The job ad referred to flexible/hybrid working and during the interview, I was told it would be available. Further, it does not offer any opportunities that align with my long-term career goals. This is the first position (timewise) I’ve applied for in this department. I am awaiting the results of another application that I made later in time that require professional qualifications in a highly competitive area that are not easy to achieve (I have them!) and experience is preferred (I have that as well!).I find myself at a crossroads. While I am genuinely appreciative of the opportunity presented by the job offer, I am hesitant to accept a role that appears to offer limited prospects, entails high levels of stress, does not provide the desired working arrangement and the remuneration offered is modest.Here is the dilemma. Could declining the current offer potentially upset the HR department, jeopardising future opportunities and result in not being shortlisted for an interview for the other role?I would greatly appreciate any practical tips or advice from people who have encountered a similar situation. Your insights and experiences would be immensely valuable to me as this situation has kept me awake at night for a week now.Thanks.

Are both jobs in the same department? Under the same management?

Whilst I cannot be sure whether this is the case, I suspect so. My knowledge of civil service structure is limited. I have never had a civil service job before.

You'll have known from the interviews though?

Thank you for taking the time to respond. Much appreciated.

Not necessarily. We did not discuss any civil service structure. We discussed behaviours and strengths.

I would call them an clarify the offer letter, telling them is doesn't match the ad or verbal assurances you had at interview. Only with that information can you proceed.

The civil service is not one department. Nobody can tell you and if this other job is close enough to count then it is likely that the same non flexibility will also be in the other job.

You need to relook at which departments you applied for jobs in, but you can accept one and then decline it if you are offered another. It is quite common for that to happen.

Yes. Policy can vary by department, and within them as well, depending on needs of individual sections or offices.

I wanted to clarify that when I mentioned ‘department’, I was actually referring to the same ‘ministry of’ [specific ministry name].To provide further context, the challenge I face is that I have not yet reached the stage of being shortlisted for an interview for the other job within the same [ministry of]. The reason I am not particularly interested in the flexible working arrangements for the other position is that it is directly related to the professional field in which I aspire to achieve full qualification.I hope this clarification helps in understanding my situation better.

So, lets say you've applied for two roles at the Ministry of Defence.

re the roles related? One is a technical position where qualifications are required, the other is an entry level position?

What grades are each role? SCS / SEO / HEO/ EO? Are they based in the same offices?

Within each Ministry or Department you'll have multiple divisions doing different work. What divisions do those jobs come under?

In my experience (not UK government) if you're at offer stage with role 1, we wouldn't progress you for role 2.

Maybe you should call to check on the status of your second application.

Are both jobs of the same grade in the same department on the same site? If you are sure you don’t want the job offered without flexible working, just negotiate. It is a PITA to recruit so they may be flexible rather than lose you. What wouldn’t be great is if they compromise, you accept the role, they decline the other candidates (did they mention keeping a reserve waiting list?) and then you pull out and they have to start the whole process again.

@PinkFootstool Grade Other (for the position with the formal offer) and Grade EO for the other position.@Fooksticks This is exactly what I am afraid of. With my current formal offer, I am an excellent candidate as I am really overqualified and thus a 'safe' option for a 'first-time' civil servant. With the second application, I am spot on with my qualifications as their presence seriously restricts the applicants' pool. I would be devasted to not progress any further.

When you say formal offer, do you mean you've passed all of the pre employment checks and clearance? I'd speak with the recruitment team and ask for advice, their email will be in the initial job advert.

@Creamyoda I am at the stage of formal offer. My pre-employment checks and clearance have been successfully completed.

If you would prefer the other job I would also be careful that at the point of formal acceptance it doesn’t mean you are automatically withdrawn from the other job. I think when I moved internally and accepted the post, the system warned me beforehand that I would be withdrawn from any other applications.
The one thing I can’t remember if that was just for applications at the same grade as the job I got and if I had an application for a position at a higher grade that would still be ok.

@structktstem. Thanks for the practical advice. To be honest, I haven’t taken any action yet to hit that ‘accept offer’ button yet. I have reached out to the recruitment ‘chat’ option a couple of times, and they assured me that I should not worry about my other application.But my gut feeling is that I should worry.And, following from what you just explained above, I am not sure that the system will give me a heads-up as to eventually withdrawing my other application.It is very important to say that the recruitment campaign for the other position, the EO one, happens once in a year (and there is no guarantee!). It’s a fantastic opportunity and I’d absolutely love to have a shot at getting an interview for that role. On the other hand, the position for which I received the current offer doesn’t require any professional qualifications. From what I’ve gathered from Linkedin profiles, most people that practice it don’t even have A-levels.I feel utterly disappointed to realise that I am considered a suitable fit for the position that doesn’t require any qualifications, while I won’t be eligible for the other position that demands qualifications of higher difficulty to obtain, including a bachelor’s and master’s degree. This really adds to my frustration and sense of helplessness.So, there you have it. I am in a serious dilemma.

If you are a good, capable EO, you may not stay in that grade for an overlong time.

It very much depends on the competition. We have appointed people with postgraduate qualifications for junior apprenticeship positions that really would only need good GCSEs or A Levels at most. Good, hardworking, flexible people can go far pretty quickly, so people will come in overqualified knowing they can get promoted. It does depend a bit on the department, in my experience some of the public facing roles in DWP or HO try to keep people in grade longer than people working in policy or specialist roles in London or other main sites.

Personally I'd accept this job you have and then if you are successful in the other as its a higher grade even if they get annoyed they can't get in the way of your progression. I only say this as the recruitment process can take a while (as you probably know) and although logically you'd expect clearance and checks to just carry over in a short period of time they might not. Get yourself in would be my advice, means as well if you aren't successful for this other job you'll be in a really strong position next time they recruit.

As an aside how long did your SC take? I haven't worked there for many years but one of my friends has now been waiting months which seems crazy!

@CharlottenBurger – It is not an EO position. It is ‘other’.@LadyLapsang – From the position I am given a formal offer for, you cannot be promoted to the EO position. There is no scenario in which this could happen.@Creymyoda – Clearance and checks about six weeks. I applied in Feb, interviewed mid-March. Waiting for another year to apply for the other position (the EO position) feels like an excessively long time. Unfortunately, I have experienced similar situations in corporate settings before. It can be disheartening to put in a great deal of effort to showcase your skills and expertise, only to see individuals who have recently joined the organisation being chosen to qualify over you. ‘Wait, work hard and prove yourself!’ works well. I am convinced this is not the situation. Been there before, got the coffee mug and the matching keychain.

I totally echo people saying 'get your feet under the table'. It worked for me. I went in as an agency worker in an AO grade placement aged 58 and retired last year as an HEO aged 70.

@CharlottenBurger – I appreciate your perspective, but as I mentioned earlier, there is no pathway for progression from the position I have been offered to the other role. And, without intending to sound crude, the other position would provide me with the opportunity to obtain a qualification relatively quickly and earn a salary in the range of £50,000 or more. In contrast, the current position would keep me in the £20,000-£25,000 range for an extended period, while also requiring me to repay my student loan.

But in the civil service you don't have to progress in the role you're in. You can go from the role you've been offered to your dream role no issue, people move all over the place- it's just easier especially if you've had checks etc to get in and once you're in you can choose what direction you want to go in you just apply for what appeals. If you apply externally you can apply for whatever! Even internally (if they still offer internal applications) if its progression they can't refuse to release you.

But in the civil service you don't have to progress in the role you're in. You can go from the role you've been offered to your dream role no issue

That's the point I was trying to make.

@Creamyoda – Thank you for taking the time to engage with my dilemma. I highly appreciate that.Essentially, if I accept this role, the situation will be as follows: I will be working in a field that is somewhat related to my qualification and would provide exposure and understanding of how a specific area operates. However, I will have to apply next year, either as an internal or external candidate, if the national campaign is held again. It’s worth noting that some of the other candidates in this highly competitive industry will have current or recent experience on their CVs, which will give them an advantage. On the other hand, the experience gained from the position I was offered might appear as a slight deviation on my CV. If I am unsuccessful in securing the EO role next year (a possible scenario!) and decide to apply for positions outside the Civil Service, any recruitment officer or agent will likely enquire about my decision to remain in the role I have my formal offer for now for a year. I would need to provide a valid reason as it may raise questions about the ‘freshness’ of my experience in the professional field I aim to qualify in.