So I've got a letter via email today offering me a job. Everything looks good and I've got to sign the letter and send it back as acceptance along with a date when I can start. So what next, do I hand in my notice and agree my last day at work and then sign the acceptance? Do I sign the acceptance first and then hand in my notice afterwards? Does it matter? I've got till the end of the month to accept the job. I'm not 100% sure of my notice period at the moment either. Any advice is appreciated cause I haven't changed jobs for years...
Comments
Personally I'd be extra cautions and get signed off sick for a few months to see how it works out.
Once you send in your acceptance letter, request written confirmation from your new employer of the actual start date (it should be the one you stated on your acceptance letter). Once you've got that written confirmation then hand in your notice.
I'd say make sure you have a weeks holiday before starting your new job. It helps to put an end to your old job and to get rid of any baggage you might be carrying around from it.
Get everything in place with the new job first... And PLEASE check the contract before you sign it!
Several times I've been sent contracts that didn't reflect what I'd negotiated- pay point, holidays, flexible working etc. I could easily have lost out by not checking .
Once you're happy, sign it, get confirmation it's all ok & then resign your current job. I assume your employer knows you've applied etc.
that way if there are delays making the new job 'official' you have a week or two headroom plus time for a nice little chill out before going to the new place..
best o' luck matey...
Stay with current employer
Pros
- they'll match the offer (plus you may be able to weedle even more out of them, if you're savvy!)
- They offer you additional stuff like training etc
- You stay with an employer that 'know you' - strengths/weaknesses etc
Cons
- they might not offer the promises made
- might look to stab you in the back for having the audacity to hand in your notice (rare, but I have known it happen)
Leave current employer
Pros
- it's a better offer than your current employer i.e pay, working conditions, benefits etd
Cons
- they don't know you, you don't know them
- your weaknesses may be scrutinised much more closely
- you have a probation period to pass
- you can be dismissed without any tribunal for another two years
Only you know the 'real' reasons why you are leaving but ultimately it comes down to what your current employer might do to counteract the offer. I've done it in the past and my employer tried everything they could to keep me, including a bumper pay rise (but I thought to myself, why the hell did it need to come to this before it was offered?) I've also left a company and they didn't seem that bothered (!) in fact my boss, who was the cause of me leaving, didn't speak to me for the entire month of my notice period!
Ultimately, everything considered, it's just a job and whether you stay or go it signals the start of a new chapter in your life. It's good to have choices, many people in the world don't even have that.
3 Pros for staying & only 1 for leaving
As far as I know, even if you sign your acceptance letter for your new employer, you are not legally bound to join them (although this might not be the case in some industries??) and you can change your mind at any point. So, your current employer would have a few weeks to think about a counter offer and to put a plan into action to ensure the promises made happen.
Your company could of course still not honour the promises made even if a plan is put together. But they do so in the knowledge that you have previously found it easy enough to get another job and likely any breaking of the promises will drive you towards leaving again.
....and to top it off, that original company have contacted me recently to try and get me to join them again, so it doesn't always burn bridges. If you do it, just be honest, polite and sincere.
Thanks @Shrews
I appreciate it.
It happens, for various reasons, and that's life. However, the closer it is to the start date, the more work will have been put in to getting ready for you, and the ruder/more annoying it is.