OK - So I interviewed for a job at a major NYC Hospital this afternoon. I was recruited two weeks ago by a professional recruiter for the position, given a phone interview by the hiring manager on August 12th (11 days ago), they asked me to come in immediately (on Monday the 15th), I told them that I could not give such short notice to my current employer for missing work, and they kept on trying to get me to break that commitment and eventually they caved and said I could come in this week. I came in today, met with the hiring manager and the senior director of the department. The hiring manager couldn't wait till the end of the meeting to blurt out "we're going to make you an offer tomorrow." I had never been so heavily and eagerly recruited - it was quite flattering.
So, there is two factors here. One, is the pay is significantly higher than i'm making now, like 50% higher - which is great, and the job description and tasks are actually more interesting than what I am doing currently (My current job is as an analyst where I simply study clinical data and write reports and run ad-hoc studies on trends on utilization and quality of care; at this job I would be a manager and would work on projects to facilitate the use of Information Technology to improve quality of care) However, the job is contract-to-perm, and the way it is structured is I would technically work for the recruiting firm and would be "consulting" for the hospital, even though I will be working at the hospital's offices physically, with hospital employees, and on this specific hospital's projects only.
The problem I have is with the contract-to-perm. I told the hiring manager, don't make me an offer unless you have the full intention of keeping me their long-term, i am not going to leave my current "permanent" position to "try-out" for this new job and risk ending up unemployed. He offered it to me anyway and has assured me both personally and through the recruiter that he has every intention of keeping me there long term. I think that as part of their agreement with the recruiting firm, for their finances, they have to keep me on contract with them for a period of time as that is how they earn their revenues.
Anyway, of course I have confidence in myself to do a good job, but you never know with people, and this opportunity has come up and blossomed so quickly its hard to process.
Would love to hear people's thoughts on what I should do with this? I am comfortable but not totally happy with my current situation. But I am comfortable. I had a pretty tumultuous year in my life over the last year and I was looking forward to some stability this year, but it's hard to pass up an opportunity like this. It's a great job for a company with a great reputation.
I'm assuming we're talking about at-will employment state, so it's not like contract is any less secure - they can fire full timers almost just as easily.
Given the huge increase in pay, I personally would roll the dice, regardless of the long-term outcomes. Nothing says you won't be offered another, even MORE lucrative position in 2 years somewhere else.
Those are the questions I'd be asking myself.
I'd be a little worried that the organization isn't approving a FT hire for a position that manages projects. It is not uncommon to contract talent when the project is not part of the long-term strategy of the org. I'd especially be worried if the hiring managers are telling you that they don't get to make that decision personally. In other words, you can go in there, do a great job for them, and when your contract expires they may still be unable to commit to you.
Having said that, a 50% raise is significant and certainly can justify your transitioning to another job shortly down the road. While employers prefer stable employment history they will understand this move on your part. I'd say the bigger concern would be whether your previous moves were justifiable.
Good luck on your decision.
This. It's their way of paying the recruiter. Just make sure that the salary benefits etc will be the same when you are perm. I did it at Verizon. But I had to be an employee once I became a manager and had people reporting to me.
And I wouldn't make a career change if they won't put that it's a full time position in writing.
if you're young, single or otherwise without dependents and the job is one you like then take the risk, but realize it's a risk.
And I wouldn't make a career change if they won't put that it's a full time position in writing.
if you're young, single or otherwise without dependents and the job is one you like then take the risk, but realize it's a risk.
They'll double dip this way, though - they'll get a piece of the consulting when he's contract, and when he gets hired FT they'll get the typical placement fee (which IIRC is about 25% of salary, if not more). Obviously, it benefits them for an immediate FT hire, because there's less risk.
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would know better, but in my experience, external recruiters get paid more for full time permanent positions filled than contract positions, so I don't buy that.
And I wouldn't make a career change if they won't put that it's a full time position in writing.
if you're young, single or otherwise without dependents and the job is one you like then take the risk, but realize it's a risk.
They'll double dip this way, though - they'll get a piece of the consulting when he's contract, and when he gets hired FT they'll get the typical placement fee (which IIRC is about 25% of salary, if not more). Obviously, it benefits them for an immediate FT hire, because there's less risk.
They can make more money with a temp provided the salary level and how long they stay temp.