Asking for Time

Hi all, looking for a bit of advice.

First off, if you apply for (and are offered) a job you're totally thrilled about on a Friday afternoon, to start the following Monday, is it unreasonable to request a start date of the NEXT Monday? You know, I guess it's a matter of opinion but I was wondering what most of you think.

The job is a very time-consuming but awesome sales job and it's with a company I couldn't be more thrilled with. I already have existing appointments scheduled (personal) at my college, at the doctor's and to get my hair and nails done before starting this job filled with customer visits. I also wanted to buy some new business attire since this job is a step up from my current job (woo-hoo) and it's more formal in feel. Anyway, I am just wondering if requesting a start date of March 14th instead of this monday (the 7th) is at all out of line?

Oh, also, for interest's sake;

Job A: Good pay, meets your financial needs and then some. Smaller company so the job has more responsibility and potential for individual recognition but less room for HUGE advancement/growth. The job is excellent, you'd love doing it every day, and you think that it wouldn't be so hard work for you to get excellent results because it's a job you're comfortable with.

Job B: HUGE global company. Pay is much better than Job A (by about 30% on salary, plus commission potential equal to or greater than Job A) and it's a job you could do. There's lifetime advancement potential within the company (i.e. you could move around within the company and never leave and reach your career objectives) and it's a hard company to get into as it is, but once you're in you're in unless you're totally inept. But you aren't even remotely interested in the product/service you're dealing with or the environment. You never will be either, it just isn't your thing.

Which would you pick? Both offers on the table, of course...

Thanks for your help!

You can certainly try to negotiate the start date with your employer. Usually anything within two weeks is acceptable, but just try to be flexible if the employer really needs you to start sooner.

Personally I'd pick job A over job B although it is rarely as straightforward a choice as you've laid out

Thanks avman

I know it's rare for a choice like that... I've been job searching to advance my career for about 4 months now. Up until now, nothing's looked very promising. Now all of a sudden, I have these two job prospects and I'm left wondering if it was more stressful before, not having any prospects, or now, having to choose between two very different life paths like this.

The job situations are about as accurate as I could muster without stating exactly what I'd be doing and the actual companies.

Thanks again!

First of all, regarding the start date, I don't see anything wrong with at least asking about the possibility of starting the following week - unless you've already committed to starting the 7th. If you've already agreed to start earlier, it may make you seem less dependable if you ask to change to a later date, which I don't think is the impression you want to make right before starting a new job. If you really need the extra time, then take it, assuming that's possible - just be willing to accept the consequences of possibly starting off on the wrong foot. Of course, if the start date has not already been settled, I definitely don't think it would be wrong to mention that you have prior commitments and would like to start the following week. In my experience, it's not the norm to start the next business day after accepting a position, but sometimes there are things like payroll start dates, availability of training, etc. that must be taken into consideration.

As for the job decision, my immediate thought was that I'd go with job A, but I think I would possibly actually go with job B. I think A would provide more immediate rewards, and would be more comfortable, so if you're not as ambitious about moving ahead, by all means, go with A. There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing so. The problem is that later, it's possible to become burnt out with nowhere left to go in that company and you'd be left forced to start entirely over in a new company - not a very appealing prospect, in my opinion (although that's how the job market appears to be these days)....

The main thing I would consider before going with job B is the likelihood and time frame of advancement into something more in line with what I wanted to do. If it could take years to move into a job you'd be happy with, at that point, you might as well just go with job A and move on once you've outgrown it. However, if it seems likely that you could move into something you would enjoy within 6 months to a year, that seems like the better choice.

Come to think of it, I'm actually in a bit of a job "B" situation myself. I was relatively happy in my former job, but felt that I had outgrown it to some extent, and didn't really see much room to advance in that area without more experience in other areas. I started my current position 2 weeks ago, in a department (in the same company) about which I have little interest. While I'm not thrilled with the new job yet (mostly due to the fact that it's a new job), long term it is the best decision for me - and the raise I received was definitely a bonus.