Help me decide if to attend this interview and pursue this position

[Anderson Silva]

Hello everyone. I am completely unsure if I should be pursuing this position I recently got an interview for. Since my close friends and family are completely divided on giving me advice I turn to my friends on enotalone for some input.

 

I have been with my current company for almost seven years, ever since graduating college. I work as a municipal designer (civil engineering technologist) in the engineering design department for a medium sized private engineering consulting firm. Basically I design roads and municipal infrastructure, work with AutoCAD and transportation software and manage projects from preliminary stages to completion. Our company is medium sized with approximately 100 employees and my bosses really like me there. I have been progressing extremely well within this company and have been getting yearly raises of 10-20% per year for the past six years which is phenomenal. I am honestly quite happy there for the most part. I currently earn $71,000/year based on a 35 hour work week and have opportunity for over time if I choose paid at time and a half which is also great. We have full benefits for medical, dental and other things. My job is currently very secure and I know that even if our industry suffered and our company downsized I would be one of 15-20 people left. My bosses have also been accommodating me in that they have given me more responsibility from year to year and allowed me to expand my experience. They are transitioning me currently into a senior management position which will offer more money over time and ability to manage small project teams. If I stay with my current firm I can likely expect to be a senior project manager (one of 6) in the next couple of years and top off earning probably around $100,000/year + overtime but that won't happen for at least another five years. The down sides to staying at my current company are that we have no pension or retirement plan. We basically have to save for our own retirement. Another downside is that my experience on my resume will be limited to only one company and the longer I wait the harder it will be to leave this place since there will come a point in time where other companies just wont offer me enough money to leave. There is one person I work with who is really annoying but that won't be an issue in a year or two once I get up to senior management level.

 

A few months ago I noticed a position come up with the government, City of Toronto in the engineering department. The position was for the tile of Project Manager in engineering technical services department. The pay was advertised as $77,000 to 94,000/year which at the time I was earning 65K/year so that pay was very attractive. This kind of position doesn't come up very often. After reading the requirements for the position I realized I fit the bill quite well. The job description seemed interesting with all the bells and whistles of managing engineering projects which is what I'm after right now. Knowing that there will likely be hundreds of applicants I applied online with my resume, cover letter and everything not expecting to hear back. Two weeks ago however, I got a call from the City informing me that I have been selected for an interview. They told me to come in this coming Wednesday. I accepted. The benefits of working for the City (government) is great job security, but I have that now too. They also offer a pension retirement plan which if I enrolled in now in my early 30s I can retire receiving about 80% of my salary which is amazing. Their medical, dental and ocular benefits are marginally better. The money to start would be about 6-7,000 more right away and I'd be in senior management position right away. From what I hear they also offer flex hours which is nice.

 

Now I know that I'm still far from actually getting the job offer but I can't seem to stop thinking ahead. I spoke with someone working for the government in engineering on a high level and they told me that for a position like mine they usually select only 10 candidates for interview and that there are three positions available for what I applied for. My chances of getting a job offer if I do well on the interview and testing are quite decent. So what would you guys do in my shoes if you got presented with the job offer. If I accept and leave my current firm I run the risk of working in conditions that might be worse than my current conditions, the work may not be all that I imagined to be and there are always risks involved in changing companies. I should mention that a few years ago I left my existing company already once to work for someone else and didn't like it but my company was nice enough to take me right back within weeks. If I left a second time, it might be harder or impossible to come back if things don't work out this time around. On the other hand, pursuing this position sounds like a very logical step. I mean everything is just slightly better on paper with this new position. Slightly better benefits, better pay, better position right away and slightly better job security not to mention opportunity for flex hours in the future. My resume would also look much better a few years from now if I had this job on my resume in addition to my current place rather than like 10 long years working for my existing employer. Some people are telling me why change something that you like and you're happy with, while just as many others are saying that this opportunity is golden and to go for it.

 

What do you guys think? What would you guys lean towards in my shoes?

Many thanks in advance!

[badcat3]

My suggestion: before you start thinking too deeply about this, wait until you have the interview. I also stayed with my first post college job for many years and pretty recently switched for all the reasons you listed (including improving my resume, which is a valid point). Interviewing for your second job is a lot different. You have more knowledge and more options so you're interviewing the employer as much as they're interviewing you. Bring up the questions you mentioned above- what is the office culture like, what's the reason for this vacancy (which will give you an indication of job security), and of course, see how you mesh with the hiring manager. Good luck.

[ConfusedGuy25]

As someone who works for the City of Mississauga I say go for the position..see how the interview goes, it will be tough but you can get through. You can go no wrong working for the city of Toronto I wanted to at one point as well but I'm now in Mississauga. Boa Sorte Amigo!

[Anderson Silva]

Thanks guys!

[abitbroken]

I think you should be saving for retirement anyways. You never know when pensions or benefits might change. I don't think having just one company on your resume is a bad thing if you are taking on new responsibilities or roles all the time. And remember - the city cuts people, too.

 

I agree - go to the interview and see what happens. You don't have to accept the job today. But I agree, you might not be able to go back to your old job if you don't like the politics of working at the city level or the people, etc.