should I stay or should I go now?

As you may have already noticed, my blog postings for the past month have been sporadic and likely will be for the next few months. With my job about to end in the next few months, perhaps sooner, my official job hunt so far has resulted in 2 interviews with a former employer, 2 notifications from recruiters wanting to help me find a job, and a phone call from a Walnut Creek financial services company where I'd sent my resume.

Up until last week, it was getting frustrating as I wasn't hearing much from anyone. One company responded to tell me it was being reviewed. They ended up hiring another candidate. A former employer called me the day after I submitted an application. It resulted in 2 interviews, the first with the hiring manager, the second with the hiring manager's boss. When I didn't hear from them after a week, it was apparent to me they chose someone else. I contacted the HR coordinator to find out. She confirmed they filled the position internally.

As for the financial services company in Walnut Creek, they called to schedule a phone interview but wanted to make sure I was aware of the starting salary. I wasn't, because I didn't scroll the posting all the way to the bottom, where it was listed. It was $15K less than my current salary. I asked if it was negotiable. They said no. Pay cut to commute to Walnut Creek? I politely said no thank you and ended the call.

Last weekend, I submitted a job application to a retailer in Oakland through HotJobs. This is what seemed to open things up. The next day, I got an e-mail from a recruiter specializing in finance and accounting jobs. She told me she placed someone from my company recently and said she saw my resumé online and said she could do the same for me. I first arranged an interview this past week to meet her, but decided to postpone it. We are migrating our cash management account from one bank to another and since I reconcile and monitor the account daily, leaving the office early would not be a good idea.

A few days later, I got a second e-mail from another recruiter explaining that she was confident that she could find a job for me. She sent me her company's website link to review their approach to placing people. I reviewed the proposal and she'll be following up in 2 weeks (at my request). I already know my decision, but will disclose that to the recruiter and the reasons why when she does get back in touch with me.

I end this entry to address the question posted today. Should I stay or should I go now? While I haven't gotten any solid offers yet, it is only a matter of time. I've made no secrets at work that I'm currently looking. We've had 3 people in my department leave in the last month. A co-worker and longtime employee (8 years) approached me this week and told me that who is now left in our group will likely stay until the end.

She told our new CFO that she thinks I'll be staying to the end, but with everything I've talked about, she isn't so sure now. She wanted to know what I would be doing. She also is one of the few people who really knew and understands all the work I do. She said she understands if I decided to leave before everything ends in Foster City, but personally asked me to stay. I was really touched.

I told her that because I'm very selective about my next job, I've begun the search now. It will probably take me until my job officially ends to find what I want. But if I am offered the right job, I will leave and forfeit my retention package. It is no longer about the company once the decision was made to move to Dallas. It's about keeping my paychecks coming in.