Getting laid off from a job is a difficult thing to go through. There are feelings of sadness, anger, hopelessness, opportunities, relief, fear, etc. Add this to the roller-coaster ride of emotions that is the job search and you’ve got one pretty intense individual. That was me a few years ago – I was up one day, and down the next, sure I’d found the best thing then positive I’d never find anything. Not exactly a great time for a potential employer to change the terms of the job…but they did. In this “Tales from a Job Hunter” post, I’ll tell you exactly what happened and what I did about it.

I had found a job posting in a Facebook group and it sounded like a great opportunity for me. I was really excited about having found something that seemed like such a good fit about a day after losing my job. I sent over my resume and heard back right away! The first interview went great – I loved the environment, I loved the people I’d be working with and the job sounded like a pretty good match. Not perfect, but I was up for the challenge and I let them know that.

I kept in touch with them over the next couple of weeks as they continued the interview process. When they finally got back in touch with me, I was stunned by what I was offered:

• Less money than I’d been making at my previous job (I gave them salary expectations up front)
• A shift in the priorities of the job – away from my skill set and to one I had much less interest in
• 3-month contract to permanent – after stating that they were looking for a full-time position

Essentially, because they’d changed the job description a bit after looking at their needs (which is a good thing in the end), they wanted me to come on in a contract/trial period for 90 days, and at less money. Pretty crappy, huh? I told you job searching was emotionally exhausting!

At this point, I didn’t know what to do. I had no other offers but some strong prospects, and I knew I needed to get back to work soon. I decided to try to delay my decision by a few days to see if anything else would come to fruition. I ended up delaying them again for a few more days before negotiating a bit more money and accepting the job.

It turned out that the change from a permanent position to a contract-to-permanent one was the best thing that could have happened to me – I could make some money and keep looking for a permanent job. I did just that and after three weeks, I ended my contract there for a salaried position, making more than I had even at the job I was laid off from and with better benefits.

No one at the company was upset at me for what I’d done – they knew they had only decided to start me as contract and that was the risk they’d assumed. I feel this situation can help other job seekers – don’t be too deterred by an offer that isn’t everything you want. Depending on the terms, it can be temporary and help lead to better offers because you’re currently employed. 

Check out the other posts in this series:

Tales from a Job Hunter: Introduction
Tales from a Job Hunter: Hiring Manager Ads to Job Description During Interview
Tales from a Job Hunter: Working with Recruiters
Tales from a Job Hunter: HR Fails