Job Offers

[dealmaster00]

That all depends on the offer you get from this company in Chicago. Have you spent much time in the city? Know where the company is located? Any idea where you might want to live, and the cost of living? You can easily spend $2K a month on rent & parking on a 1 bedroom in the city. You can also spend half that or less, all depending on where you want to live. Chicago is a fun place to live for at least a few years out of college.

Seriously consider the salary at this place. If it is low relative to the cost of living and you think you can do better, now is not a bad time in your life to take a small gamble. If the salary is good though, I would take the offer and not sweat the other companies too much.

You can also contact the other companies and explain your situation, that you are in the final stages of consideration for a position at another company, but would really prefer to go to work for them. Sometimes they can accelerate the process if they like you enough.

Good luck!

I have never been to Chicago before so I have no idea about any of that stuff. That's why I thought it would be nice if they offered an onsite interview. Seems like pretty much every other company I've heard of does that.

(to others below you)
I'm sure that planning a Chicago trip myself would show initiative, but lets face it, I'm busy with 4 grad classes, other interviews, research, a research retreat coming up that takes up 3 days out of the school week, and a few other trips planned before the end of the semester. Planning and paying for a trip to Chicago myself before taking the offer seems a little much, especially when other companies would do that for me.

Anyway thanks for the advice rgwalt, the bolded is really useful and I wouldn't be surprised if it came down to that. The sooner I can find a job I like the better, and it would be cool if this offer could expedite the process.

 

[Evadman]

I require the name of the company.

 

[dealmaster00]

I require the name of the company.

ygpm

Also, anyone have an opinion on the company Libera, Inc?

 

[edro]

Well then don't accept it.
I wouldn't work anywhere I haven't personally visited first.
I also want to meet my immediate manager face to face.

 

[KIAman]

Personally, I would not take a job offer that I have not had a face to face interview and I have not had a chance to take a look around the company, even in this economy.

How did the phone interviews go? Did you ask questions about their company? Their goals, philosphy, work ethic, hiring practices, org structure, the demographics, environment?

The risk here is that you will be accepting a job you turn out to hate and give you absolutely no growth potential. And you have already gone through the costs (physical, emotional, monetary) of relocating. You want to reduce the risk as much as possible.

I am of the opinion that if you are reasonably smart, you can find a job, period.

 

[dealmaster00]

Personally, I would not take a job offer that I have not had a face to face interview and I have not had a chance to take a look around the company, even in this economy.

How did the phone interviews go? Did you ask questions about their company? Their goals, philosphy, work ethic, hiring practices, org structure, the demographics, environment?

The risk here is that you will be accepting a job you turn out to hate and give you absolutely no growth potential. And you have already gone through the costs (physical, emotional, monetary) of relocating. You want to reduce the risk as much as possible.

I am of the opinion that if you are reasonably smart, you can find a job, period.

Yeah I asked them questions. Maybe not the best questions since I'm pretty new to the interview thing. The phone interviews went really well, they asked me technical questions, I answered correctly to pretty much everything they threw at me. I got the impression that they were impressed.

I don't think I would hate the job but there are other jobs out there I would like more.

 

[Jadow]

OK, I guess that is understandable. But should I accept the chicago offer even if I have no other offers at the time, but there is a good possibility of getting another offer in the future? It seems strange to me that it would be advisable to accept an offer being pushed quickly without being able to weigh any other options.

tough call, if the money is decent and the company seems relatively stable, I'd say yes.

Chicago isn't a bad town to live in at all, and the COLA there is much lower than on the coasts.

What part of the chicago area is their office located? That's fairly important to know. If it's downtown, that sucks, if its in like Bolingbrook or Naperville, not so bad.

 

[polarmystery]

I just started the ECE Masters program this fall. You might want to look at Qualcomm... I saw on their posting for the TOC they're looking for 350 new hires this year.

Hey, I started an ECE Master's program this fall too! Hrmmmmmm!!!!!!!

 

[RaistlinZ]

Well then don't accept it.
I wouldn't work anywhere I haven't personally visited first.
I also want to meet my immediate manager face to face.

I have to agree. Relocating is a huge deal. You shouldn't uproot without at least seeing the place and what the work and living environment is like. And they should at least show you the respect of meeting you face to face, especially if you pay to fly yourself out there.

 

[edro]

Actually, the more I think about it, I would be leery of any company that didn't want to meet me face to face. It's a huge hassle hiring someone. Sure, if they didn't like you they could fire you, but that is also a huge hassle.

 

[Leros]

Actually, the more I think about it, I would be leery of any company that didn't want to meet me face to face. It's a huge hassle hiring someone. Sure, if they didn't like you they could fire you, but that is also a huge hassle.

The manager at my last internship said that a bad hiring choice costs them at least $400k once you factor in everything.

 

[Gibson486]

The manager at my last internship said that a bad hiring choice costs them at least $400k once you factor in everything.

$400K? How so? You do not pay a head hunter six figures to find someone and it does not cost six figures to post a job on numerous sites. Even with man hours, it still does not add up.

 

[razor2025]

I noticed that the headhunting service was facilitating this... so who's the one telling you about the deadline? Headhunters or the actual HR rep from the company? You might want to get in touch the the hiring person from that company and tell them you need more time to weight the options. Headhunters just wants their pay as soon as they can get you to say "I agree".

 

[classy]

If its a good opportunity and the pay will be worth it, then after getting the job offer, take a couple of those 5 days and fly out there and check it out. Maybe you can get a round trip flight for a couple hundred bucks. Or negotiate and say you want them to just split the air fare with you. Sounds like you like the job possibility but just a little leary on not physically seeing it. I would try to work it out.

 

[AreaCode707]

$400K? How so? You do not pay a head hunter six figures to find someone and it does not cost six figures to post a job on numerous sites. Even with man hours, it still does not add up.

Training cost.
Time lost by the person being a bad employee instead of getting stuff done.
Time lost by other people trying to work with the bad employee.
Time lost while they search for a replacement after they get rid of the bad hire.

 

[Gibson486]

Training cost.
Time lost by the person being a bad employee instead of getting stuff done.
Time lost by other people trying to work with the bad employee.
Time lost while they search for a replacement after they get rid of the bad hire.

I can understand 5x the cost of the employee, but not near 10x the cost.

 

[Jeffg010]

I can understand 5x the cost of the employee, but not near 10x the cost.

My company has million dollars projects that need to get done. Having a bad employee can hurt making deadlines. Everyday the project does not go live that's money lost and that can add up fast.

I work for a large bank that deals with billions....

 

[ed21x]

i'd say go for it just cuz chicago is a great place to live. it's like new york minus the douchebags. if you're not from a major city, this would just be a great life experience... and of course you have the option of leaving if things don't pan out.

 

[PsiStar]

Between PIT & ORD makes that a day trip. At the Chicago end they should hire a limo to take you to the company & back to the airport. Parking & food expenses are picked up (reported after you return). Anyone graduating with a BSEE or an MS ECE or any variation in between can expect at least this.

I was just flown out to Chicago from NYC to interview for an EE position in the Bay Area. The company is HQ-ed in Chicago. I probably had a total of 10 interviews between phone & face to face. Still waiting to hear about that. I also have another upper Midwest job pending, and a 3rd in Europe (I really want that one!).

Do not let any headhunter buffalo you. Many have the attitude that *they* must be in control of their candidate (aka you).

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

A limo? LOL.

 

[2Xtreme21]

I think you're ignoring the fact that a headhunter is setting you up with this job. No doubt he gets a portion of your salary (even if you don't see it) if you get the job.

I wouldn't say this to 99% of the people out there, but assuming you're the typical CMU student, I'd pass on any job that's too cheap to fly you anywhere to visit onsite. My good friend graduated from CMU in 2009 (heart of the recession) with the same degree you're going to get, and he was flown out to Google, EA, and Apple and had them competing for him. He's now making a cushy living in Cupertino.

Bottom line, CMU is a great school and employers will compete for you, as long as you don't get too full of yourself. Don't expect anything and keep working hard getting your name out there at career events, but I wouldn't do any contracting work right out of school with your degree.

Good luck.

 

[PsiStar]

A limo? LOL.

the company I visited is too far out from ORD for any shuttle. And, yes, it was a stretch limo. Nothing in the bar tho. I am pretty sure that this is routine for this company per the driver. So they probably get a better deal than most ppl.

 

[BoomerD]

My work experience was definitely not in the class of the OP's education, but IMO, do NOT accept a job in an area that you've never visited. Yes, you're "new to the field and need experience," but it's been my experience that you should always work where you want to live, not vice-versa.
Construction took me to some pretty shitty locations over the 30 years I was in the trades, but fortunately, most were very short-term jobs. (a couple of weeks to a couple of months) For a long-term "regular" job, I'd definitely put location at the top of the list for things I want from a job...sometimes, even above compensation.
If you work/live someplace you hate...money doesn't make it better.

OP, have you checked into the electrical utility companies? Most of those pay pretty well, have great benefits packages, and jobs are usually available in most parts of the country.
I know the two small utility companies located where I'm at pay in the $70k+ range for their engineers. ($60k for associate engineers with no experience)
I'm sure you can find similar jobs in whatever part of the country you'd like to live.

 

[dealmaster00]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all of the responses, they are really useful for me as a soon-to-be new grad. I was supposed to have this last phone interview 30 minutes ago but they havent called yet. Anyway, when I do talk to him, I am planning on asking him what the next step is (to make sure it is accurate with what the headhunter said), and if it is indeed an offer then I will say If you are interested in making an offer, I would appreciate it if you could bring me in to see the company and meet the people I would be working with so I can make an educated decision about future employment.

Also I think I'm going to mention that I will be ready to make a decision by mid-late November. I got invited to a second phone screen with my #1 company next week too, so here's hoping to that.

 

[dealmaster00]

Well, it looks like I was making this out to be a bigger deal than it really was. I got concerned because of what the headhunter told me but she was completely wrong. I talked to a VP today and he gave me a much better picture of what the company does and who I'd be working with. He said the next steps would be another phone interview, then an onsite visit, then an offer. It sounds like a nice company but I interviewed with a Pittsburgh startup that looks very promising, and so far the startup is my #1 pick for now (if I get an offer from them).