Should I take a job if I know I won't stay for long?

Question

Let's say something better is coming up soon, would you take the job anyway or do you feel this is dishonest?

Answer 1

Youre very lucky to find one, if youre in a place where opportunities are rare. However, if youre not happy to the job youre going through and the pay is not what you expected. Job hopping will be youre attitude and this will reflect no good impression to the next employer. If you make your CV two years from now and having at least more than 2 employers, its not good. Remember this saying, "rolling stone gathers no moss".

Answer 2

A bird in hand is better than 2 in the bush. If you are unemployed right now, it is a must. Well, something coming up soon may take a longer time and may not come at all. If it is say 2-10 days' time, you can very well ask your employer to give you say a fortnight to join.

Dishonesty comes in only when you have promised the a day of joining to the company. Currently, I am too between jobs, I got my confirmation of acceptance of resignation today which I had presented a week ago. I will be switching to the next company only next month. But by now, I am still getting better offers from other companies, I am looking at it currently. I have not promised any date earlier than next month to them,and if I get a better role to do I would surely join the fresh offer in hand.

To answer to your question, when that offer matures, you might again change your mind and might wish to continue where you are, thi s new job in hand. Salary and perks are not always the reason for someone leave an organization, and there is also a possibility that the offer that you are thinking about may not come by your way. So, you would be a loser.

Secondly, It is very difficult to conclude that you will not stay for long as you have not joined yet. Being inside the organization and deciding is very different from planning to quit from being outside the organization. Hope you realize this.

All the best !!!

Answer 3

I feel that to take the job would be dishonest. This is why small businesses have such a difficult time and can not afford to pay high wages. They spend time, money and energy training someone only to have them leave for another job once they get the training and experience they need or something better comes along. It also takes away from someone else who may really want or need the job. Be considerate and do not take the job if you know you are not staying. Let someone else who wants the job have it.

Answer 4

I think it really depends on how soon is soon, and how definite your departure really would be (are you sure you'll even get that "something better"?).

You will do less damage if you're talking about a matter of a few weeks rather than a few months. The sooner you leave, the more likely that other applicants will still be available to fill the position. The company will also have spent less time and money on training you for the position.

With the economy in the state it's in, it's probably not wise to pass up on a job offer, and if you're currently on unemployment, you're (usually) technically not permitted to decline a valid employment offer (or else you'll forfeit eligibility for unemployment benefits).

You have left a lot of pertinent information out of your question - too much for me (or anyone else) to give you a 100% definitive answer (the size of the company [a smaller company will be hurt worse financially than a large one by the kind of departure you describe]; the demand for the occupation [nurses being more in demand/ more difficult to find than a cashier]; how desperate your current financial state is [or isn't], etc.). Only you know.

You'll have to do what you think is best based on all of the circumstances.

Answer 5

It kind of depends on the circumstances. Someone got me a job because a company had a lot of work and needed people. They knew that I wouldn't be able to stay very long from the start, but I went ahead and tried for the job, and they accepted me.

For you, it depends on how long you think you'd be having this temporary job for. Do the people there know you well or at all? Are you 100% sure that you won't be able to work there long? Does the company know that you would only be with them for a short time?

If the job is for a few months, it might be better to just go ahead and take it. If it's only going to be for a couple weeks, then maybe you shouldn't? Overall, I think taking the job is okay. Plus, not to be pessimistic, you never know when other plans can call through.

Answer 6

You appear to be of the same mentality as a lot of people I know, in that you believe an employer is doing YOU a favour by giving you a job. Well - Newsflash! It's the other way around Pal.

Any employer's biggest expenditure is the wages for its staff. No company will want to advertise a position unless they need it filled. There is no point in a company taking on someone that is already superfluous to their requirements.

You have every right to take any job offerred to you and get as much as you can out of that company and then dump them any time you choose. They have no contractual rights or obligations to you and they would be quick enough to kick you out the door should a company 'down-sizing' take place.

The only time, this may not hold is when the company you go to as a stop gap give you some expensive training to do your job, then you may find your self beholden to them until they feel that they've had their money's worth out the training they've given you.

Some firms I know have paid for drivers to become HGV drivers and have put them on 18 month - two year retainers to get their outlay back in employment.

As a general rule though, Employers will always need staff more than staff need employers!

Answer 7

No you should not. When you start a job the people you work with assume you will be there a while. I messes with peoples lives when someone is there for just a little time and then leaves because they have to pick up the slack. So thing of the others around you.
It will not help you in the long run. When people are looking at your app. If you have to many jobs and not a lot of time at them you will most likely not be hired because you mo is that you don't stay long at jobs.

Answer 8

I think u should take it, things happen. While u are waiting for this other job u can make a little extra money. I just got a new job last week and I know something else is coming up, im waiting on this other job and then im going to quit my current one. Im making money while I wait which is good and my manager will get over it when he finds out. It doesnt mean u are dishonest or unkind it just means there are bigger and better things out there for you. Good Luck!

Answer 9

Damn straight I would. I've applied to probably 15 jobs since I got let go from my last job in October of 2005 after being there for more than 5 years. But, that's not the reason.

The reason I would take a job even though I knew I wasn't staying long is cuz almost every single one of these jobs I have applied for have turned me down when I have said that I want to go back to college eventually. They all want someone that is going to be with them for more than just a year, so never say that you are going anywhere like college, etc. And don't say that you plan on going into computers as a career when you are applying at a bank. They will take your resume but they will just shred it and see who else they have in the pile.

That's what I'm doing right now. I'm waiting for a response back from a bank that I put down I planned to stay for 5-10 years when really, the only reason I want to work there is because most banks pay well and it is a somewhat professional job. But, when I first went in and they looked at my resume, they said, "you have two retail jobs here, you worked at a maintenance department at an airport, and you worked for a the water and utilities crew at the public works department for the city you used to live in...Are you planning a career change or something? And I answered yes. I said that I was interested in money management, which in actuality I am, and that I'm looking into this for the long-term.

I know I'm not gonna get the job. I've learned so much from applying to so many jobs. I used to be so honest about everything. Mind you, I don't have any felonies or anything like that, but in terms of my career plans and interests and stuff like that, I tell "white lies" just to get my foot in the door. Screw dishonesty if it's for a job. If it's something major like you are a child molester and you know that somehow they will never find out about that time you were arrested for possession of child pornography or something, then yeah, that is really bad and other stuff too. "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor," meaning "Thou shalt not lie," or don't lie cuz it's a sin, is one of the Ten Commandments if you're Christian, as I am.

But, I have gotten so fed up with Human Resources departments (aka HR) and interviews with them or managers, that I have given up. I am overall a fairly honest person, but not with this crap anymore. I NEED a job. If I don't get one soon, I will run out of savings and have no dough to pay my bills and then the credit card companies will send collection agencies on my a_ss.

Answer 10

Depends. Do you need the money? I know folks who have to take jobs knowing full well that something better is coming soon, because they got laid off or their contract is expiring.

Also, if you'd *like* that other job, but it's not a done deal yet, take this one.

Just make sure that if you hop jobs really fast that you've got a "good reason" lined up if future interviewers ask. I like "I felt horrible leaving so soon, but couldn't pass up the opportunity (the better job) gave me." I worked in HR for 8 years and I'd buy that response. :)