I have received conflicting advice regarding the particular situation that I am currently in with job openings in Detroit and Salem, Oregon.
There is an ENT clinic in Salem, Oregon that currently has an opening for an audiologist. I have already been in contact with them, and their lead audiologist informed me last week that she would try to arrange for me to come visit them before the end of this month.
The Children’s Hospital of Michigan interviewed me for a similar position last week, and yesterday informed me via e-mail that they were willing to pay for all expenses for me to travel to Detroit for an in-person visit to their facility and interview with the staff.
No offense intented to the Detroit dopers, but I would much rather want the Salem job than the Detroit job. I currently live in Oregon, and it would be considerably easier for me financially to get a job in Salem than it would for me to get the job in Detroit.
The Children’s Hospital of Detroit’s interest in me creates a certain sense of urgency, and I find myself in a situation that I haven’t encountered before. As I see it, I have two options available to me.
Option 1) Call the Salem ENT clinic and let them know that because of interest from a facility in Detroit, I would like to have the chance to visit the Salem facility and interview with them as soon as possible, emphasizing that I would much rather work there than move thousands of miles to Detroit. The advantage of this option is that I may be able to interview with them first, and it would serve to emphasize my strong interest in the job there. The disadvantage is that I may come across as being pushy.
Option 2) Leave the Salem ENT clinic alone, and wait for them to get back to me regarding when they would like me to visit. The advantage of this is that I won’t have the possibility of sounding pushy. The disadvantage is that Detroit may end up making me an offer before the Salem ENT clinic has a chance to do so. Another disadvantage is that I hate waiting; my experience so far with job hunting is that if I wait too long for someone to get back to me regarding my inquiries, they are likely to forget about me entirely.
My father has advised me to go for Option 1. My stepmother advised me to go for Option 2. I value both of their opinions immensely, and although I am personally inclined towards Option 1, I feel that it would be prudent for me to seek more opinions before taking any further action. I must confess that my strong desire to remain in Oregon is the primary reason for my inclination towards Option 1.
So I throw this question to the Teeming Millions, especially to those who have more experience with these kinds of situations than I do.
What should I do?
