January of this year I started looking for a job. So far I’ve been on 2 interviews. There just doesn’t seem to be that many jobs to apply to. But, like they say, when it rains, it pours.
I have two interviews in the next two weeks. One is for a lawyer office call center. I will be receiving and making calls to shoplifters in regard to fines that they must pay. Pretty much everything I hate in a job: collections, chained to a desk at a call center, screaming people and criminals (who are almost always stupid and I HATE talking to the criminally stupid). The pay is at the bottom what what I would like to make.
The second job is a sleuthy hunt for information and building a database at a well-known financial institution. This job is much more interesting and challenging and much less soul-sucking. It also pays more. The hitch? It’s temporary. The financial institution believes this project should be done in 2 to 3 months.
Which would you choose? The rest of your life in a job you hate or certain unemployment in a job market that has offered about one interview per month? Keep in mind you have a mortgage and car payments due!
You don’t have an option between the two you posed. The temporary job is fleeting and not a real job. The difference in pay is only for that reason, and maybe because of fewer benefits too. So your options are to keep looking for a better job while continuing to work or after quitting, not advised.
An elephant is just around the corner. Be ready.
I’d go for satisfaction and uncertainty, but I’m used to that lifestyle and recognize that it would drive many people crazy with worry. It sounds to me like the second job is a bit more skilled than the first, would it be worth taking it for the resume building/networking it could provide? Better still, if you get both of the jobs, could you tell the first one you can’t start for 3 months to give you time to finish the second one?
If you’re young, single, healthy, and in decent financial shape (no or manageable debt, some savings, low cost of living) I’d take the second job. But if you’ve got people depending on you, or people who will be upset if you can’t write them a check every month, the first one might be the better bet.
Call center jobs will always be there. If not at this particular place, then another one. I don’t think you should pass up BOTH jobs if you have bills to pay. But I’d recommend taking the higher-paying one. You never know, you might blow their socks off and get hired. At least you could make some contacts and feel GOOD about yourself every day, even if it’s just for a few months. I work in a call center, and I haven’t felt good about my job for over 3 years now.
If you like things like having a house and car the decision has been made for you.
It sucks, I know. Take the sure thing, though, and look for something better in the meantime.
Like rachelellogram says, take the second, higher-paying, potentially satisfying, but temporary job. You’ll be keeping the wolf from the door for at least a few months, while you continue looking for something pleasing and more permanent.
I’ve got kind of the opposite viewpoint.
The first job seems like it offers almost no room for professional growth, taking on new responsibilities, etc. Yes, you will be working, but you will be treading water. In career terms, that’s just wasted time. If your older than college-age, spending time doing essentially unskilled labor (unless its at an organization you’d like to build connections with) is a wasted opportunity at best. At worst, it may hold you back from future jobs that are a couple of jumps up from “call center drone” because people will see you as building up from that level.
The other job sounds like it will stretch your career skills and give you something new and cool to put on your resume. It’s a gamble, but you’ll have a few months to get your job search really in gear before it ends… And it may help you build some new connections that can help you in the future. In any case, you’ll learn something new, and that is gold.
So taking the low-risk course now may have a better short term outcome, but it’ll hurt you in the long game. People don’t get good careers by starting at the bottom and waiting it out until they are on top anymore. You have to fight to learn and grow and find skills that will make you indispensable.