# Previous employer wants to meet to discuss re-hiring me. Do I tell them I have another opportunity? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 18, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361 "2012-05-18T20:22:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/21 "2012-05-19T06:23:44Z")
I wouldn’t interview with Company A for a few weeks. Put them off on grounds of illness in the family or something. Remember, they have no loyalty to you and you do not work for them. Close the deal with Company B and go work for them. You can fall back on Company A if that doesn’t work. Company is is a loser company in the process of outsourcing its customer service and its book of business. They will go out of business. The management is interested in management bonuses for short term short sighted gains, like laying off people like you. You want to work for Company B, and it is closer to home. It gives you an additional hour of time each day saved from the commute to spend with your family. Nobody on their deathbed regrets not commuting another hour to work or wishes they could have made 10 percent more money working for a dull and stupid and disloyal employer who might lay them off after three weeks or three years. This is a no brainer. ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/22 "2012-05-19T08:05:10Z")
You said that Company B would like for you to go back to work at Company A - more so than actually working for them? Why is that? Would it create tension if some time down the road Company B found out you could have had your old job back? With the info given, Company B sounds like a much better option - IMHO, you can’t put a price tag on a great work environment, it’s really a quality of life issue. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/23 "2012-05-19T10:18:20Z")
I agree with 2nd Law and Stone. If you have any wiggle room at all, put off the interview with Company A. If you can’t put it off, and they want an immediate decision give them a little song and dance about having another interview somewhere else, and it would violate your ethics to commit to them and leave 3 days later due to a better offer. To be honest, if they offer you your job back at the old salary and benefits, any delay in saying “yes” is a clear indicator that you have other opportunities, so you may as well be up front about it. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/24 "2012-05-19T11:17:04Z")
Pitchmeister and Quartz summarised it best for me. And Company A gave you the flick when it suited them. You have no obligation there. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/25 "2012-05-19T14:15:59Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > To be honest, if they offer you your job back at the old salary and benefits, any delay in saying “yes” is a clear indicator that you have other opportunities, so you may as well be up front about it. No, if they wanted me back after they laid me off, I wouldn’t do so unless it involves a raise, and possibly a promotion. So I wouldn’t find it unreasonable for the OP to be reluctant to accept the same job at the same money, whether or not there were other opportunities. (FYI, I was only laid off once, and was called after about a year with an offer to return as the team lead, but at no increase in salary. I turned down the offer.) ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/26 "2012-05-19T15:06:04Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > You have a corporate sponsor in B, it’s a growing, not dying, company, and you’ll have a far better quality of life. > [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > You mentioned that Company A has been both outsourcing and has lost a major account. > > What are the chances that if you go back to Company A, in 6 months (1 year, whatever) Company A will say “Thanks for coming back Moonchild, but your job has been moved to India” or “We’ve lost another account and we need to reduce head count” and you end up unemployed again? I would never go back to a company that laid me off and is circling the drain. What is to say that they will not lay you off right after company B signs some new contract and is locked into using company A … ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/27 "2012-05-19T15:51:37Z")
Company B already know you and your work, albeit at a slight remove. They want you, they have a role for you, and you have support at VP level. Unless the 10% is a real problem in the short term - and after all B is a growing company and you will likely have plenty opportunity to make that up - given the lifestyle benefits, and the extreme likelihood that A will do the exact same to you in the not-too-distant future, Company B seems like a no-brainer to me. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/28 "2012-05-19T17:25:43Z")
This is a no-brainer. While it may give you some kind of emotional satisfaction to have company A wooing you and to be able to compare A versus B in your mind, company B is the future (yours and the industry). ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/29 "2012-05-19T18:09:36Z")
> [@2nd\_Law](#): > > Would it be wrong to tell Company A that you have a doctor’s appointment/toothache and dentist appointment/child care issue/whatever conflict for the Monday interview date, and ask to push it back to Friday? Not to Friday, but possibly to Tuesday/Wednesday. As I ponder it, ideally, I would like to meet with my old employer (Company A) a day before the Company B interview and tell Company A I need a day or so to think about it. Childcare issues. FTR, this isn’t some cold, un-personable office. Despite the company being a large corporation, it’s a fairly tight-knit department and there has pretty much been a air of mutual trust and respect, even with the higher ups (it’s been a real pall for the management to lay people off). Not that I can’t drop a white lie, but I have a reputation as being sincere and reliable – part of my appeal and partly why they’re calling me back. For me to be re-hired is somewhat unprecedented within our offices amidst layoffs. ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/30 "2012-05-19T18:30:50Z")
I should point out, as a whole, Company A is not dying – it’s that our department within the company that is shrinking. The Company as a whole recorded a first quarter revenue of approximately $1.2 billion. It’s fairly wide ranging, both in terms of products & services as well as geographically. ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/31 "2012-05-19T18:49:17Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > I agree with 2nd Law and Stone. If you have any wiggle room at all, put off the interview with Company A. If you can’t put it off, and they want an immediate decision give them a little song and dance about having another interview somewhere else, and it would violate your ethics to commit to them and leave 3 days later due to a better offer. > > To be honest, if they offer you your job back at the old salary and benefits, any delay in saying “yes” is a clear indicator that you have other opportunities, so you may as well be up front about it. I think this pretty much nails it, although I will probably meet on Monday. Thursday may be somewhat darkly comedic. I am still playing for the company softball team and our playoffs begin that day (I am their best player by a pretty wide margin – which isn’t saying a ton). It also the day of interview with Company B. My former account manager (had no say in layoffs, but has pushed hard to get me back) runs the team and will be chomping to get an answer from me. From my POV (which is not omniscient), it will be very hard to delay a decision past Friday. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/32 "2012-05-19T19:36:45Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > Assuming that your 40 minute drive is about 25 miles, and that your car gets about 25 miles to the gallon, and that you work 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year, I calculate that it’ll cost you about $480 annually in gas to commute to company A, and about $80 annually to commute to company B (if you drive). One of us (quite possibly me) has botched the math here, because I don’t see these figures working out unless you’re estimating that \*\*Moonchild \*\*can get gas at $1 a gallon. $480 over 48 weeks means only $10 a week, or $2 per workday, and she’d be using two gallons a day (one each way) Monday-Friday. I have a similar commute (28 miles), and spent over $1400 on gas last year. Even with the three mile commute (30 miles a week) where she’d be using up only about a gallon per week, with gas prices around $3.35 a gallon she’d be spending about $160, not $80, a year. I estimate that \*\*Moonchild \*\*would save over $1200 a year on gas with the shorter commute. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/33 "2012-05-19T21:54:21Z")
Just think of the satisfaction you’ll have telling company A that you’re now employed by company B! ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/34 "2012-05-19T22:22:05Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > . > > I estimate that \*\*Moonchild \*\*would save over $1200 a year on gas with the shorter commute. plus over an hour per day of your life back, 240 hours per year, @$20 per hour that’s $4800 (note this is personal opinion, how much is your time worth to you?) so roughly 6k per year in fuel/time alone, never mind the other bits of the car you have to take care of. 3 miles is also an easy bike ride. I have to admit I would have a really hard time going back to A but I also don’t know what the environment is like. maybe you can work out a deal where you are employed at A but can perhaps contract with B directly? sounds like you have people at both companies who love your work. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/35 "2012-05-20T07:36:06Z")
In my best Prussian officer accent" You tell them NOTHING! Tell them you’re considering several options, and you’ll get back to them by the end of the week. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/36 "2012-05-21T15:24:50Z")
FWIW, a previous employer contacted me about a re-hire situation (though I had quit, not been laid off). They initially wanted ‘feedback’ about why I left, but it became pretty clear very quickly that they wanted me back. I named a number that I wouldn’t consider leaving my job for less for, and they came back the next day with a written offer. I still asked for time to think about it. They were a little surprised and pressured me slightly for an immediate decision, but I stood firm. I just said, “With an important decision, I always need at least a day to think it over carefully.” I didn’t even have another offer; I just wanted the time. In the end, if they want you badly enough to rehire you, they can give you a little time. Explain it if you like, but I’d wait until they gave a firm offer. It’s nice that they want to bring you back and all, but they did lay you off after all. ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/37 "2012-05-22T04:22:07Z")
Thanks, everyone, for so much intelligent input. Interview with Company A is tomorrow morning – the interview was pushed back a day due to my son being ill and requiring my childcare ;). ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/38 "2012-05-22T05:16:20Z")
> [@Critical1](#): > > plus over an hour per day of your life back, 240 hours per year, @$20 per hour that’s $4800 (note this is personal opinion, how much is your time worth to you?) > > so roughly 6k per year in fuel/time alone, never mind the other bits of the car you have to take care of. 3 miles is also an easy bike ride. > > I have to admit I would have a really hard time going back to A but I also don’t know what the environment is like. > maybe you can work out a deal where you are employed at A but can perhaps contract with B directly? sounds like you have people at both companies who love your work. It probably does work out to a lot closer pay when you break it down. The environment at Company A was terrific in many ways – it definitely suited me. But I’m guessing after the layoffs, the vibe has changed some. It actually is possible to work for Company A at Company B (some in company A have done so for another client). But my personal situation is different and not possible. And not possible to work for both places. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/39 "2012-05-22T13:05:14Z")
With the department you were laid off from in Company A, it sounds like that isn’t a great place to be long term. You know they have a willingness to lay people off and that it looks like this department could eventually be shut down. Company A itself, you say, is a great company overall, you were just in a dying department. If you take the higher paying job back at Company A, what are your prospects for getting a job outside that dead end department? Because unless you have a realistic chance of moving to **another** part of Company A, I think long term that’s not a great place for you. At Company B, while you’d be making less right off the bat, it sounds like it’d be a more stable job. What is your potential to move up to a better position at Company B? It looks like either way whichever job you take it’s probably going to be temporary (unless you can see yourself taking a 10% reduction in pay permanently without being tempted to look for other jobs.) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361/40 "2012-05-22T14:12:44Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I estimate that \*\*Moonchild \*\*would save over $1200 a year on gas with the shorter commute. Don’t forget that that’s post-tax expenditure too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/previous-employer-wants-to-meet-to-discuss-re-hiring-me-do-i-tell-them-i-have-another-opportunity/622361.md?page=3)