The Corporate Freshman: Test Drive a New Job by Alexandra Levit appeared on The Huffington Post yesterday. It discusses the pros and cons of a job candidate taking a "trial" position with a company before coming on board permanently. At the end of the probation period, the employer and candidate decide if it's a good match, and whether to sign an employment agreement or part company. The article even suggests that a job seeker propose such a no-risk trial arrangement as a means of being chosen above other candidates.
This "trial" concept is a creative one. It reminds me of my friend who was offered a job with a salary that was about $3,000 less than what she wanted. To negotiate a higher paycheck, she handed the hiring manager a resignation letter that was postdated three months from her start date. She told him, "If, at the end of three months, I haven't proven to you that I deserve that $3,000 more per year, you can use this letter of resignation to let me go." The woman got the job, got the extra $3,000; and her resignation letter was eventually shredded.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
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2 comments:
Interesting. From the employer's standpoint, though, a lot of work goes into training and supervising a new employee, and most of the time it doesn't make sense to do it unless you feel confident it's an employee who's going to be around in a year.
Then again, there are jobs where people are already expected to have the skills (as in some tech jobs) and it would be great to test drive a potential employee with a full understanding on both sides of the "maybe" nature. I know I've helped hire some people under similar conditions and it worked well.
Thanks for a thought-provoking post!
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