Serious questions and musings

[Martin]

I don't know the field you're going in to or the background to these offers but generally my advice would be

If you get offered a permanent job and that's what you'd prefer, take it. The other employer would probably understand, and if they didn't, so what? They don't own you

As for future jobs and it being on your CV, it's unlikely to be an issue and if you even get questioned on it, you can just say you went in knowingly that it would only be until another job started, that you made the change for better prospects, better opportunities, better challenge, etc. They're hardly going to call the old employer up and be told "actually matt said he'd do 6 months but only did 4 so you should avoid him"

 

[rob666]

Give it a shot mate.
If nothing else, it is further interview practice.
This is a pivotal time in your life, you are very much allowed to look after number one in such a situation.
Go for it and good luck.

 

[Dave]

I’ve got a bit of a dilemma that I’m pondering this afternoon and I’d appreciate some guidance, if anyone wouldn’t mind helping me out. I trust the good folks of TowersStreet to give me honest, unabashed advice!

As some of you might know, I scored a temporary job offer last week that I was really happy with. Prior to knowing about this, however, I had applied to some permanent roles… I had a first stage Teams interview for one last week, and that one has now offered me a second stage interview on-site in their office.

Now of course, there’s every chance I won’t get offered the job after the interview. But on the off chance I did get offered a job, what I was wondering is; would it look terrible for me to only spend a very short period (i.e. a couple of weeks or so) in the temporary role if I wanted to take the permanent opportunity if I was offered it?

I’ll admit I’m not certain that I’d want to take this particular role if I was offered it. It’s probably a worse commute than the temporary role I’ve scored (the permanent role is a 45 minute minimum drive that could well turn into 1hr+ on a bad day, whereas the temporary role is a 25 minute drive to a train station and an easy 25 minute train into a city centre), and it’s also doing something that is less close to things I’ve encountered at undergrad and postgrad whereas the temporary role seems like work that’s more within my current skillset (albeit still with some learning opportunities), so I’m undecided on whether I’d take the offer if I was given it.

But on the other hand, part of me thinks that permanent is always preferable to temporary, what with the benefits and security a permanent job would offer, and the work still sounds intriguing even if it’s less close to anything I’ve currently done. I was reassured in the interview that I would be heavily trained, and that the interviewer himself, like me, previously had no experience in the subject matter of the job prior to joining!

So my thought is; if I did take a permanent job offer and only stayed in the temporary job for a very short period, would it look terrible? Would it make me an awful person and make me look bad to the temporary employers?

You only need to worry about “look bad” if you have long term ambition to work for that company (or if the career area is a small world where people talk to each other).

If it’s neither of those things then go with the job that best suits your needs. If the temporary role is a better fit and you can afford the risk then go with that one. If you can’t afford the risk take the permanent job.

Also bare in mind at the moment from a practical point of view all jobs are temporary contracts until you have worked there for 2 years as you can be fired for no reason up to 2 years employment (this is changing but it hasn’t yet).

 

[NuttySquirrel]

I'd do what is best for you Matt. If you do leave the first company after two weeks it will be a bit inconvenient for them but they will understand that you would prefer a permanent role. That's a risk they have taken by choosing to make your offered role a temporary one.

On the other hand, don't just take a different job because it's permanent if you think you might be better fit for, and would enjoy more, the temporary role. Very often temporary contracts are extended or an opening will appear before the end of the contract you can slot right into anyway.

Finally, you don't have to, and I wouldn't recommend, putting a role you left after two weeks on your CV. There's just no need and it wouldn't be of benefit.

 

[Matt N]

Thanks, all.

There’s a lot to ponder. Both jobs fall within the basic remit of data, but other than that, they’re quite different and in different industries.

The temporary job is with a civil service body helping to develop data visualisation and analysis solutions (e.g. interactive dashboards) using Python, SQL and other tools to display insights to decision makers. With my undergraduate degree in Computer Science, I wonder if something more code-based and based around data pipelines and visualisation fits my undergrad/postgrad skillset combination better.

Whereas the permanent job revolves around generative AI development (something I have little to no experience in working with) and is working with a consultancy firm who mainly seem to deal in defence.

I wouldn’t say natural language processing was something I was overly infatuated with when we did it in Cardiff, and I’d probably instinctively pick other areas of the data field over it. I’ve also never dealt with any of the other generative AI-specific tools and things such as prompt engineering before. To be honest, the job sounds more primarily centred around generative AI than I expected based on the job description when I applied for it, and it would be quite a risk to take a gamble on something I’ve never really done before, even if the employer insists that I would be fully trained.

But on the other hand, it is a permanent role, it still sounds potentially interesting, and I wonder if something working with generative AI might be more future proof than many roles. To be honest, I am quite agnostic about what I do as long as it falls within the basic remit of my academic background; there are a number of data-related roles I would very happily do, and I’m not particularly fussy about the industry either!

There are the other things to consider as well. The temporary role is a nice city centre commute into Bristol, which would only be a 25 minute train from Severn Tunnel Junction railway station (which is itself a 25 minute drive from where I live), whereas the permanent role is located somewhere off the M5 between Bristol and Gloucester that would take a minimum of 45 minutes to drive to on a clear run and would likely take over an hour on a bad one. I’m not a confident driver, particularly on the motorways, and if I’m being honest, the idea of a long motorway drive fills me with dread. The permanent role is 1 day in the office, whereas the temporary role is 2 (and would go up to 3 if I was made permanent). This isn’t really an issue for me, but interestingly, the temporary role actually pays more (and quite significantly more at that, which surprised me given that it’s a temp role and the public sector is not exactly known for generous renumeration!).

In terms of whether I can weather any potential instability a temporary job throws my way; seeing as I live with my parents and have minimal outgoings, I definitely can. I was also told by both the recruiter and the interviewer that the job had a high, albeit not guaranteed, chance of leading to a permanent opportunity at the end of the 6 months.

This is certainly not a situation I ever imagined being in, anyhow… all I’d heard was how awful the job market was for grads and how nobody is finding a job, so seeing as I do not exactly have a remarkable CV by any stretch of the imagination, I pictured myself searching for far longer and I did not ponder having to weigh up and compare multiple jobs.

I still may not even get offered the permanent role, though (in fact, it’s probably quite likely), so I guess the decision may be made for me within time!

 

[NuttySquirrel]

Thanks, all.

There’s a lot to ponder. Both jobs fall within the basic remit of data, but other than that, they’re quite different and in different industries.

The temporary job is with a civil service body helping to develop data visualisation and analysis solutions (e.g. interactive dashboards) using Python, SQL and other tools to display insights to decision makers. With my undergraduate degree in Computer Science, I wonder if something more code-based and based around data pipelines and visualisation fits my undergrad/postgrad skillset combination better.

Whereas the permanent job revolves around generative AI development (something I have little to no experience in working with) and is working with a consultancy firm who mainly seem to deal in defence.

I wouldn’t say natural language processing was something I was overly infatuated with when we did it in Cardiff, and I’d probably instinctively pick other areas of the data field over it. I’ve also never dealt with any of the other generative AI-specific tools and things such as prompt engineering before. To be honest, the job sounds more primarily centred around generative AI than I expected based on the job description when I applied for it, and it would be quite a risk to take a gamble on something I’ve never really done before, even if the employer insists that I would be fully trained.

But on the other hand, it is a permanent role, it still sounds potentially interesting, and I wonder if something working with generative AI might be more future proof than many roles. To be honest, I am quite agnostic about what I do as long as it falls within the basic remit of my academic background; there are a number of data-related roles I would very happily do, and I’m not particularly fussy about the industry either!

There are the other things to consider as well. The temporary role is a nice city centre commute into Bristol, which would only be a 25 minute train from Severn Tunnel Junction railway station (which is itself a 25 minute drive from where I live), whereas the permanent role is located somewhere off the M5 between Bristol and Gloucester that would take a minimum of 45 minutes to drive to on a clear run and would likely take over an hour on a bad one. I’m not a confident driver, particularly on the motorways, and if I’m being honest, the idea of a long motorway drive fills me with dread. The permanent role is 1 day in the office, whereas the temporary role is 2 (and would go up to 3 if I was made permanent). This isn’t really an issue for me, but interestingly, the temporary role actually pays more (and quite significantly more at that, which surprised me given that it’s a temp role and the public sector is not exactly known for generous renumeration!).

In terms of whether I can weather any potential instability a temporary job throws my way; seeing as I live with my parents and have minimal outgoings, I definitely can. I was also told by both the recruiter and the interviewer that the job had a high, albeit not guaranteed, chance of leading to a permanent opportunity at the end of the 6 months.

This is certainly not a situation I ever imagined being in, anyhow… all I’d heard was how awful the job market was for grads and how nobody is finding a job, so seeing as I do not exactly have a remarkable CV by any stretch of the imagination, I pictured myself searching for far longer and I did not ponder having to weigh up and compare multiple jobs.

I still may not even get offered the permanent role, though (in fact, it’s probably quite likely), so I guess the decision may be made for me within time!

It sounds to me like you have a much stronger preference for the temporary job. Although I think it's worth going through the remainder of the recruitment process for the permanent role to learn as much as you can, my recommendation is to follow your gut instinct here.

Also the fact that you are more comfortable with the working arrangements for the temporary role than the permanent one - a nice quick railway commute vs. a 45-minute motorway journey - is massive. You'll be doing this week in, week out, and if you find this aspect of things isn't working for you there's very little you can do about it (except leave).

You also want to think about your next role as an investment in your skillset - in which area do you think you are you most keen to develop your skills? Then even if the temporary role ends you will have that work experience to put on a CV to find the next suitable position. If you're worried about instability I suggest putting aside a chunk of your paycheque each month as a 'contingency' fund. As you say, you do have the advantage that you are living at home and can afford to weather a gap in employment - compare this with someone who has a mortgage to pay and children to keep fed and clothed. You don't need to make those sorts of compromises for job security at this stage in your life.