Education & Work Help me choose a job

Hello everyone,

I haven't posted for a while but hope you're all doing well. I'm in a bit of an unexpected pickle with having to possibly choose between three jobs. It would be great to get your feedback from a career progression perspective and also financially. I have listed them below in my initial order of preference but this may change based on your thoughts. You can read some background on my current job situation here: Canberra to Sydney move - worth it?

Job #1
This job is my first preference. I haven't been made an offer yet but have had reference checks which went well. They are making verbal offers either this week or next week.

The job sounds great and there is the opportunity to work overseas which is a massive plus for me. It is close to the city which means I can continue taking the bus easily and we can stay in our PPOR. The job is one level above my current one and pays about $40-50/week more than what I get now. This will increase as I progress through the pay points. But of course, I haven't actually been made an offer yet.

Job #2
This job is in Sydney. I had the interview yesterday and was contacted today and told I was the preferred candidate and that they'd like to do reference checks. I will provide these details to them shortly and will presumably be made an offer. The job is located on Market St in the city. As mentioned in the above link, we don't have a car (and don't really want to get one) and I would ideally like to live within a 30 minute public transport commute from work.

The job itself sounds great and will allow me to skip a level (public service) which is really exciting for my career progression. We will have to rent out our PPOR and rent something in Sydney. According to my brief research, the rent we will receive on our house and what we'll have to pay in Sydney is about the same. So we'd likely still need to cover the other costs like rates, insurance, etc on top ourselves which is a bit of a downside, especially when our house is probably nicer than what we'll get renting as well.

I did calculations on the ATO website and after tax, I'd be getting about $1100/week after tax (about $160 more than now). I'm not sure how to calculate what the tax benefits would be of renting out our house but I'm guessing it may be worth about $100/week extra if we did an income tax variation to have the tax return on top of my wages rather than as a lump sum each year. Just a guess though. Even if I do get this return, I would obviously still need to pay the actual expenses.

This job also has the possibility of bonuses. About $3k/year is the standard amount but it could go up to about 8k if you get amazing ratings in your performance reviews. However. my husband would need to see if he can get a transfer in his job or get a new one (he is working part-time while studying).

Job #3
I have received a verbal offer for this position and I am awaiting my security clearance before I can be made an offer. It is located on the complete opposite side of Canberra so it will be a 1 hour commute on the bus each way (if I don't get a car). There will be some very early morning shifts with this one but I will receive overtime for it. These would also be before the bus starts running so I would need to get Uber on these days. It will be one week every 2 months or so. Presuming 6 weeks per year, this would cost about $1500/year. Or I could buy a car (would need a loan or salary packaging as I can't pay cash at present) but would then have even more expenses for this.

The salary is only about $20 more per week than what I'm getting now (probably about $70/week more including the occasional overtime) but this will increase when I progress through the pay points. It is one level higher than my current job. The job itself sounds great and the people I've met so far have been really nice. There is also the option I guess of renting close to work - there may be a small difference in the amount of rent we have to pay compared to what we'll receive (in our favour) but nothing significant. Not sure if it'd be worth it really.


Sorry for the hugely long post. It would be great to get your thoughts - thanks

 

Just a comment: When you do what you love, the money comes. So I'd say to focus on the position you want first and which would be the best fit for you.

 

Thanks - I definitely agree and think that I'm pretty lucky to do a job I really enjoy. The first job would be my clear favourite but as I haven't been told I've got it yet, I'm trying to pick a back up option out of the other two.

Both jobs are similar in terms of responsibilities and what they actually involve - the money aspect (not just the wages themselves but the other financial costs involved) is the only thing really separating them which is why I'm trying to use that as the basis for my decision.

 

Hi, What area did you look at in Sydney? The good thing here is a number of suburbs are 30 mins from Syd in different locations, If you are happy with trains you can be out in the hills (or in some parts of the hills a bus, I used to catch a bus and it was around 30 mins or so)

It sounds like you have your heart set on option 1 and I would too, no point relocating if you don't have to but as a backup option 2 may need a little more research of area, the pendulum of rental prices swings pretty far in Sydney .

 

I'm not looking for anything fancy in terms of a rental. I'd be happy with a relatively modern or updated 2 bedroom apartment. $450/week seems to be about the norm with what I've seen. Are there any suburbs that come to mind that would be significantly cheaper than this? Given that we won't have a car, I'd also like to have shops etc within walking distance as well.

 

In that range you would have a few options, if you like the beach you could consider Cronulla (South), the downside is your trip will go from 30 mins to 45 on the train.

Out west around my area in the Hills, you will get a nice apartment for $420 - $450 and that's a 30 min bus ride on the express bus but longer if you travel off peak or not express.

East you "might" just get something at Kingsford but it's going to be the bottom of the barrel as East is expensive.

Lastly, a little closer to the City you have Macquarie Park or closer again Lane Cove. Both are nice areas and both are in the price bracket.

There are shops close by in all of these suburbs.

Northern beaches are nice but a nightmare for public transport and they start around $500 - $550 pw.

 

Thanks - it seems like I had the right price range in mind.

 

Hmmm. If these jobs are in the public service then I would go for the highest grade position. It will be a stepping stone to higher grades and more money.

 

And you could Uber them in the 180B to keep the commute to 30 mins

 

Go back to Job 1 and tell them you have two offers but their position is your first preference. Hopefully they'll be nudged to make decision a bit faster.

 

I did last week and they can't as it's a bulk round for about 15 positions. They said the selection committee is finalising their "report" and will contact the successful applicants once they have ranked all the candidates. I can't believe how long the process has been - I applied in January!

 

Depends on the company and their structure :-\
Job 1 sounds like the best match
Job 2 is second... but it requires you to go interstate, so moving cost, rental cost, travel cost etc. it might take time to recoup it back from salary increase.... if job 1 has no news, I"d say choose one that get you the best chance of quicker career progression

 

Hmm, I thought it was when you find a job you love, you'll never work a day in your life.

 

That too

 

I agree with letting Job #1 know you've been made other offers but would prefer theirs. Compliment them by mentioning theirs is the golden job and you can see yourself enjoying working alongside the people you've met so far.

Not sure if you can hurry public service folks into making a more swift decision, but a couple of compliments to encourage them into haste cannot hurt.

 

Don't count your chickens...
I've thought I was in with a couple of positions at the same time before.
Now we have a "no showboating" rule.

 

Great news - I have been made offers for all the positions! Having never been in a similar position before, I'm unsure about next steps so would appreciate any advice.

I have agreed to job #3 in writing and had set a start date of late next month with them. I let my current manager know about this offer verbally but have not resigned in writing yet. I told her because otherwise I would have been pushed into an internal transfer in the next 1-2 weeks which I am not at all interested in.

I accepted job #2 verbally and have been sent the security clearance forms. I had agreed to a start date verbally although I stated this may need to be changed as I am relocating so have all the logistical side of the things to organise, which they were fine with. They asked for some details of my current role which I said I would provide today or tomorrow (have been on leave for a week). They will then forward me the offer and contract to sign.

I have just been informally told by the recruiting manager that they will be making me an offer for job #1 but as the process has not been finalised, he is unable to make this offer formally. I was given this information after contacting his assistant and mentioning that I have an interstate offer to consider as well. He said they are aiming to make offers this week or next week. It may take a bit more time for me to start there as I will need a higher level security clearance for the role.

So what should I do in the meantime? I still definitely prefer job #1. Should I still forward my details for job #2 and sign the contract? I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do given role #1. If I do this, should I then resign from job #3 or wait until I am offered #1 and then resign from both other roles? I'm also not sure if the recruiters would have any visibility of the role I have already accepted as I have had to provide my AGS number (like an ID number for public servants) as part of my application for all roles.

 

No showboating hey..?
Back in the day, I was offered 4 jobs in 3 weeks!!- and i wasnt even looking for a job- more a random walk down collins street to some recruiting companies...no kidding.
But that was in melbourne...alas then came brisbane....and a very different story unfolded

 

Uh, any reason why you accepted both 2 &3 at this point? It sounds like you need to choose either #3 OR #2 while waiting for offer from #1.

 

Precisely!