Dear Back West:
“What if you interviewed for multiple jobs, accepted one and 3 weeks later got a second offer for a bigger company with more $.
You told your new boss–he did not offer more money and I did not ask (hinted)–but asked about longer term.
The boss was a bit stoic only repeating his intentions when hired. I really like the job I am at, the other is more $ and work from home, but feel compelled to stay.
Is it possible once I discussed with the boss?”
A Reader
Dear Reader,
It’s tricky, and it mostly depends.
As I posted earlier ( See (Almost) Never Take the Counter Offer), my experience is that the world is small, your word is important, and absent some compelling reason (e.g. the job you took turns out to be completely and adversely different than advertised), it’s best to stick it out with the role you accepted and take a pass on the other offer.
If the other shop is sincere there’s always the prospect of coming back to them down the road (2-3 years) after you’ve done the best you can at your current job and are ready for a move.
Your current boss probably made you a fair offer, you shook hands on it and you accepted. Like him, I wouldn’t offer a counter offer.
Whether you stick with the job you accepted or not is a little test of your good word; do you keep your word and stay or break your word and bolt after 3 weeks for a job that pays more. Again, absent some compelling reason, I’d stick with the good faith offer at the job you accepted.
You can almost always find a job that pays more; that doesn’t always mean it’s a better job.
Hope this helps and thanks for the readership.