score!

The long and short of this entry is that by the end of this week, I will be employed again.

After a week of moving in, organizing, cleaning up and getting settled, I started pursuing my leads. I started by contacting my phone interview from July to let her know I had finally arrived and was ready to pursue Company A. She pulled me in for an interview Thursday, which went very well, and set up a second interview with their VP of Operations to take place today.

Friday, I got a call from the company (B) that laid me off two weeks ago. They want me back. In New York. I set up a meeting for this morning, taking place prior to my second interview.

So this morning, I woke up brightish and earlyish (for me) and as I'm getting ready to head downtown, my phone chirps with a new email. My second interview has been canceled. I was a little crestfallen, until I read the second paragraph:

"I want to go ahead and extend you an offer to bring you on board. Let's meet Wednesday and hammer it out."

I already knew the ballpark salary figures I was looking at for Company A, so I decided to go into the interview with Company B and use that as leverage. I saw where I'd be for Company B, met the staff I'd be working with... I asked about the more HR oriented things I would require to come back on board, and each one was agreed to. The working conditions were perfect. An offer was made.

The offer... was not good. In fact, kind of lousy. Liveable, sure. Workable. And a lot of freedom and flexibility. But kind of a slap, considering the skillset I bring to the table, the consistent and reliable performance I've turned in for the last four years. I need a better acknowledgment before I jump right back into that mess. I asked for a day to mull it over.

I called Company A, explained I had another offer on the table and asked to meet that day instead of Wednesday to get the details of the offer. She obliged and told me to come up right then.

Company A's compensation plan worries me a little. The base is barely better than unemployment. The difference, however, is made up through a variety of commissions and bonuses, and when all added together, with all cylinders firing, it totals considerably better than Company B's offer.

Back to Company B. I told them the one sticking point on this is the compensation package -- it was not sufficient considering my abilities and the increased cost of living between Atlanta and New York. I added $2K to my desired rate to give them room to negotiate back to it. They're crunching numbers now to see if they can make it happen, and will be back to me with a counter offer tonight or tomorrow morning. If they can meet me, I'll come back to Company B. If not, I land squarely at Company A.

Either way, WIN.

It was a little bit of a crapshoot, but moving back is turning out to be one of the best decisions I've made in a long, long time.

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EDIT/UPDATE:

Company B could not meet my salary request. Company A has a new employee!