Which Job Should I Choose?

Now I have to choose. I applied for two different jobs, and both potential employers said that they were interested in interviewing me. Both jobs looked to be essentially the same. I mean, I am an accountant.  How different can the two jobs be?  I had both interviews today, and both companies expressed an interest in hiring me. You’d think I would be able to see which one is best suited for me. But it wasn’t going to be easy.

It had been a long time since I had applied for a job. The small company that had hired me just after university graduation had gone bankrupt, leaving me unemployed.

Interview 1

When I walked into the building of Interview 1, I could see that they were very up-to-date in terms of the technology they were using. There seemed to be more space taken up by technological devices, then there was for the human beings that worked there. Before I walked into the boss’s office, a guy I knew from high school grabbed me by the arm, and took me aside where we couldn’t easily be heard.  I didn’t know him well, as we were only in the same class one year, but he was well-known at school as a ‘party animal’.  He told me that the boss threw parties once, sometimes twice a month at a local bar. And he would sometimes pick up the tab!   He also said that there were four fewer people working there now since they had received the latest AI shipment. 

When I entered the boss’ office, I saw a man wearing a very expensive suit.  He had a commanding look about him. He shook my hand briskly, and told me to sit down in the chair facing his desk. Then he smiled as he told me that the workload wouldn’t be too heavy. Then he quoted the salary, which turned out to be much better than I imagined it would be. He then mentioned the ‘bar parties’ they regularly had. I smiled and told him that that sounded good to me, as it did. He outlined the tasks I would have, which did not seem to be anything of an overload. Finally, he said that he had read my resumé, and that he felt I could do the job if I still wanted it. I had to tell him that I had another interview later this afternoon so I couldn’t say ‘yes’ right away. I told him that I was quick to make decisions, and would inform him tomorrow morning which job I had chosen. 

There was a definite frown all over his face in response to what I had just said. His smile returned when he said ‘You’ll find that you don’t have to make many decisions if you take this job.’  I run the show.  He then said that I could leave. He didn’t shake my hand before I turned to leave.

Interview 2

           The second place was quite different. There was a lot less technology filling the offices, more space for humans. And the interview was very different. It was not just the boss and I in the office. There were four other staff as well, all of whom engaged in asking questions. One of them was an older man who was retiring. It was his job I would be taking if I accepted it. The others, like him, did not have the look of executives, but each had the respect of the boss, who listened carefully to what each one said.  After I had answered all their questions, the boss asked me whether I had any questions that I wanted to ask him or any of the people in the room. I was rather blunt, and asked how much I would be paid. The boss came right out with it. The salary was less than the other job, not by a great deal, but still significant. It would certainly make a difference each year as to where me, my wife and our daughter could vacation, and for how long it would last. That was certainly a factor to consider.

           He told me to leave the room, while they discussed whether I should be hired. It wasn’t long before the boss opened the door and told me the good news that they had agreed that I would be good for the company, that they would like to hire me. I told them that I had been interviewed by another company and would tell them what I had decided early the next morning. His facial expression did not change.           

Making a Decision

           As I drove home, I wondered what my decision would be. There was no obvious choice. When I was in high school, one of my teachers told us that when we needed to make important decisions, we should draw up a list of pros and cons. She told us that the decision should be mathematical, as she would say, as she was our math teacher. I began thinking along those lines. This is what I arrived at:

Interview 1

Pros                                                                          Cons

Higher Salary                                                            The boss was a commander not a consultant, meaning that I would have little independence.

Pub Nights                                                               I might lose my job to a new computer.

Interview 2

Pros                                                                            Cons

The boss was more democratic and would value      Lower Salary

my opinion     

I was unlikely to lose my job to a computer.             More long meetings

The mathematics approach would not work as a way of deciding what my choice should be.

There was another option open to me. The day of my wedding, my mother said to me that important decisions were best made by asking your partner first. I tried that when I got home, after I had told Sarah about the nature of the two interviews.  When I finished doing that, she said to me, “The decision is up to you, dear. It is not for me to say. It’s your job.” 

So this method was not going to work either. I briefly considered flipping a coin, but that did not feel right either. Should I take a long walk to think it over? No, I might end up getting lost or walking right in front of a moving car.

Then our eight-year old daughter, Genievieve (not named after the saint, we just liked the name) was saying her good nights, when I got an idea. She tells it like it is, so I asked her if she would help me solve a problem. I told her about my dilemma. She put the second finger of her right hand on her lips, something she does when she is thinking. Then she gave her answer, “I think that option two would be good for you” (she likes to rhyme). You hate AI, and you like to voice your opinion, not always being told what to do.” She knows me well.

So I took her advice. It turned out that she made the right choice for me.