<p>When I finished school, I was offered a job making the bottom 10% of what my field offers (less than $30,000 a year). I was very disappointed and tried to negotiate, but HR wouldnt give me a penny more. I took it because I needed it, but kept applying for other jobs, hoping something else would come along.</p>
<p>Well, two months after I have been working there, I have been offered another job, doing basically the same thing, but for nearly 30% more than my current salary. I decided to take it not only because of the money, but my new job offers more potential for growth (it is a bigger company) including promotions and tuition reimbursement. It is also in a better area. </p>
<p>However, I feel very guilty because I am so new to my first job and have just got settled in. I plan on staying with this new job for many years because I can live pretty comfortably on the salary and see lots of new opportunity and dont want to job hop. Is what I am doing unethical? No to mention I have taken a day off from my current job to get paperwork straightened out at my new job, but havent actually accrued any time off so I will be getting in trouble with HR (at my current job) but will be leaving in two weeks. What do you all think?</p>
<p>If they suddenly had a decreased need for you, do you feel HR would try to push money around to find your salary, or do you think you’d be quickly laid off?</p>
<p>Your other choice is telling your current employer what your plans are. If you’ve been pretty good so far, there’s a chance they may offer to meet or exceed the offer from the other company.</p>
<p>You should stop beating yourself up. Its the free market system at its best. Don’t label yourself a job hopper-you would be doing yourself a disservice to squash your ambition out of some self-deprecating sense of guilt to a company that doesn’t even expect it for your position. The reason you found THAT job is because you were willing to accept their sub-market salary. They know they will have turnover-it doesn’t bother them. They will find someone who will accept their position for what they are willing to pay…period. If turnover starts to hurt their bottom line, they will adjust the salary, until then they will keep business as usual. Congrats on your new job! Perform well and be loyal there.</p>
<p>I really don’t see the HR of my current place increasing the offer because it is a state facility. My experience thus far with state jobs have been “tough, deal with it”. My attitude is “okay, I am dealing with it- by finding a job that pays me a competitive wage”. Everyone there is really nice, though, I dont hate my current job.</p>
<p>It also isn’t just about salary- the new job is in a better location and offers tuition reimbursement. Tuition reimbursement was the #1 thing I was looking for in my job, even more than salary. My current place offers none.</p>
<p>Nope! Don’t feel guilty. The company didn’t have the foresight to lock you up with a contract so now you get to leave at will. (Please give proper notice). Take the new job and the bigger money and be glad for it. As long as there are no gaps (SIGNIFICANT) in your work history. The new job with bigger money will make your resume shine.</p>
<p>For the first five years out of college, I’d job-hop for better salary and/or experience without concern about seeming flighty. In my profession, it’s expected that young folks flit from job-to-job to gain a wide range of experience and jockey for promotion opportunities.</p>
<p>As others noted, most employers don’t vest much loyalty towards their employees, so move on to your new position, graciously resign from your current position, and kudos for not resigning yourself to an underpaid position.</p>
<p>As others have said, this seems like an easy decision. By paying you near the bottom of your field, they know that they will lose top people to other places. I’d say that you should just make your decision and go for it. If you decide to leave, it is possible for your current employer to match whatever your new potential employer is giving you, but that is unlikely since you work for the state AND because you’ve been working for all of two months. There’s no shame in switching to a job that is clearly beneficial to you. That said, you have no reason to lie to your current employer. Tell your boss / HR that you are leaving in two weeks, tell them the reason why, and be done with it.</p>
<p>For others out there, this is a great example of an appropriate time to switch jobs soon after getting the job. If the OP had a different situation - for example, he got an offer at a company with the same amount of growth potential but for only a modest raise (say, $2,500), it would be advisable not to make the switch after a mere two months at his current company.</p>
<p>If he’s making less than $30k a year, $2,500 could easily be 10% of his income. Would you begrudge someone leaving a $200k a year job for $220k? Heck, if there’s no growth potential, that means the only way to go up in any way is to leave the company.</p>
<p>No, don’t feel guilty. You have every right to do that. Obviously your current employer might not be super happy, but hey, you make less than $30,000, what do they expect, for you to stay there for 10 years? lol</p>
<p>Take the money, and run as fast as you can.</p>
<p>Your current employer will probably not be happy, but honestly, HR reps know that if they are underpaying someone, they will not last. HR often doesn’t have much choice in salary negotiation, as many entry-level positions have strict start rates, or caps that they may offer. Once you’ve gained some experience you may have more leeway to negotiate for promotions. This is much harder to do with a first job unless you’re at a fantastic company and they are dying to have you.</p>
<p>Just be sure not to burn any bridges and give a proper two-week notice. Work hard those last two weeks (don’t slack off, don’t call off your last day, etc.). Be honest that although you enjoy your work and the people you’ve met, you were offered another position that better meets your career goals. Be empathetic, and offer them your assistance to make the transition easier, if there’s anything you can do (there usually isn’t, but it’s a nice gesture). </p>
<p>We expect new hires to stick around for at least a year and hope that they will stick around a lot longer than that and are annoyed with people that leave after one year because we spend so much time training them.</p>
<p>However, if an employer is underpaying market rates, then they deserve the problem of employees jumping ship when something better comes along.</p>
<p>BTW, since this is a State job, do they provide a pension? Those pensions can be worth a pile of dough when you retire.</p>
<ol>
<li>Why do these people want to leave after a year in the first place?</li>
<li>If the other employer(s) offer them higher compensation, why are those other employers willing to offer them that high of compensation?</li>
<li>Why is your organization not willing to match what others are offering in order to get those employees to stick around?</li>
</ol>
<p>I am not saying the employees are just in leaving so soon without a “just” reason, but I sure see a lot of employers complaining about employees taking maximum advantage of the free market when it was employers that started doing the exact same thing long before employees started doing it. So I am just curious about the answers to those questions concerning the specific situation at your organization.</p>
<p>Our problem with undergrad hires is location. We are in a very nice area for raising a family but it isn’t all that interesting if you’re in your early twenties - boring is the usual term. We pay well, provide great benefits and provide a very stable environment but employees have a lot of choices and young employees prefer big cities.</p>
<p>One of my workout buddies recently gave his notice - he was retiring. We went to hire a few people to replace him but his management wasn’t very happy with the candidates that we interviewed but he was pretty determined to retire. Basically we made him an offer that he couldn’t refuse (financially). I’ve seen this done several times - sometimes successfully but usually not. There are many things that money can’t fix. It might be a spouse living or working in another city or a great opportunity to lead a new project or management opportunities.</p>
<p>Hello Ugofatcat,
Trouble is a part of life. Do what your heart says. Don’t think about salary. You can earn it anywhere, but getting knowledge is important.:)</p>