|
You have recently finished college and earned a degree in computer arts. You have been pounding the pavement ever since your May
graduation trying to get a job. Your reel has been sent to every studio you can think of, but so far there have been no takers. Zip. Nada. Zilch. Not even a nibble.
Then finally it happens. A very small company that you had completely forgotten you had even submitted your demo to calls you up.
They are very excited about your work and they want to meet with you tomorrow for an interview.
The next day, Wednesday, you arrive at the studio right on time, perhaps even a few minutes early. You a fully prepared with extra
copies of your reel and resume just in case they have misplaced their copies. The interview goes exceptionally well. This small company is quite impressed with you, so much so
that they ofer you the job right there on the spot. You are fairly impressed with them also. Although they are a tiny boutique the work they have done is fascinating and
innovative.
It’s not exactly the type of work you had envisioned yourself doing after graduation and the pay is not a lot, however the job would definitely keep you employed for a long while and would be a great opportunity to learn things that you never could have learned in school. You are told that they generally keep regular 9 to 5 hours which sounds pretty god to you. Plus, you hit it off so well with these people from the moment you walked into the interview that you truly feel you could easily fit in and grow along with this company. Based on your portfolio and now your wonderful interview, this company believes that you might quickly transition into a lead position. They want you to start work this coming Monday.
Because of this company’s overwhelming enthusiasm, and because of a total lack of response from any other studio, you agree at the
conclusion of the interview to take he job.
You fill out all the new employee paperwork, shake hands with everyone, and leave their offices feeling rather flattered and giddy. Sure, it’s not what you thought would happen after completing school, but my gosh it is great to feel so apreciated. They almost acted as if you were doing them a huge favor by agreeing to come to work for them. You’re about to start your career in computer arts and the more you think about it the more eager you are for Monday to hurry up and arrive.
Early Thursday afternoon, while you are finally doing the dishes that have been piling up in the sink all week, the phone rings.
To your astonishment it is a recruiter calling from your absolute dream company. It is the company that you have wanted to work for since you were twelve years old. This big, famous, award-winning studio has inherited a sizeable chuck of a project that grew too huge for the main studio to handle themselves. Your dream company is having to quickly recruit some new folks to do the job and they have called you.
They would like you to come in for an interview. You excitedly arrange to meet them later that afternoon.
During the interview with the big studio you start to get a little nervous.
It doesn’t seem to be going nearly as well as your previous interview at the smal boutique shop. Maybe it’s because you are dealing with a recruiter instead of the actual owners of the company. Maybe it’s because of your excitement over finally interviewing at the place you have always wanted to work at. At the conclusion of the interview the recruiter pleasantly thanks you and tells you that she will be in touch with you soon. Did the interview go well? Did you blow it? You don’t really know. It all seems like a jumbled blur now as you reflect back on it. You go home and try to get on with life, including finishing those dishes.
All day Friday you keep hoping that your phone rings.
Even though you have call waiting and voice mail you tell everyone who calls that you can’t talk to them right now. Must keep the line open in case your dream company calls. I mean, they might, right? The recruiter said she’d be in touch soon. How soon is soon? Is that company really going to call or is that what they say to everybody they interview? Oh, this is worse than dating!
At the end of the day Friday, when you have finally allowed yourself to become preoccupied with your day-to-day life, your phone
rings. It’s your dream company. They are offering you the job. It is a position just above entry level.
It’s working on a feature film. But it is a “project position” that may only last two months. There is no guarantee that you’ll be kept on beyond that or that you’ll get called back in the fall when business picks up again. The average work week there is fifty hours. Since this is a rush job project to help out another studio--referred to in the business as a “911 call”--you’ll probably work longer hours, especially near the end. They want you to start work on Wednesday when they are having a new-hire orientation.
As excited as you are, something inside you tells you not to give them a decision now. You stall and say something about having to
attend to something urgent and ask the recruiter if you can call her right back. She says that’s no problem and to let her know by Monday afternoon what you have decided.
You hang up and sink back onto the couch, stunned and smiling. Your smile quickly droops into a frown as reality sets in. You have not one, but two job offers: one from your dream company and one from a small studio...which you have already accepted.
Serious Questions Time
Which job do you take?
Setting aside any emotions you might have, which job is better for you in the long run?
What’s more important? Resume building or a learning experience?
What about pay, commute, hours, job title, length of project and duties?
Is it justifiable to back out of the first job in order to take the job at your “dream company”?
Does it matter that you essentially signed a contract with the small studio?
How does the fact that you have yet to start work at the small studio affect the situation?
Are you obligated to stick with your commitment to the small studio?
Was it ethical to go to the interview at the dream company after accepting the previous job offer?
Would your decision be easier if you had not already signed with the smaller company?
What would you do if the situation were reversed and the dream company had called first?
Would knowing what the projects are at each company change your decision?
Was it wise to give the small company a “yes” without taking time to think it over?
Was it okay to tell the big studio you had something urgent to attend to in order to get off the phone?
Would it be a good idea to ask the small studio if you could start in two months instead of Monday?
Is there any way you could satisfactorily do both jobs at the same time?
Is it a good idea to work two days at the first studio, quit, and then show up to work at the second?
Why do you think you got no responses after sending out all those demo reels?
If the small studio hired you into a staff position why won’t your dream company do the same?
I encourage you to read these questions and then go back and re-read the case study before answering any of them.
And don’t simply answer them in your head. Write your answers down or type them out. Writing them down helps you to truly think everything over. Doing it in in your head make it far to easy to weasel out on the tough stuff.
So,...what would you do?
Feel free to email us your thoughts.
|