Ask HN: Ethics of Quitting Soon After Starting B/c Another Offer Came In

[grepthisab]

Basically: Two offers, one is not final with a large, sought-after company. It is pending and I think they will opt to give me the job officially and extend an offer within weeks. Offer is not guaranteed though, and I need a job financially ASAP.

Second offer is official/final, but it is definitely my second choice. Much, much smaller company, lower pay, less name recognition. They want to know if I accept this week.

So dilemma: If I reject second offer, I potentially would have no job whatsoever. If I accept, maybe the better offer solidifies and I would want to leave the smaller company. However, I deeply do not want to put the smaller company in a bad position by onboarding me/giving me work/etc. and then I leave. They are semi-aware of the situation.

Is it unethical/bad to accept the second offer knowing that I may only work there a month if the first offer becomes official? If so, is there any way to mitigate this short of not taking the second offer at all and potentially risking my financial future?

[gt565k]

How about you tell them that you need more than a week to accept, and then tell the larger company, whose official offer you are waiting for, that you have another offer and would like to know their decision sooner.

Seriously, you shouldn't feel pressured to accept an offer. You'll kick yourself in the teeth later.

[theonekeith]

It's definitely putting the "second" company at a loss, since staffing is not nearly as easy a task as is saying "I accept."

Honestly, think about the "second" offer as a legit job and consider whether you'd really want to work there. If yes, accept the offer. You will have many jobs throughout your career, some more fulfilling than others, and they all add up to your career—the sum total of your experience.

If you really want the second job, go for it, and leave the other job by the wayside. Having worked in jobs that, in hindsight, I hated, I can say it's not worth it to work at a job you hate (or even mildly dislike).

What is good is good work. Pick whichever job you want to go for, and do it. Even though it's hard for a business to staff up, it's a business, and business is business. You are a person, and your life is your life.

On the financial end of it, don't worry about that either. Money comes, money goes. Having been in the workforce for nearly 20 years, I can tell you that job A will not directly affect you except in your ability to negotiate further. That being said, you can always negotiate further—your future employers will not have direct access to your financial situation, so you will still be at liberty to play poker, as it were.

THAT being said, money doesn't matter as much as job satisfaction. Would you murder innocents for six figures? Bottom line, don't waste your time doing anything you don't enjoy. The money will come.

[hacknat]

I've seen it happen a few times around me and while people usually get annoyed it's not a big deal, especially if it happens quickly.

We hired a machine learning guy from Facebook and he up and quit in less than 2 weeks, because his buddies finally landed a series A and he wanted to work for them. We were all annoyed, but I wouldn't bad mouth him to anyone.

[JSeymourATL]

> Second offer is official/final... They want to know if I accept this week.

Simple, you have ONE real job offer. You need the job, now accept enthusiastically.

It is impossible to know if the Large, Sought-After Company will ever get it's slow, bureaucratic act together and tender you an acceptable offer.

If their offer does eventually come through -- then weigh the competitive merits of leaving. Meanwhile, you may have gained several weeks/months of work experience at the small firm, even discovered some hidden upside potential.

[mrits]

If you left your job for a better job I certainly wouldn't hold that against you.