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I currently work for a very small software company. Been here three and a half years. I enjoy the job but it’s got very little in the way of future prospects and I’ve decided I want more money.

I’ve been hunting for the last few months. Had a few interviews which haven’t gone anywhere. But last week I had a job interview for a company I really like. The role is a big step up and it comes with lots more opportunity for future development than my current job. It also comes with a 25% pay rise and is within walking distance of where I live so I’ll save a fortune in fuel. So that’s all the boxes ticked.

Two days later they ask me back for a 2nd interview which I had last Friday. All went very well, aced the technical tests and got on really well with the team. Manager shakes me by the hand and says he’ll be in touch in that afternoon. So all good.

Later that afternoon he emails to say he’s got to have a meeting with a director and he’ll be in touch on Monday. I was kind disappointed he wasn’t mailing with an offer, but then again you don’t meet with a director about prospective employee you don’t intend to hire. So I took it as good news.

Anyway this morning I receive the phone call from the hiring manager, but It wasn’t quite the news I was expecting to hear. It turns out that the Director (whom the hiring manager was meeting with) had decided at the end of last week (the same day I had the 2nd interview) in put in place a hiring freeze till the next quarter. That was why the hiring manager had met with him on Friday, to ask for an exception so they could bring me on straight away. Sadly he didn’t manage to persuade him.

So he can’t offer me the job at the moment, but I’ve been promised a phone call as soon as the situation changes which he says he’s confident will be in January.

I’ve never been in this situation before. Being told a company wants to hire me, but they just can’t do so right now. I’m not really sure how I should treat this news. Part of me thinks this inst really a bad situation to be in at all. I’ve already persuaded them that I’m the man for the job and January is only 6 weeks away. All I have to do is stick with my current job for a bit longer than I originally hoped to do and then come new year I can move on. But then again there is a risk to that. What if January comes and the freeze remain in place? Also If they are freezing recruitment now, does that mean the company might not be in all that great shape?

Do I keep job hunting in the meantime or put it on hold for a couple of months and see how this plays out? If come January I get an offer then great, if not then I can always pick it up again where I’ve left off.

Has anyone else ever been in a similar situation and can offer some advice?

I would keep this potential job in the back of your mind, but don't stop looking. You never know, you might find something better between now and January!

Good luck to you though!

Same. Keep looking.
If this falls through, you'll be 6 weeks further on than you would have been.

Freezes might just be a year-end thing, where all spends are stamped on to give the accounts teams time to balance things. The freeze isn't likely to be an issue.

Yeah, I'd keep job hunting as well. If you find a new job, but you really want that job you described, then you can phone them up and say you've been offered a job, and this could force their hand, and maybe result in their freeze being unfrozen.

I would keep looking because a job in the hand is worth two in the January, so to speak. You might get an offer that you didn't expect from someplace for even more money that you would be happy to commute to.

I would mention though that a hiring freeze isn't necessarily a sign of poor financial health. My current employer has semi regular hiring freezes, and they are doing really well financially. In fact, I had to get an exception for me to get hired on mid freeze - so its a real thing and I wouldn't panic too much over that.

Yep, freezes are a thing. Especially in the government, but also any company that might be highly dependent on seasonal sales or contact work.

It's not a sale until the paperwork is signed.

 LuciusAR wrote:

I’ve never been in this situation before. Being told a company wants to hire me, but they just can’t do so right now. I’m not really sure how I should treat this news. Part of me thinks this inst really a bad situation to be in at all. I’ve already persuaded them that I’m the man for the job and January is only 6 weeks away. All I have to do is stick with my current job for a bit longer than I originally hoped to do and then come new year I can move on. But then again there is a risk to that. What if January comes and the freeze remain in place? Also If they are freezing recruitment now, does that mean the company might not be in all that great shape?

Do I keep job hunting in the meantime or put it on hold for a couple of months and see how this plays out? If come January I get an offer then great, if not then I can always pick it up again where I’ve left off.

Has anyone else ever been in a similar situation and can offer some advice?

I own a small software company and that sort of thing happens here about once a year.

It's very unfortunate and I understand the impact it has on people and their lives. The reality is, however, all companies make decisions based on cash flow and budgets, and you don't want to be in a position where your position is underfunded and you are getting laid-off after a few months (trust me, that's worse.)

It sounds like you really liked the company you interviewed with. The decision about whether or not to stick it out and wait is entirely up to you, no one can make that decision for you. Interview in the meantime, there are other firms that can use your services. Expand your search, look for positions internationally. My company is based in the US but I have people working here from Australia, the UK, Eastern Europe, Canada and Cambodia. It's a small world and the Interwebs make it smaller everyday.

But don't look at the situation like your options are limited. There's no reason to stick with a company unless a) they are paying you for the work you do and b) you like being there. Considering neither is true about this first place, there's no reason to hold on for them unless it's sentimental.

I've been in that position before. Keep the "offer" in your back pocket but don't stop looking. If nothing else, you have a benchmark of what you could be offered and use that in your negotiations.

Thanks for advice everyone. Having had a night to sleep on it I'm feeling less confused. I think I'll hold onto this one and use it as a confidence booster but keep on hunting.

I do really like this company, so if something else comes along in the meantime that I don't like quite as much I can always use an offer from them as it as a way of speeding them up. If nothing turns up well then I take hopefully take them up on the offer when it arises in the new year.

I would also say keep hunting. It's nice that they want to hire, but a "not right now" won't put food on the table

If you get another job and they call you, great. If not, oh well. Also, freezes are pretty commonplace. It's usually they do freezes when business/sales are slow and wait for their busy months. Also, remember, it's near the end of the year, so most companies are trying to trim budgets as much as possible. Come January, they have a new budget and are glad to spend it.

 LuciusAR wrote:
Thanks for advice everyone. Having had a night to sleep on it I'm feeling less confused. I think I'll hold onto this one and use it as a confidence booster but keep on hunting.

I do really like this company, so if something else comes along in the meantime that I don't like quite as much I can always use an offer from them as it as a way of speeding them up. If nothing turns up well then I take hopefully take them up on the offer when it arises in the new year.

If you like the company and for whatever reason, it falls through. Take the opportunity to tell the hiring manager, "sorry it didn't work out, but thank you for the opportunity. I hope you'll keep me in mind if another opportunity opens up somewhere else in the company"

Companies are always looking for good people, even if the exact position isn't necessarily available right now.

Keep job hunting.

If you are lucky enough to get another offer, you can go back to the company you like, and tell the manager you really want to work for him but you have had another offer.

He might speed up the process to get you. If he doesn't, you can take the job with company three and move to company two in the New Year if they unfreeze their hiring.

 Kilkrazy wrote:


He might speed up the process to get you. If he doesn't, you can take the job with company three and move to company two in the New Year if they unfreeze their hiring.

That would mean quitting a job mere weeks after starting just to take a better offer. That's very unprofessional behaviour and I'd argue it's downright unethical to accept a job offer with the intention of leaving it after a short period because something better is just around the corner. You've wasted the company's time and money and denied the role to another candidate who didn't intend to quit.

If I where to be in this situation and accepted a job with company three then I when company two did unfreeze their hiring I would simply have to turn any offer from them down.