I have been an ERISA attorney since 1998. More than half my career now has been in my practice for 15 years this April. For about a three-year run from 2007-2010, I had three different jobs, and the whole process of working for others and the job search process made it an easy choice to get off the employee carousel once and for all.
I have a good friend going through the whole job search and job offer process. Like someone with Post Traumatic Stress Order, this experience is bringing back everything that I tried to forget about the whole job search process. That includes the incessant multiple interviews, the salary range that the job offer doesn’t include but the ad did, and just the whole dashing of what something should be so joyous.
Around 2006, I was looking to leave the Third-Party Administration (TPA) firm where I was the head ERISA attorney. I could no longer work there because we had a minority owner who ran the place and he ran it poorly. So I interviewed at a larger firm in Westchester for a junior ERISA position. Went for several interviews, and they also enticed me with a flexible work schedule. The job offer came in at about $25,000 short of the top salary range of the position. They then promised me the bonus, which still came up short of that top range. When I asked about the flexible work schedule, the offer was withdrawn.
I don’t know how my friend will proceed in this job negotiation because several promises made on pay and benefits aren’t in the job offer. What is included is some arbitration provision that any employment lawyer would second guess. The point here is that the whole point to entice people to join your firm is to be transparent and honest. Yes, that extra $5,000 or $10,000 is coming out of your pocket, but the last thing you want is to leave a sour taste of someone you want to hire.
