I took the job with the prospective employer.
Late afternoon today my boss called me into her office and presented me with the university’s “counter offer.” And I was very rudely awakened.
I guess that now’s a good time to confess that I lied to my boss. I told her that the prospective employer offered me more money than they actually had. I was thinking, of course, that by presenting a higher offer I could get more money out of the university. Boy was I wrong. Not only did the university counter with less than the prospective employer’s _real_ offer, they requested a letter from them stating what their offer was.
Shit! Shit! Shit!
So my options were to take a new job making just a little bit more… a job I wasn’t sure about to begin with. Or I could stay at the university, looking like a complete fake because I couldn’t produce the letter or the letter I’d produce would show an offer for less money than I said.
Thinking about it carefully, I decided that this was God’s twisted way of getting me out of the university. Because there was just no way I was staying, looking like a fool. I now that pride’s a dangerous thing, but sometimes that’s all you have.
I called the human resources woman at the prospective employer and left a message for her. When I spoke to her a few minutes later, off my cell phone, standing outside in the heat, she opened the conversation with good news. The city met the salary requirements I asked for yesterday. And I signed on on the spot.
Greedy little brat, aren’t it?
My boss doesn’t even know yet. She was gone when I got back into the office and I see no reason to call her at home to give the news over a holiday weekend. I’ll tell her on Tuesday when I get back in.
I’m still not completely sure that I’m doing the right thing. But my new job pays about 25% more than my current one. I tried to bluff the university and they called me on it. Now I have to live with it.
I go in on Thursday for drug testing and processing. They want me in as soon as possible. I’ll have to work that out with my boss. Arianna thinks that the university was insulting with their requirement that I produce the prospective employer’s offer letter and that I should just quit. I’m not going to, of course. I can’t burn my bridges. I’ll be professional and give them 2 weeks, at least, they won’t be able to replace me in that short a time, but it’ll give me time to tie up some loose ends.
I hope this turns out okay.
