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Official Pit Job Search/Employment Thread

forensicdeac said:
I have an offer to go a private forensics lab in Sonoma County, CA from a state crime lab in Columbia, SC. The salary will be 2.5 times what I currently make, plus a one time cost of living adjustment, and they will pay to move my family across the country. Other benefits include insurance, 401K, LTI and grad school reimbursement (the last 2 I don't get now). It is basically the same job duties that I have now but with more formal recognition and the chance to being a key player in doubling/tripling the work output.

I was found by an outside recruiter, passed along to the internal talent acquisition group, and interviewed with the lab director (hiring manager) and site director (her manager). Talent acquisition pressed me hard after a verbal offer saying there was another candidate available but I pushed back stating that a cross country move was life changing for me and my family (wife/three kids). Lab people agreed and flied me out to Cali for a site visit. At this point we are just over a month past first contact.

The parent company of the lab is a major international pharmaceutical company who likes to use lots of metrics in determining compensation packages. The forensic lab itself is a small part of a larger company that is under the big umbrella. I feel like their offer may be maxed out in salary. As it stands, I am 99% sure I will take the job. So the question is: How do I squeeze out every last bit out of an offer? Are there things that I should ask for that one may otherwise overlook? Remember, I have been in a government lab for more than 17 years and there is no negotiating there.

Thanks in advance,

Forensicdeac
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You're getting a 2.5x salary bump, then a COL adjustment on top of it, and you get to live in Sonoma County opposed to South Carolina and wanting to squeeze out even more? I think you're in the don't fuck it up and just take it territory
 
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palmab03 said:
You're getting a 2.5x salary bump, then a COL adjustment on top of it, and you get to live in Sonoma County opposed to South Carolina and wanting to squeeze out even more? I think you're in the don't fuck it up and just take it territory
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I think you might be right. My biggest get at this point would be more personal days. That way I could make more trips back east as I would be in California while the kids are in school and our house is on the market in SC.
 
forensicdeac said:
I think you might be right. My biggest get at this point would be more personal days. That way I could make more trips back east as I would be in California while the kids are in school and our house is on the market in SC.
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That's what I was going to say; ask for vacation days commensurate with what you have now (or at least 3 weeks anyway). But I'm with palma, don't get greedy or overestimate your negotiating power if the reality is that you really would take the job either way.
 
forensicdeac said:
I think you might be right. My biggest get at this point would be more personal days. That way I could make more trips back east as I would be in California while the kids are in school and our house is on the market in SC.
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Are they helping with the sale of your house? When getting such a strong package this is often offered.
 
RJKarl said:
Are they helping with the sale of your house? When getting such a strong package this is often offered.
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They are not helping with the sale. I am not worried about that other than logistics. It will sell pretty quickly when we put it up. They will, however, pay for a company to pack us up and ship our crap cross country while also giving us some misc moving money.
 
Will they put you up in a rental until your family gets there? Or even for a couple of months?

You should be able to find some good wine in your new neighborhood.

This very important. When the wife and kids get there and you go to the beach, there is no jet stream like in SC. The water is cooolllllllllllllddddddddddd...
 
this cold water warning is rj's favorite california advice. It comes up on literally every california thread. we need sokolove to document how many times it has been posted.
 
RJKarl said:
Will they put you up in a rental until your family gets there? Or even for a couple of months?

You should be able to find some good wine in your new neighborhood.

This very important. When the wife and kids get there and you go to the beach, there is no jet stream like in SC. The water is cooolllllllllllllddddddddddd...
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LOL. South Carolina is exempt from WEATHER.
 
forensicdeac said:
They are not helping with the sale. I am not worried about that other than logistics. It will sell pretty quickly when we put it up. They will, however, pay for a company to pack us up and ship our crap cross country while also giving us some misc moving money.
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I'd be worried about the logistics of how you're going to arrange to have someone take care of your 3 kids while wine tasting every damn weekend.
 
Anyone have any digital marketing director or sr mgr roles that target 130 base that can be based in Fort Lauderdale or remote work.
 
RJKarl said:
Will they put you up in a rental until your family gets there? Or even for a couple of months?

You should be able to find some good wine in your new neighborhood.

This very important. When the wife and kids get there and you go to the beach, there is no jet stream like in SC. The water is cooolllllllllllllddddddddddd...
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You mean the Gulf Stream.
 
Deacon92 said:
Anyone have any digital marketing director or sr mgr roles that target 130 base that can be based in Fort Lauderdale or remote work.
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Brightline/Virgin Trains is looking for a Senior Digital Marketing Director. Says the job is based in Miami, but you may be able to talk them into remote and even if they don't, its only 30 miles/an hour to work each day.
 
palmab03 said:
You're getting a 2.5x salary bump, then a COL adjustment on top of it, and you get to live in Sonoma County opposed to South Carolina and wanting to squeeze out even more? I think you're in the don't fuck it up and just take it territory
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Pretty much.

Sounds like a good move. Unless you’ve got significant family ties to SC or region. But even then...

I’ve got some family in Santa Rosa and we really enjoy visiting them and that area.

It’s not necessary easy to figure out, but try to get a new place where the neighborhood is relatively less vulnerable to fires.

Best wishes, enjoy northern CA.
 
GaDeac said:
Brightline/Virgin Trains is looking for a Senior Digital Marketing Director. Says the job is based in Miami, but you may be able to talk them into remote and even if they don't, its only 30 miles/an hour to work each day.
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No that works for local. I'm just not connected to anyone there to get an "in".
 
Any managers here who manage a remote team (i.e., your reports aren't co-located in your office)?

Interviewed for a role that I really liked today, but my team would be distributed and I'm wondering if there are any specific 'gotchas' to be aware of or things you wish you knew about managing distributed teams.
 
leftcoastdeac said:
Any managers here who manage a remote team (i.e., your reports aren't co-located in your office)?

Interviewed for a role that I really liked today, but my team would be distributed and I'm wondering if there are any specific 'gotchas' to be aware of or things you wish you knew about managing distributed teams.
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From San Francisco, I manage a team based out of NYC and Poland. Each of us have a local office but our work is primarily virtual/remote. You've got to put in extra effort to manage your own career (develop relationships, make sure your value/impact is clear, etc.) and as a good manager, need to put additional time into developing your team. There are lots of pros from a work/life balance but also things you just need to devote a bit more time to that you wouldn't expect.

Happy to talk via PM if you have other specific questions.
 
AnonymousDeac said:
From San Francisco, I manage a team based out of NYC and Poland. Each of us have a local office but our work is primarily virtual/remote. You've got to put in extra effort to manage your own career (develop relationships, make sure your value/impact is clear, etc.) and as a good manager, need to put additional time into developing your team. There are lots of pros from a work/life balance but also things you just need to devote a bit more time to that you wouldn't expect.

Happy to talk via PM if you have other specific questions.
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Good info and thanks for the offer to move the conversation to PM - may take you up on that if I continue moving through the process towards an offer.
 
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