An employer I accepted an offer with is being unflexible with the start date. What would you do?

[thatfeel]

I'll try to be as brief as possible here.

The company I interviewed for posted a job opening around mid-July. I interviewed with them on August 13th. Had another interview sometime early September.

When they called to offer me the position I said give me a day to decide(aka weigh the benefits, etc). I emailed them back on September 16th accepting the offerl. I think that sometime during the phone call exchanges that were made I said that I could start on November 2nd, BUT, however, what I do remember saying is that I told them the start date was just so that they could have something to put down, and that I would need to confirm again later so that I could give my employer 2 weeks notice.

My email to the HR director was exactly this:

"I accept the offer. However, I will refrain from putting in any kind of notice at my current employer until I hear that the background check was complete."

Later when I got the background check confirmation I emailed my future boss and told her thus. She replied with:

"Awesome. Let me touch base with and I will let you know what happens next. I suspect board approval on the last Thursday in October and then we can set a start day any time after that. I will confirm with Karen and let you know for sure."

Simultaneously, once I heard from the HR director herself that I was cleared, I emailed her this:

"Great! So what is the next step? Do I just wait for the next board meeting and work with to determine my start date?"

and got a "Yes, that's correct." as the response...

Anyway, either the same day or a few days later I asked my future boss if she thought it was cool for me to go ahead and put in my 2 week notice. She said

"Yes. I believe that you are safe to do so in my professional opinion. I cannot give you a 100% certainty, but I have never seen a position turned down by our board in the past 1-0 years, so I do not think that you would be the first."

I did not reply to this email and consulted with some professional co-workers in confidence and some friends about whether or not I should just wait until the board approval to put in my notice. The general consensus was it didn't hurt to be sure about it before doing anything. So I just decided, yeah, I'll wait until I hear that the board approved the position before giving my notice. I am not one to put the cart before the horse anyway.

Board approval was this past Thursday, October 22nd, the position got approved and I got the follow up email this past Friday from my future boss stating we were good and that HR set my start date for November 2nd. What?

This only gives me the ability to give my current employer a 1 week notice. I said "how flexible is the start date?" And was met with a "when would you like to start?" I said straight up I was waiting until the approval to give my 2 week notice and that I still had vacation time to either use or cash out.

I initially said the 16th would work and was met with:

"I spoke with HR and they said that you agreed to a November 2nd start date, so we need to go with that day. I hope this will not be too big of a problem." then I said "is the 9th out of the question?"

Response: "According to HR it has to be the 2nd. Sorry if this is causing issues for you."

This seems to me like the worst kind of inflexibility any institution could ever have. What sort of general advice can I get? What are my best options? I don't really mind giving just a week notice but honestly, in my opinion, a 1 week notice is unprofessional and disrespectful. I don't understand why this new employer doesn't understand this and isn't willing to budge on the start date. I mean come on, they've already been waiting this long, what's one more week?

In my opinion it seems like my most powerful bargaining position is one where I'm willing to walk away from the offer. That means their only options are to bend to my request or to either start the whole hiring process over again or wait ANOTHER month(or two if they're unlucky)to offer the position to a secondary candidate which then has to be put before the institution board again to be re-approved.

I'd like to also point out that the position here is one that is completely new to the institution. Meaning it's a new role. So it's not like they couldn't survive before without it. They just realized they need a little extra help.

Is the prospective employer acting in a way that denotes ... maybe not irresponsibility, but carelessness? Are they acting out of line?

Am I in a good position or even in any kind of position at all to effectively negotiate an extra week out of respect for my current employer or do I even stand to gain any ground by attempting such? Should I even be worrying as much about 1 week notice vs 2 week notice?

 

[dustmuffin]

I wouldn't worry about a two week notice. Companies will fire you without notice etc.
It is odd that your new company is unflexable. 2 week notice is standard. I was layed off with no notice.

 

[evan12]

Check if this new company have happy employees or this is example of how they are not flexible in other things. Also if you are getting better deal check with your current employer if you can leave within one week, tell them you can work overnight the next week to complete any work .

But again first make sure they treat their employees good , if so then it is not worth to turn down advance in your career to some miscommunication .

 

[Tictac]

If you let your current employer know that you plan to leave, two weeks or no, that will likely poison that well anyway. So staying after that could get awkward. Props for trying to be a professional and give them two weeks.

The new firm is allowing HR to drive the start date? Sounds off to me. But maybe that's how things work in your field.

If you're gone, you're gone. Do the best you can with your current place while moving to the new firm.

 

[amoka]

This inflexibility could be an indication of possible troubles ahead with your prospective employer. If it's more $ you are after, talk to your current boss and discuss with them that you are thinking of accepting an offer with a better $ and if they can match it. Generally, if you are doing a good job and they want to keep you, they'll give you more $. If they say "sorry we can't match it, come back the following day and say, " Steve, I have accepted the offer and they want me to start on the 2nd as they need someone immediately."

 

[Desdinova]

When I changed jobs, I gave my old employer 2 weeks notice. He asked for 3 weeks noticed and wanted me to ask my new employer to hold off on my start date. I declined and pissed off my previous employer.

The way I saw it was, I could stay an extra week with my old employer making less money, or use that week to make more money at my new job. My previous employer didn't do a whole lot to make the employment experience valuable, so IMO it's his loss. If employers want to compete for my skills, they have to bring something to the table that benefits me. If they're not willing to do so, then they cannot solely rely on my loyalty.

 

[marmel75]

You tell your current employer you wanted to give 2 weeks notice but cannot due to future employer requiring you to start on a set date. If your job were to fire you do you think they'd give you 2 weeks notice? You always do what's best for you in employment situations because be assured, they will always do what's best for them.

This is a no brainer. No advice needed.

 

[pyros]

your current employer is not gonna be happy anyway (unless he wanted to get rid of you of course).

You give him a few days so the change is not overnight, you finish your work, and you say bye bye and leave when it benefits you the most.

 

[thatfeel]

Thanks guys, as always you deliver sound and solid advice.

 

[EyeBRollin]

When you put in your two weeks, they are already counting the seconds until you are out the door. If your new company is a competitor, they may even escort you out that same day. Don't ever expect to stick around longer than the second you submit your notice.

I wouldn't worry about it. It is inconvenient for your (ex) employer, but they can fire you tomorrow and not think twice about it. It's a dog eat dog world.