sounds to me like you already know the answer, you're just afraid to do something about it.

Truly appreciate the thoughtful input.

This is really a tough call. The NP will involve a lot of accounting. I've been self employed doing accounting work for 10 years. One reason I'm shutting that down is that I've really had my fill of the work. If I wanted to do accounting all day, I can do it from the comfort of my own home at a much higher hourly rate. There is no ladder to go up at the NP, only visibility to other companies.

The F500 company is rated very high for employee satisfaction. 3.5 @ Glassdoor, but most of the negatives are from former salespeople. The daily work involves training, something I really enjoy doing. There are numerous directions to go here. The guy I interviewed with yesterday has been there over 10 years and has had a variety of positions. Working from home some is an option, but with a 10 min. commute that never touches a highway, I don't know that's something I'd ever need.

Good news is... F500 does seem to be expediting things. Just got a call and they asked if I could make an in person interview TOMORROW! :)

If you can expedite the F500, go for it and put the other on hold. Just say you need a couple weeks to decide - use the family excuse - still need to run it past your wife, you had been self employed for so long yada yada.

After your last post, the NP sure sounds like too much accounting. You are not hurting for a job or money, so you can see if you can keep both irons in the fire for now and if you have to act on the NP, you can always say "no" and just be honest that it is too much bean counting...

G

What's with this crowd, nobody's asked for a photo of the CEO before deciding?


jk Lee, hoping it works out for the best. I sold my business a year ago; I can't believe how little I miss going to work every day.
Jim

I sold my business 15 years ago. I have mixed emotions. My wife is looking at other airlines. She'll take a huge pay cut for the first several years if she changes companies. I'd rather go back to work than sit by while we burn through our cash reserves.

There's a part of me that's actually looking forward to coming home from work. Being self employed, I would always end up working evenings, weekends. It would be odd/nice to have set hours and not be taking phone calls on the weekend. Still may do some resale if the right items pop up. Hard to pass up a flippable bargain from Goodwill.

All the best in your interview and decision Lee!

Only two wheels, I can just imagine the haggling involved in selling a pawn shop :-)
Or just in valuing the inventory, ha!


Cheers Richard

Just spent 45 minutes on the phone with the NP's HR person. Just to make things a little more fun, their remaining part time accounting person gave notice this morning! Now they're REALLY in a hurry.

BUT... this may play into my favor. I suggested that I come in on a contract basis to help them out until a)I take the other job, or b)I come on full time. This would give me a bit of a "test drive" of the organization until the F500 finishes their procedures.

Make sure your rate is enough to give them some incentive to hire you full time, if thats what you want.

Good luck

Nicely played Lee! Looks like this will work out for you either way!

F500 is definitely in "hurry up" mode. I was advanced in today's interview and have a final telephone interview with a director level person next week. Don't know that the NP will see me at all at this rate.

That's great and I hope it all works out. My only comment would be until you have an actual, written offer in hand, it's all BS and the only option you have is the other position. Don't forget that. :)

Yup. Most big companies have HR policies dictating that you must have X number of interviews at each stage before filling a position. They very well might already have a candidate picked out and are just checking the box. I HOPE that this isn't the case in your situation, but just keep it in mind.

I see very little downside for you in allowing the F500 situation to play out. Be open and honest with both potential employers. Tell the F500 you have an offer on the table, but you see potential for yourself there and would like them to expedite the process if they think you're a good fit. Sounds like they are already moving that way.

The NP wants you...you are a known quantity to the CEO and now their accounting person has given notice they are in a bind. Let them know you have another prospect but you're very interested in their offer, just need a little time. You coming in on a consulting basis is a great way for you to check each other out but retain the option to pursue the F500 without burning a bridge.

Re: accounting work, been doing it for over 20 years. I think you'll find working inside an organization is quite a bit different than doing the outside accountant/bookkeeper gig. I started in public accounting then moved into a controllership position in a private company, ultimately grew into the CFO role at my current place of employment. It's not just accounting at that point in my experience...lots of operational stuff to be involved in because the numbers can't be right unless the processes and systems of the enterprise are aligned. That stuff keeps me engaged even if the bean counting bit gets old at times. YMMV. Best of luck.

Yes... to all of the above. There's no question the F500 is expediting things. Manager level interviewer said the prior manager I talked to on the phone had filled her in and they were trying to move things along as quickly as they can due to my offer. She had nice things to say... "I could see you moving into a project manager role..." The last interview will be virtual. I think it's a good sign that it's going to be less formal. Running through interviews detailed on Glassdoor, I didn't see anyone mention that they were invited to the final interview and then say they were turned down by the company.

The NP position was presented to me as a "junior CFO" role, but I'd still be the only financial person on staff. As much as I'm drawn to the F500, there are certain advantages to the NP. Mostly, there would be a certain "casualness" about working there. Less structure. I'd be somewhat free to build to position once I got there. The F500 has many accolades for being a great place to work, family friendly, but this department involves product implementation for large accounts so there's going to be a level of push, stress, focus that'll be missing from the NP. BUT... I've never worked in that sort of atmosphere (unless you count the accounting field at tax time) and think I'd be more likely to learn/grow/excel with a little push.

I definitely agree on the inside vs outside accounting role. I've said for years how easy it would be to have just one set of books to worry about. One COA, one vendor list, one customer list. I don't care how many transactions they have, it would have to be easier than constantly switching from one company to another. And the other projects, cost cutting, budgeting, forecasting, etc. would serve as a diversion to the number crunching. If I got a no from the F500, I wouldn't be crying about taking the role at the NP at all.

I guess my #1 attraction to the F500 is that 5 years from now there are so many roles I could move up to. Realistically, there is no growth option at the NP. No growth in position. No growth in salary. The position would be visible to execs who are clients and on the board, but moving up would require moving out and starting over again. At my age, that's not an attractive proposition.

Again, I can't thank you guys enough for the thoughtful and insightful commentary. I use Pelican like my own personal blog sometimes just to think out loud. The fact that my "pretend friends" (my wife's phrase) take the time to read my stuff and respond with well thought out and valid points means a lot. SmileWavy

Re: inside vs. outside...I tried the freelance thing briefly. I couldn't stand it...generally at that end of the market the clients are pretty unsophisticated. I was frustrated because I would explain the "right way" to do things and often they'd ignore it. Had a client (bar/nightclub) that was failing to pay his alcohol/beverage tax to the state because he didn't have the money (he probably drank it)...he didn't stay in business long. When you're on the inside you have the opportunity to set up everything properly, establish best practices, and then be there to enforce it. It's much easier to get things cleaned up, and then maintain it rather than come in once per week/month/quarter and sort out someone's mess.

Maybe I am burned out - I am not even as old as you - or it is all these people dying off recently. Isn't planning a career a bit late? What I am saying is, that weaning yourself off work the NP job sure sounds like the better gig than diving into a big company and looking to work your way up for 5 years to then take a better position at age 60 or thereabouts.

I decided at 50 I will no longer hold down a 5 day / week corporate job, unless I really made some serious career progress.

G

^^^^^^THIS ! I'll be 51 in a few months, Retiring in 9 years, and have been at my job for 17 years now, and refuse to look for something different at this age, because I will probably be discriminated against for age (whetherI know it or not) and i'm like an old dog that doesn't want to learn new tricks.

I can't imagine going to a large firm, and having to compete with the 20 somethings for attention, who have alot more time, energy, and will to make a name for themselves, than I do.

I'll be 52 in April. Reader's Digest version of my resume is:

Start up tech company right out of college. It failed.
Another start up. It failed.
Bought small business. Grew it. Sold it.
Stay at home dad when our daughter was born.
Part time accounting job when daughter hit Pre-K.
Self employed in accounting + eBay/Craigslist resale.

So I've been self employed from home for the last 10 years. It's been a great thing, but I totally lost my motivation for the two things I've been doing. I got to the point where I hated bookkeeping, but really liked training clients on accounting/QuickBooks. Resale is fun, but a variety of factors have made that a lot harder than it used to be. I'd be happy if I could drum up enough training clients to make a living, but I've found that to be a challenge.

At my age I have trouble getting behind the idea that I should take a substantial part of our funds and "invest" in a small business, franchise, etc. We've had several friends/family who had to totally start over when their businesses failed. Watching them struggle got my attention in a big way.

Working from home has been great, but in reality, it's a somewhat lonely existence. A big part of the F500 job will be training clients. That's definitely the component of what I've done for the last 10 years that brings me the most satisfaction.

So maybe I've just lived my life backwards. Instead of starting out at the big company, gaining skills/experience and then going out on my own, I'm sort of doing the whole thing in reverse. :)

So here's how it ends.

Despite the (broken) promise of the last interview, I received the dreaded "pursuing other candidates" email over the weekend from the Fortune 500 company.

I did accept the position with the NP... theoretically as CFO. I need to confirm the lofty title, but that's what I was told it would be during my initial discussions. Seems a bit more like "junior CFO" but, in the end, I am in charge of the money/finances.

Overall, I feel very fortunate to have landed where I did.