Torn

In my last post, I was decidedly sad about leaving PwC. I'd given them 5 years of my life and all i got in return was a "goodbye" and 5 weeks of severance.

But I embraced my new life and started interviewing.

I had a phone interview with a company that is based in Montreal and has a satellite office here. I believe the position was for some kind of Internal Audit Senior and required a bit of travel. The woman I spoke with on the phone was an HR person, who clearly read me canned questions that the Internal Audit Manager had prepared.

After the interview, the head hunter called me back to tell me that the company was extremely impressed with my experience and abilities, they were unhappy that I asked about benefits, the culture of the company, and work arrangement. Apparently the company felt that I wanted to know what kind of time off I would have before even starting. Which is clearly not what I intended. And made me reconsider if I want to work for a company like that in the first place.

The head hunter was a complete jerk to me and I haven't heard from him since. Thank goodness I have been able to do stuff on my own.

My next interview was with a local accounting firm. I know a few people that work there and had networked with them when I was in college. They seemed happy to hear from me and I instantly liked them. I returned for a second interview and it kind of solidified the fact that I loved them and was really hoping for an offer. I figured I would get something because they told me they weren't even hiring, but when a good candidate comes to them, they don't want to turn them down.

Reasons why I love them: hours are substantially less that I have worked in the past, have clients that I worked on previously and loved, people seem amazing, life appears good there, I think I'm good at auditing

Reasons why I'm hesitant: traditional busy season, mandatory saturdays, it's still public accounting

They offered me a position this morning and I'm waiting to get the email with the salary, benefits, etc.

My second interview was with a large hc provider. It's a massive organization and I didn't even know the position was open. A senior manager from PwC recommended it to me and even though I had some reservations, I went in interviewed. They seemed really excited to have me there and I met the entire accounting department (all 6 of them).

Reasons why I love them: the people are extremely nice, the hours are a maximum of 8 hours per day, the latest they have ever worked is 6pm, the work appears to be challenging but not overwhelming, no busy season, I could go back to school

Reasons why I'm hesitant: adjusting to a slower work environment, not a lot of opportunity for advancement, will have to maintain my CPA by myself, have some moral reservations

They tentatively offered me a position on Friday and I'm waiting on the specifics today.

The last place I interviewed was with a mid-sized company who is headquartered in Japan. There is a massive operation here in the Western New York area. The interview appeared to be successful. I was there for 2.5 hours and met every person that works there (sort of). The company appears to be growing and they have some interesting stuff going on that I would be able to help them with.

Reasons why I could be okay there: the job is something that I could be good at, the people are okay, they have an ongoing project that I would be able to really help with

Reasons why I don't like it: didn't really click with some of the people, I'll be the department bitch for copies, faxes, and other menial tasks, there is no room for advancement

They sent me an offer on Friday that is a decent salary (a bit of a raise for me) and the benefits appear reasonable. At this point, I'm leaning towards turning them down.

Oh, I should also mention that I interviewed with a teeny tiny accounting firm that's close to my house. I didn't like the people and actually got really freaked out by them. They offered me a position a few hours after I left their office. The salary was, quite frankly, insulting. Based on my experience, I was really disappointed and turned them down before I even had anything else. A decision that I'm very happy with.

So based on what I just laid out, I'm extremely torn between the first 2 placed I laid out. They offer a lot but are such different lifestyles. And I really have to figure out what I want to do. And quite frankly...I have no idea.

So when the offers really come in this afternoon, I'll have to take a look at each of them, sit down, and figure out what I want to do.

More than likely I'll be doing it with some kind of alcoholic beverage! ;-)