Job Offer - Looking for some advice

[sira]

I was due to start a new job in July but it was cancelled due to Covid. Been on the bench 3 months, haven't been able to find a contract gig. Almost every contract gig I've interviewed for has been FTC anyway, which is crummy.

Yesterday, I got offered a permanent job in Leeds after just 1 interview, which really surprised me (as they initially said there would be 3 rounds). Salary wise its £15k less than I was going to get as a permanent in London.

I guess i have a few questions:

1) I've never lived so far up north in Leeds (the furthest "north" I've ever lived is in Cambridge for university lol). Is Leeds a good place to live?

2) Does £15k less than London wages, seem sensible? I did some research and it seems about market rate. However I am planning on asking them for an extra £5k. Once you factor in rent, bills, outgoings, car expenses etc. i'll end up saving barely anything each month.

3)Is the general consensus that the job market is going to continue being this bad until next year? I have seen an encouraging uptick this week, but if Covid spreads like wildfire again, will the job market go down again?

Note - I do have a very large war chest, but as I'm still early in my career (late 20's) I am CV sensitive.

In summary, unsure about taking a permanent job up north on lower wages

Thanks.

[Old Greg]

I was due to start a new job in July but it was cancelled due to Covid. Been on the bench 3 months, haven't been able to find a contract gig. Almost every contract gig I've interviewed for has been FTC anyway, which is crummy.

Yesterday, I got offered a permanent job in Leeds after just 1 interview, which really surprised me (as they initially said there would be 3 rounds). Salary wise its £15k less than I was going to get as a permanent in London.

I guess i have a few questions:

1) I've never lived so far up north in Leeds (the furthest "north" I've ever lived is in Cambridge for university lol). Is Leeds a good place to live?

2) Does £15k less than London wages, seem sensible? I did some research and it seems about market rate. However I am planning on asking them for an extra £5k. Once you factor in rent, bills, outgoings, car expenses etc. i'll end up saving barely anything each month.

3)Is the general consensus that the job market is going to continue being this bad until next year? I have seen an encouraging uptick this week, but if Covid spreads like wildfire again, will the job market go down again?

Note - I do have a very large war chest, but as I'm still early in my career (late 20's) I am a CV sensitive.

In summary, unsure about taking a permanent job up north on lower wages

Thanks.

Live in a nice part of Leeds and it's a nice city (I've not lived there but used to visit a lot for work). If you like Cambridge (I did when I lived there), Wakefield may be more to your taste - 15 mins on train, but others who know the area better may have better ideas.

[ladymuck]

Leeds is nice. I've been there once It has a Harvey Nichols so it's semi-civilised.

Wages up north are lower than in the London bubble but you should expect to have lower housing costs which will help compensate.

As you're young (I just about remember my 20's), I would take the job and have some fun in a different part of the country. If you don't like it, leave in a year's time when either the world will be burning husk or things could be more normal.

Proper northerners will be along soon to tell you (a) the north is great and (b) keep your southern beak out of their jobs.

EDIT: oh and congrats on the job offer!

[sira]

Live in a nice part of Leeds and it's a nice city (I've not lived there but used to visit a lot for work). If you like Cambridge (I did when I lived there), Wakefield may be more to your taste - 15 mins on train, but others who know the area better may have better ideas.

Thanks I'll take a look. According to google, Horsforth & Roundhay are two of the nicer areas but they look a bit rural. I probably need to be closer to the city centre. Having said that, it looks like a small city so you can probably reach everywhere easily by car.

Leeds is nice. I've been there once It has a Harvey Nichols so it's semi-civilised.

Wages up north are lower than in the London bubble but you should expect to have lower housing costs which will help compensate.

As you're young (I just about remember my 20's), I would take the job and have some fun in a different part of the country. If you don't like it, leave in a year's time when either the world will be burning husk or things could be more normal.

Proper northerners will be along soon to tell you (a) the north is great and (b) keep your southern beak out of their jobs.

EDIT: oh and congrats on the job offer!

Thanks for your input. My only worry is going from contracting to a permanent job then leaving the job after 1.5-2 years wouldn't look great on my CV? As i've worked in 4 companies in 6.5 years (2 permanent and 2 contract). Even though Covid is going on, some hiring managers have been relentless and dont care that Covid has left me out of work.

I was also planning on asking the company if I can work remotely until Covid is over. Should bag me another 9-12 months in London. Would this be a good idea? The manager did mention there is no imminent plan to get everyone back to the office.

[Old Greg]

Thanks I'll take a look. According to google, Horsforth & Roundhay are two of the nicer areas but they look a bit rural. I probably need to be closer to the city centre. Having said that, it looks like a small city so you can probably reach everywhere easily by car.



Thanks for your input. My only worry is going from contracting to a permanent job then leaving the job after 1.5-2 years wouldn't look great on my CV? As i've worked in 4 companies in 6.5 years (2 permanent and 2 contract). Even though Covid is going on, some hiring managers have been relentless and dont care that Covid has left me out of work.

I was also planning on asking the company if I can work remotely until Covid is over. Should bag me another 9-12 months in London. Would this be a good idea? The manager did mention there is no imminent plan to get everyone back to the office.

Don't worry about the CV. Some hirers won't like it; many won't care. Others may disagree!

Re remote working, just ask what the plans are and agree that you'll need a bit of notice before you relocate - but you're missing a chance to move to a cheaper accommodation location at the time when your income is going down,

[GigiBronz]

Especially in this period I would consider the support group, friends, family. Don’t get too isolated in a new place where you don’t know anyone.
Personally I would not go for it.
You will sign up a 6m/1y lease as usual, if you get fired/do not like the job you are stuck with it.
Train tickets/transport back to family will cost you an arm and a leg.

Alternative:
Push a hard negociation and see maybe they are ok with you beeing remote and only doing 1w in office, 3 remote. Something like that. You get a taste of the area but in manageable quantity.

Depends on your personal circumstances and appetite for some adventure.

I like London and surrounding area for the people and opportunities. I’ve gone as far as Peterborough once but made a mental note to... never again.(some people praise it against London)
Went to Sweden for 6m, enjoyed it but I would never return to work there.(some people love it)

And don’t let a random guy on the internet influence you.

[PCTNN]

I was also planning on asking the company if I can work remotely until Covid is over. Should bag me another 9-12 months in London. Would this be a good idea? The manager did mention there is no imminent plan to get everyone back to the office.

9-12 months of Leeds salary and London cost of life?

I see a problem.

[Old Greg]

Especially in this period I would consider the support group, friends, family. Don’t get too isolated in a new place where you don’t know anyone.
Personally I would not go for it.
You will sign up a 6m/1y lease as usual, if you get fired/do not like the job you are stuck with it.
Train tickets/transport back to family will cost you an arm and a leg.

Alternative:
Push a hard negociation and see maybe they are ok with you beeing remote and only doing 1w in office, 3 remote. Something like that. You get a taste of the area but in manageable quantity.

Depends on your personal circumstances and appetite for some adventure.

I like London and surrounding area for the people and opportunities. I’ve gone as far as Peterborough once but made a mental note to... never again.(some people praise it against London)
Went to Sweden for 6m, enjoyed it but I would never return to work there.(some people love it)

And don’t let a random guy on the internet influence you.

Peterborough is a tulip-hole.

I loved London when I lived there in my 20s, and never really planned to leave, but life happened and I loved every other place I lived in afterwards - but I chose carefully and Peterborough never made it near the list.

[sira]

Don't worry about the CV. Some hirers won't like it; many won't care. Others may disagree!

Re remote working, just ask what the plans are and agree that you'll need a bit of notice before you relocate - but you're missing a chance to move to a cheaper accommodation location at the time when your income is going down,

I did have a look on rightmove, the properties are very cheap out there. I don't have any rental/mortgage costs at the moment in London, so it's not a factor I am taking into consideration at the moment.

Especially in this period I would consider the support group, friends, family. Don’t get too isolated in a new place where you don’t know anyone.
Personally I would not go for it.
You will sign up a 6m/1y lease as usual, if you get fired/do not like the job you are stuck with it.
Train tickets/transport back to family will cost you an arm and a leg.

Alternative:
Push a hard negociation and see maybe they are ok with you beeing remote and only doing 1w in office, 3 remote. Something like that. You get a taste of the area but in manageable quantity.

Depends on your personal circumstances and appetite for some adventure.

I like London and surrounding area for the people and opportunities. I’ve gone as far as Peterborough once but made a mental note to... never again.(some people praise it against London)
Went to Sweden for 6m, enjoyed it but I would never return to work there.(some people love it)

And don’t let a random guy on the internet influence you.

I intend on asking the company if I can work remotely until Covid is over. Going to argue that moving home and not being able to socialise in a new city isnt easy etc. I cannot reasonably see how they will decline the request at the moment. They did also mention in the interview that once Covid is over they're not expecting people to be in the office 5 days a week; more like a 3/2 split of office to home.

9-12 months of Leeds salary and London cost of life?

I see a problem.

I don't have any rent/mortgage payments at the moment. Moved back to my family home due to Covid, so I would get to keep my whole salary.

Peterborough is a tulip-hole.

I loved London when I lived there in my 20s, and never really planned to leave, but life happened and I loved every other place I lived in afterwards - but I chose carefully and Peterborough never made it near the list.

Never heard good things about Peterborough. Went up there once to view a car, which ended up being a dodgy dealer trying to sell me a performance car with a cracked windscreen and broken bonnet

[Old Greg]

I did have a look on rightmove, the properties are very cheap out there. I don't have any rental/mortgage costs at the moment in London, so it's not a factor I am taking into consideration at the moment.

In that case, I would stay in London and work remotely as long as you can. It's not an ideal time to be moving somewhere where you have no contacts.