I think I made a mistake

[TruthWatcher412]

I hope this is the right forum for this, I'm just looking for some advice/opinions.

I like my current job. The problem is, my supervisor is not the best and there have been a lot of budget cuts so any chances of advancement right now are slim. So, I had a job interview with a company, it went great and yesterday they offered me the job. When I first applied, the job description made it to be answering questions for clients once in a while by phone but mainly by email and also working/troubleshooting tickets submitted to my team by other departments, sort of a Business Analyst type role. My problem is, while at the interview they told me that this would also be a call-center environment, working on a call queue along taking 20-30 calls per day. The call queue/call center environment portion is what really turned me off from the job. I worked at a large telecommunication company (one of the BIG ones) for four and a half years in customer tech support and was miserable, that's why I put my two weeks in there to find my current job and vowed I would never work in a call center again if I could help it. This new job sounded way too much like the previous call center job I had and that's why I decided that I decided that I didn't want it. I politely contacted the HR rep from the company and gave them my denial.

Now though, I am starting to think maybe I made the wrong decision in declining the job. I was never bad at taking calls in the call center, I just didn't like it and wasn't good at things like deescalating the really pissed off customers or upselling. And the more technical aspect of the job really enticed me, and the possibility of room for advancement (but that's what my current employer promised too). It's just that call center environment that really had me turned off. I mean I take calls from my clients at my current job but only maybe 3-4 calls a week, it's mainly ticket and email based and that's why I like it. I really feel like I was following my gut feelings when I decided to decline the position. Do you think I made the right decision of not taking this job? Sorry for the long post and I hope this is in the right forum.

 

[Plutonius]

You never make a mistake by not switching to a job opportunity that you have second thoughts on. Just keep looking and you will find the job that is right for you.

 

[AlliFlowers]

Remember that you want a job for which you are anxious to spring out of bed in the morning, not one you try to avoid.

 

[A.Goldberg]

There's always more jobs out there. Switching to one that you're not happy with is no way to live. The grass might be greener on the other side, perhaps more room for advancement, but It doesn't sound like it's what you want.

There are no mistakes, just learning opportunities. This may be the worst decision you've ever made, but it's not permanent. If it's not meant to be it's not meant to be. Keep lookin for a new job, don't give up. Take a job you actually want. In the mean time be grateful you have employment. I know too many people who are not.

Best of luck.

 

[braddick]

Usually your gut instinct is the correct one when it comes to life choices.

It's easy to be indecisive. Fight that urge.

 

[lowendlinux]

This seems less like you think you made a mistake about a job an more like you tuned down a pseudo promotion or a bit of leverage to get you one. You want promoted and you work for a large company find the promotion in another location even in another state and see if you can lobby the boss and his supervisor. Moving around within the company shows loyalty especially if combined with a move.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

This seems less like you think you made a mistake about a job an more like you tuned down a pseudo promotion or a bit of leverage to get you one. You want promoted and you work for a large company find the promotion in another location even in another state and see if you can lobby the boss and his supervisor. Moving around within the company shows loyalty especially if combined with a move.

Very good post, and some very good advice there, well worth heeding.

And no, you did not make a mistake. Re the call centre, you have already admitted that you 'were miserable' - so why return to that? You explained that while you liked the technical side of your call-centre job, - the one that called on your expertise and problem solving skills to deal with issues - you 'just didn't like' the actual call centre side of the job.

It is one thing to go back to a job you loved, or felt fulfilled in; it is quite another to go back to one where you, yourself admit to having been 'miserable' and that you 'just didn't like it'. So, no, you did not make a mistake in turning down the job.

However, that doesn't mean that you are happy, challenged or fulfilled where you are.

Precisely because your CV makes clear that you have four years experience in call- centre style work, and precisely because this sort of work is always recruiting, not least because of the high staff turnover and the fact that it is pretty 'miserable' work, it is the first thing that may well leap out at potential employers when they take a quick look at your CV, and will seek to slot you into that role if they think they can, as you are already clearly experienced and evidently competent at that. They will see you as a solution to call-centre problems, and you will run the risk of continuing to receive offers which will place you there.

If you want to head this unwanted offer off, you may want to do a little thinking about how you present yourself on your CV and in interviews.

Therefore, when looking for further employment opportunities, I would tweak that CV somewhat, to emphasise what you are interested in, and where your individual talents strongly lie (trouble-shooting, problem-solving of technical stuff), and stress that this is the area where you fell you could contribute best, but that you have also done call-centre work for a number of years as well.

The challenge is to try to make certain that you will not first be offered call centre work as the proverbial 'temporary measure', because once you are there it will be difficult to persuade them to see you in a different light.

In any case, I'd recommend that you politely decline by pointing out that you've done it for a number of years, and found it interesting at the time, but you feel that you will not really learn anything more, or new, or fresh, in a call centre environment, and, more importantly, that there really are other areas you would prefer to work in and which would stretch and challenge you and these are the areas you are actually seeking an opportunity to shine in. That sort of thing.

Meanwhile, the very best of luck with it.

 

[Truefan31]

Good advice here. But I will say 20-30 calls a day is nothing. I've worked in call centers for years (don't anymore) where the norm was 100-150 a day.