What job should I have?

2 job offers and applications still open for an extremely rare opportunity--what to do?

• I have received 2 job offers and the deadline is still open for a third, only very distantly related job, but it's so rare I don't know if I'll get the chance again. One of the jobs wants to know by Mon. What to do? Job A (job offered by the employers)--hospital pharmacist job for 6 months. They want to know by Mon. Pros-- 1) I know exactly what areas I may be working in, and I'm quite excited by the prospect (but that might've been because I was desperate and talking myself into it). 2) I have friends from another contract 1.5 hrs away, and I ultimately want to settle in the state capital 3hrs away (but that's about 5-10 years off) so it's very convenient for networking. 3) Don't have to worry about job hunting for 6 months. Cons-- 1) Been to the area before, but it was just once on a day trip... 2) 6 months is a very long time if you don't like it 3) The whole job application process was a negative. The HR manager (who was listed as the contact on the ad) failed to respond to my calls, so in the end I called the actual bosses whom I'll be working for. 4) Further to 3), they later called me and were expecting to interview me there and then over the phone! Luckily I was able to stall that because I was literally leaving for work in 10 mins. They interviewed me 3hrs later on my lunch break. Job B (agency job)--hospital pharmacist job for 3 months. Called me 2hrs after job A. Pros: 1) part of Oz I've never been to before, and perfect time of the year (just north of Sunshine Coast) 2) It's a safe amount of time to commit to. If I don't like it, at least I know I'll be bailing in 3 months. Cons: 1) I don't know anything about what the role entails, as the agency handled it all. They can only let me know the answer on Mon. 2) I'll have to hunt for another job in 3 months. Job C--military pharmacist position. Pros: 1) It's the perfect introduction I can think of to that setting. I'll be on the base dispensing scripts so it's not anything hardcore like being deployed. 2) It's such a rare opportunity I don't know if I'll get it again (or anything similar). And rare = wonders for resume. The other 2 jobs appear to be standard hospital positions, and they're the type of work I'll do for the rest of my life anyway (hopefully). So what I'm trying to say is the learning curve is the steepest here, and I'm at the stage in my life when I've just recently qualified, and keen to learn a lot, and have no roots to limit where I go to chase such opportunities. I don't know if I'll have that flexibility later in life. Cons: 1) Ultimately I want to stay in hospital pharmacy, but it is an area I want to get experience in (I'm that serious it's on the list of things I want to do before settling into a permanent hospital pharmacist job). 2) Deadline's Tuesday, and they're looking to interview and offer the job by the end of next week. What do I do? 1) Accept job A 2) try and hang out for more details of job B (and is there a graceful way to ask job A for more time) 3) hang out even more for job C? Thanks.

• Answer:

  Unless you are worried about burning bridges, accept job A and resign (or withdraw your acceptance) once you hear about job B or C. I know this sounds harsh and I am not sure about employment laws in your country, your employers will have no qualms firing you if they need to. Therefore there is no need to feel any sense of loyalty for a 6 month contract.