Interviewing for a Job You're Not Sure You Want (Yet) - But Could Probably Get

I've never been in this situation. 

I've applied, and been asked to interview for a position back across the country that I'm probably perfectly qualified for, and I very likely will get offered what I'm asking if not more. If I get no offer, no big deal. I want to play hardball, by asking for a raise over my current salary (which in the new city would be pretty good money) and perhaps more vacation and a longer time period before starting (2-3 months). If vacation, salary, or start time is non-negotiable and not very competitive, it'll be a good experience anyway.

My intention is to try and "get on the radar" of this company, so that if my wife decides she wants to stay at home with the little one and life in our high-cost-of-living becomes a losing financial decision, I can perhaps give these folks a call and say "he remember me, you offered me lots of money and I turned it down, still interested?" 

What's a professional way to give a lasting impression (in an interview setting) that folks will remember you down the line when other position become available? 

I don't want to come off as "well hey thanks for the offer but I didn't really want to move yet anyway."

Sounds like a good way to get them to remember you...But probably not in the way you're hoping.

Turning down an offer is not the way you want to be remembered.  If I were the hiring manager, it definitely wouldn’t help you get your foot in the door at some other point in time.

I had the initial interview and a couple of follow ups.   Offered the job to the best qualified applicant - he promptly turned it down with no explanation.  About 18 months later, he was back in the hunt.  Nope. Nope.  Noooope.

I interviewed with a company, they made me an offer that was no higher than I was currently making, I turned it down. 

2 years later they asked me to come in again, same manager, he still had my resume with those interview answers from the first go round. 

That time I was much more ready to leave (I was at the same Defense job both times I interviewed with this company), they offered me around $9k more per year and it was a shorter commute. 

I'd not be afraid of interviewing, but I would be honest with them the whole way through. Tell them that you're interested in the position, but you have a couple of things that could put a wrench in your plans. 

If you are clear to potential employer about what it will take for you to join them and the ask is realistic, you should accept the offer if they make it.  I've offered people what they wanted and then they tried to re-trade the deal, asking for something else or something more.  I rescinded offers when that happens and would never hire them.

If I offered a position at exactly what somebody wanted and they turned me down, I can't say that I would ever offer again. Why would I want you as an employee if I wasn't good enough the first time. 

 Pheller, if you talk money at all (and don't ever give a solid answer before they make an offer), be sure to give an answer something along the lines of "I'm really looking for [5-10% more than you're really looking for], but to be honest that is a  ballpark figure that is dependent on benefits--the most important being vacation and health". I had a company offer me exactly what I was looking for money wise, only to find out they had only 6 holidays and 5 vacation days. Sorry folks, I'm out--told them why too.

D2W said:

If I offered a position at exactly what somebody wanted and they turned me down, I can't say that I would ever offer again. Why would I want you as an employee if I wasn't good enough the first time. 

Lots of reasons. If they're a good candidate, I wouldn't allow THAT to take them off my list. Move on, don't hold a grudge--especially if they give a reason. 

"This was a great offer, but unfortunately some personal things have come up that are going to keep me in my city for at least another 6 months. I apologize as I was very excited about the position and I know you have spent a lot of time and effort; that very appreciated on my end. I hope you'll consider me in the future as it is still in our plans to move back to XYZ area, and I'd love the opportunity to work with you".

Interviews are two way. They want to know if you're a good fit and you should be keeping your eyes open to make sure if the job is a good fit. There's a lot of times you may not find out that there is a good reason not to take the job until you meet the people you'd be working for. Before I landed the job I have now, I went to interview for a job that sounded promising on paper - only to find the boss at that company was a total sleazeball who seriously suggested holding the interview at his favorite strip club.

mtn said:

I'd not be afraid of interviewing, but I would be honest with them the whole way through. Tell them that you're interested in the position, but you have a couple of things that could put a wrench in your plans. 

This. Make it clear you're very interested, present yourself as best you can, and make every effort to get an offer on the table. The potential wrenches in the plans will work in your favour as salary, leave allowance and benefits may be a lever the company pulls to sweeten and try and seal the deal.

I've never pushed the pay aspect very hard, as my attitude is that if you're good at what you do, you'll get paid above average pretty quickly. If the company won't do that, it's not a place you'll want to work anyway.

You're in a good situation and it sounds like you recognize this. If you ask for more than you're making and the position is offered to you, you can ask your current employer to counter and possibly make more money for doing the work you're already doing. You could follow up be declining the offer or asking for an even higher number. 

However, you MUST be willing to take advantage of the situation presented to you. If you aren't ready and willing to take the position, you have nothing to offer. No matter how polite you are, people don't appreciate having their time wasted and that is essentially what you would be doing.

If you want to get to know them, get to know them. But not during the interview process.

Ok so a few things:

1) Unfortunately, I put the salary I'd accept probably lower than I should have (which is what I make now). In thinking about it, I'd probably need a 15% pay raise in order to make this worthwhile combined with:

2) Vacation and Benefits, which I think are going to be something they will struggle to negotiate on. Many utilities (I'm applying with a utility company) have very strict vacation rules that even the most senior can't negotiate. This may be my "polite way of saying no thank you." 

3) Finally, another "out" I have is start time. If they want me to start a few weeks, I just can't realistically do that. I've got a new baby, a house to sell, a 2500 mile drive to make.

How do I make all of these things clear to them without sounding overly demanding?

Is it a large company?  Many large companies have their vacation and benefits packages set,  non negotiable,  so that could be a moot point.  It’s something you should be able to ask HR for ahead of time to see if it’ll meet your needs,  so you’ll know whether or not to pursue an interview.

Noted. 

I just sent an email asking about vacation time and holidays. It will really quickly tell me if I have any chance of getting what I'd want out of the deal.

I applied for a job that I wanted but would have preferred to wait another year for. But, there wasn’t a guarantee that they would be hiring or still have a position I was qualified for in a year. So, I decided that putting in an application was the point of no return - if they had a decent offer, I was going to take it because it fit into my 10 year goal better than my current job.

In the first phone screening, I was pretty honest with the HR rep - that I wanted the job but salary and vacation needed to be in a certain range, and if they weren’t I didn’t want to waste their time. I felt like I was being demanding but they didn’t say anything bad about it - their job is to find someone who’s going to fit into the position and company well, and if it’s not you it will be someone else! 

I ended up getting the job and the timing is working itself out - still a little rushed but overall, not too bad. If it’s where you want to end up in the future, I would pursue it (but be honest about what is a dealbreaker) and try to make things work out. 

Never ask for what you're making now. Always ask for more. There are very few exceptions to this. 

mtn said:

Never ask for what you're making now. Always ask for more. There are very few exceptions to this. 

My first boss told me to never change jobs for less than 10% boost.  But there are mitigating circumstances, such as commute, benefits, etc.     

spitfirebill said:

mtn said:

Never ask for what you're making now. Always ask for more. There are very few exceptions to this. 

My first boss told me to never change jobs for less than 10% boost.  But there are mitigating circumstances, such as commute, benefits, etc.     

Obviously--but it affects your whole career. Think of it as compounding interest--your bonuses, your raises, your pension (if it still exists), your 401k match... It all bumps up. 

I get about 4 weeks of vacation, plus 8 Holidays with my current company. Pretty darn good. 

I wouldn't have matched that at my last company till 10 years of service. I got 2.5 weeks and 8 holidays. 

I won't get another week of vacation at my current company until 10 years of service. Then it'll be 5 weeks and 8 holidays.

So if I can get 4-5 weeks of vacation plus more paid holidays, it might be worth a minor increase in salary. 

Again, I don't think it'll happen. Companies don't like paying you not to work, but few allow unpaid time off.

I heard back from their HR about vacation time and it SUCKSSSS. 

It's like half of what I currently get. 

In reply to pheller :

I'd be very direct on that specific issue. 

"Sorry. That vacation time won't cut it"

Yep. Money heals lots of wounds, but you can’t really buy time until you get to the private-jet-and-a-live-in-chef level in the company. 

In reply to pheller :

4 weeks is quite generous. 

I have spent most of my career in an industry that typically offers 0-2 weeks, and no holidays. I thought I was living large when I landed a job with 3 weeks. 

Now, I have 5 weeks, plus 8 holidays. But the "weeks" are calculated as hours, and Fridays are considered short- 5 hour days. I could technically take off 40 Fridays in a year- that would be the equivalent of 8 weeks! 

It's a good gig, but I did have to change to a different industry. 

I get four weeks and I'm at 25 years.    I can't remember at what point you get that, but they lowered it after I got it.