Hi all, I need your expertise and guidance on which job to choose. My background summary is six years of banking experience (commercial lending) and have been offered a job as a commercial relationship manager at one of the largest 5 banks in Canada and the second job is a credit analyst at one of the top 5 global 500 companies (oil & gas). The hiring process for both jobs has been going on since march and now I have been offered both jobs. Oil & Gas company is offering $10k more in annual salary, bank is offering a professional 6 months training. Oil & gas is offering $2k more in signing bonus. I just can't make up my mind!!I know for fact that banking is my career but getting some energy lending experience on my resume is an added asset as well! Which one would you choose?
Let's see, oil and gas is offering 10k more in salary, and 2k more signing bonous, and in the long run probably a more stable job. (Don't see us getting away from oil and gas anytime soon.) So what exactly is your dilemma?
edowave, thanks for your advice. My dilemma is not the salary. Now if I swtich from commercial banking to oil and gas lending it will be very hard for me to switch back to banking down the road. Working as a commercial relationship manager, you are responsible for a portfolio of accounts that consists of different types of businesses (i.e. retail, construction, manufacturing..etc) Now if I work in oil and gas, gaining energy lending experience, i will be stuck with it forever...I think no bank would want to hire me say 5 years later. My commercial network will be gone because I will only be dealing with credit applications and no face to face relationships. It matters! Another concern is the job title...I started in banking as a credit analyst for four years until I made it to relationship manager, now if I accept the oil & gas job, I will go back to "credit analyst" :-(
I can't speak for Canadian banks but in the USA banks and other financial institutuions probably welcome back people with industry experience ("is it safe to finance this industry?"). Also in the USA there are more things to consider than just salary - health insurance, 401K, vacation & sick time, educational benefits, promotion prospects, company travel (some treat it as a perq, some as a pest), and of course the work environment.
Sounds like you answered your own question then. Take the banking job! Someone once told me if you have difficulty choosing between two options, just choose one randomly. If you right away feel regret about not choosing the other one, then you know that was the option you really wanted.
This is all very good advise. I can offer only one counterpoint to it. My cousin started in the oil business as a pipeline manager, a very low level job. Over the past 25 years he has moved from company to company, including a stint with Enron, has become an upper-mid level manager for an oil company and he has worked himself into a solid 6 figure salary. I know the top people in the banking industry make the big bucks, but how the upper-mid people? I understand they do quite well in most of the oil companies.
But you should follow your heart. Which would you most enjoy doing? That's worth more than a substantial amount of money.
Thanks for your replies guys. My heart is set to Banking because this is what I enjoy doing, plus the people I met at the bank (hiring manager..etc) are great people and have great spirit.... I am leaning more towards banking.....but still not sure:-(( don't want to regret it later on...I have until july 2nd to make my decision....will ask more people and see what they think...
Ian, benefits are almost the same....top notch health benefits, educational benefits match..etc except for vacation time, in banking i get 3 weeks a year, oil & gas is only 2 weeks..there is also 25% of travel time in banking, 0% travel in oil and gas.
As an aside I was offered a great job at a great salary some years ago, but the vacation time was only two weeks. I declined the offer saying I needed three weeks - I got a counter offer increasing the annual salary by 1/52 and told I could take a week of without pay. I then took the job.
Best of luck in your new position. Does that mean that you'll be looking for one of those MBA degrees with a concentration in Finance?
Thank you guys...Well you are right Kizmet, I will definitely look for a Master of Business Admin program but my case is kind of complicated and I will have to start a new thread for that one!! You guys are great and I always enjoy reading your posts and opinions...all of you are talented and I am glad I am a member of this forum....
