better pay+better brand+no relieving letter VS better work+ relieving letter: which to choose ?

[Kr Manish]

I have 2 offers to choose from:

Company A:
pros: Rs 800,000 + better brand name (big fortune 500 company)
cons: They want me to break notice period in current company to join by next week so will lose 10 months work experience + mainly customization work for various customers (not actual development)

Company B:
pros: comparatively better work than A(coding + good design & development work) + ready to wait for me to complete notice period in current company
cons: Rs 725,000 + not a big brand name + small number of employees (India + Outside India)

1)Fellows, any suggestions ? Which one should I join ?

2)How important is the relieving letter for future ? I am in India. Are background checks & NASSCOM checks for exit procedures being followed properly by leaving employees strict now a days ?

[Jimmy Clark]

Did company A explicitly tell you that they wanted to to start on a specific day?

Or, did they say they want you to join "as soon as possible?"

I would consider ASAP to mean after the notice period ends and not before. If they have given you a specific date to start and it does not allow you to provide notice, this does not sound like a Fortune 500 organization and I would be very cautious here.

However, I don't live in India and there many be many awkward business practices even in Fortune 500 organizations operating in India.

Good luck!

[Kr Manish]

Jimmy Clark wrote:Did company A explicitly tell you that they wanted to to start on a specific day?

Or, did they say they want you to join "as soon as possible?"

I would consider ASAP to mean after the notice period ends and not before. If they have given you a specific date to start and it does not allow you to provide notice, this does not sound like a Fortune 500 organization and I would be very cautious here.

However, I don't live in India and there many be many awkward business practices even in Fortune 500 organizations operating in India.

Good luck!

It is being BOUGHT by a Fortune 500 company and the offer letter I would get would be by a Fortune 500.
They have asked me to join in a week where I lose 10months experience. Plus work there is customization for client and not development but higher pay & bigger name. Am so confused.

[Sunny Bhandari]

Hi Rajeev,

I am also from India and working in top MNC of India :)

If I place myself in your situation then:

1) Is it really necessary for me to change employer at this time.
2) I don't want to stay developer whole my life and official experience on paper does count to become manager ASAP (referring to 10 months that you loose)
3) Are both offering the location in same region. You can deduct flight charges from that package if staying away from home town
4) Personally, I don't like working is small companies.
5) You can also get onsite opportunities in globally spread company.

Finally, I would suspect the HR policies of this company A which was once a small company and is bought by big company. Just being bought doesn't change the practices of the employees (HR and Admin in special).

To me both are small company (company A in disguise).

I would still wait and look for a company which provides everything according to my priorities. After all, one doesn't change employer every other day.

[Kj Reddy]

Better to complete your notice period and have the relieving letter. Try to negotiate with your present company to relieve you before your notice period. If you don't have relieving letter it may cause some problems for your next job change. Now a days in India job change is becoming complicated because of background check and other things, they may insist you to show your relieving letter.

[Prasad Krishnegowda]

Just a question.. I guess you would have got Job in company A, by telling them that you are so and so years of experience, which includes your 10 months also in present company.. Now, if you don't get relieving letter from your current company. How will you show the company A, these 10 months?

Even I am in India and work in a Top MNC company..
I personally would never break the notice period for any reason.. 10 months experience will come handy in future..

[Kr Manish]

Prasad Krishnegowda wrote:Just a question.. I guess you would have got Job in company A, by telling them that you are so and so years of experience, which includes your 10 months also in present company.. Now, if you don't get relieving letter from your current company. How will you show the company A, these 10 months?

Even I am in India and work in a Top MNC company..
I personally would never break the notice period for any reason.. 10 months experience will come handy in future..

Company A does not care and that is typically the case. They in fact told me that I have to choose between them and the 10 months experience if I want the offer, because they would not be able to wait for 2 months. So they are fine with me coming without my relieving letter. But Am I right in assuming that when I try to leave company A, in THAT case I would have a huge gap of 10months since most companies ask for previous 2 companies relieving letter ?

[fred rosenberger]

I don't know what a relieving letter is...but personally, I'd go with "better work" EVERY TIME.

[Jimmy Clark]

Apparently, in India employees are given a "relieving letter" when the employment contract is terminated on good terms. And it seems like employers request this letter from potential new hires. If this is correct and is a standard business practice, it is unclear why Company A is requesting that the individual deviate from this practice. The "urgency" is also questionable.

It looks like company A has some "internal" issues. I suggest that you decline their offer and accept the offer from company B.

Good luck son!

[Kr Manish]

Thank you all. Makes things clearer I guess.

[Kr Manish]

Guys in India care to share their views ? Thanks.

[Prasad Krishnegowda]

Rajeev Masand wrote: But Am I right in assuming that when I try to leave company A, in THAT case I would have a huge gap of 10months since most companies ask for previous 2 companies relieving letter ?

Yes, you are right, because when you leave company A, they give you experience letter from when you joined them. Also, you would have the relieving letter from your previous company also, which will be 10 months before you joined company A. Personally, I believe 10 months gap is not a very huge gap. But, this will come in very handy as I told earlier, for ex. In case of a promotion and also when you look for a job change, i.e some company would have asked for say 5 years of experience, even though you have 5 years of experience, you would not be eligible to apply for that, because you will be not having 5 years of experience on paper..

As others have also pointed out, I don't know why, Company A is asking you to break this practice of getting relieving letter. Personally, I would have straightly rejected this offer.

Also, why you are limiting to only company A and company B. Now, market is quite good, you can try for other companies also..

Good luck brother..

[chris webster]

Well, I don't know the employment market in India, but company A sounds like a bunch of reptiles. It also sounds to me like you already know this. You say the work is better with company B, and company B wants you to work for them and is prepared to wait until it's convenient for you and your current employer. Company A is already treating you like Kleenex - if you don't sign up now they're threatening to withdraw their offer. What makes you think they won't fire you at the drop of a hat in future? So company B is offering better work and is already treating you fairly, while company A offers less interesting work (and only 10% more money) and is already treating you badly.

The only advantage of A is a bit more money and their supposedly big name. But if they are behaving this badly now, you can be sure other people in the industry will know about their tactics, and their name may not look so good on your CV in future: guilt by association. I can think of a number of supposedly "big" companies whose names I would not want on my CV.

If I were hiring you a couple of years from now, I would want to see evidence of good work experience, commitment to your previous employers and customers, and get a sense that you would behave responsibly and honestly while you were working for me. If I thought you had screwed your current employer to get a job with company A, whose tactics will surely be reflected in their reputation within the industry, I would probably not hire you.

But obviously this is a decision you have to make for yourself. Good luck!

[prem arora]

I might be very late in replying on this one. Still, wanted to.

In my opinion, you should never break the notice period. You can negotiate with your current company and try to reduce that period. Of course there would be terms and conditions on it, and if you really want to get relieved early on, go by those terms and conditions only.

Do not get enticed by this offer of joining immediately. Later on, when a company is talking about your performance, work culture and ethics, this will be an important tenet to show upon, that you do not work that ethically.