I have been searching for a full-time position since I graduated in May. I’ve had some job interviews but no real success until I was offered a job in early January. This job required a security clearance, which I was told would take 3-5 months. Because of this, I planned my life around going into the office at the end of March or early April.
During the clearance process, I frequently was tasked with filling out paperwork or mailing documents with one-day turnovers. The woman I was in correspondence with would email me at the end of her workday expecting something the next day (including Saturdays) and would be unavailable until morning or Monday for questions. While I respect her right to do this, she was forcing me to spend my nights doing paperwork for free with no notice. And I won’t even get into the conflicting emails and poor communication.
I should have taken this as a sign but because the company running the clearance and the company I agreed to work for are different, I thought that maybe this was just a bureaucracy problem. However, late Thursday, again without notice, I was told that my clearance has been approved and that I was expected in the office in two weeks. I pushed back saying that wasn’t enough time for me to finish the current schedule I have at my part-time job (which I do enjoy) and that I was asking for another week. The HR person said that this new job should take priority and has stated they began the transition process before emailing me about my schedule.
Because of all this, I have had to rearrange appointments and commitments in my life with very little turnaround. I am now dreading working for this company if they have proven time and time again to not respect my time, especially before I have officially started. Should I withdraw my acceptance or just stick through for a couple of months until an another opportunity arises?
TLDR: Company expects me to drop all obligations for a position with no notice. Should I withdraw my acceptance for the position?