Decision woes

Just when i thought i'm destined to be jobless.. 1,2,3 offers came knocking! Really thank God for the blessings.. but now I need to rack my (lack of)brains on which offer to accept.. If only it is so straightforward to just choose the company that offers the highest salary..BUT *sigh*.. 'ren qings' came into play...

Was just talking to Karen on msn about owing 'ren qings'... this issue is just so complicated.. especially when people put in so much effort just to pull you in... it is like an offer where you just can't reject.. and this is what happened to me and Company A..

Company A

Went to interview for a L&D post.. hiring manager liked me but she is also aware that L&D is not my forte, so she did a very nice thing.. She roped in a senior HR BP to help me source for a suitable HR post within the Co.. which to me, was a very thoughtful gesture.

Turns out that my ex-boss is also in Co A.. and she coincidentally has a vacancy..so she called me up to offer me the role (without any interviews!) immediately.. I was ecstatic because I didn't have a single offer back then.. hence I gave her my verbal approval.

BUT.. as it was against the Co's policy to just hire a person without interviewing, my ex-boss had to ask the L&D hiring manager to write in a recommendation for me (since she & the senior HRBP have already interviewed me earlier) so that I can be selected for the position.. and that was exactly what the hiring manager did...

Apparently..the recommendation that she wrote on me was so good that my ex-boss's boss quickly gave the thumbs up for me to be selected.

AND (as if its not complicated enough)... many HR personnels in Co. A knows me (they were from my ex-co).. so in a way, I was already quite 'well-known' in there..

Dramatic enough? Story doesn't end here... *wait for it*

* * *

Company B

I applied for a position in Co. B eons ago (ok ok.. abt 1 mth ago).. no sound from them at all.. then suddenly.. at 8+pm on a tuesday night, i received a call from the hiring manager, asking me if I would like to go for an interview.

As I had already given my verbal approval to Co. A, i rejected the interview invitation... but the hiring manager was adamant to invite me down..and she gave me alot of reasons on why I should give their Co a try... so..... i said yes eventually. Just for an interview mah.. or so I thought...

The interviews (3 rounds in a single day) proceeded very smoothly.. and they offered me a sweet deal.. a deal where I find it quite hard to refuse.

My guess is, the hiring manager is very keen to hire me.. so she quickly arranged for the final round of interview with the big boss.. and well, the rest is history.

Only deal-breaker is, this is a contract position, convertable to a permanent role. But God knows when will that happen?..

* * *

Complications

1) Co. A, on learning that I have another offer from Co. B, immediately converted the position to a permanent role for me. It was such a sudden move that I am still struggling to believe this. And I owe too many people 'ren qing' in here.

2) Co. C, aka my ex-co, asked me if I want to go back (no fight, because I don't eat hui tou cao)

3) Co. B's reputation is wider and seemingly more prospects.. alot of my friends ask me to consider this Co (before they know this is a contract role hahah) because of its reputation.

* * *

So which one should I take? A or B??