New vs. replacement position (job, salaries, interest, management)

[riffle]

As a job seeker, do you have a preference between a newly created position vs. backfilling an existing position previously held by someone else? If so, which do you prefer and why?

[Parnassia]

If the job is something I really want to do and feel I'd fit into well it doesn't really matter to me. There could be more growing pains with a position that hasn't existed in that organization before, but you might also have more say in how the position develops for yourself.

If the position already exists there may be more "comfort" in how management handles it and me, but there may also be expectations that are harder to meet and harder to change when they need to. I've taken brand new positions, positions that were "reinvented", as well as established ones. As long as the purpose for the job was clear and I brought the interest and skills needed they worked out.

[liveurdream]

Originally Posted by riffle

As a job seeker, do you have a preference between a newly created position vs. backfilling an existing position previously held by someone else? If so, which do you prefer and why?

A new position is easier to negotiate. Works better if it is a new line of business/new product. Replacement tends to already have things set for salaries and everything else.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by liveurdream

A new position is easier to negotiate. Works better if it is a new line of business/new product. Replacement tends to already have things set for salaries and everything else.

On the other hand, an existing position has been filled for a long time and that tends to justify it's existence. A new position is usually one that a manager has gotten approved for the new budget, but there has not yet been any proof of it's value to the organization. In difficult times, it can be the first to be cut.