Very good news, indeed

Went to have a bit of a chat with the McGill project planner. It was very encouraging. In a nutshell, there are no conditions in the offer they're making me that make me want to say no.

RIght now, they're going through all the red tape on the McGill HR side to see where they can fit me in. From our conversation, it would seem that the position would be a mid-to-senior management one (she mentioned that I'd be a Systems Developer). We still need to finalize out all the details, but they're going ahead as if I'm already hired :) I'm going to be hired as a casual, which means only for a 3-6 month contract to start with. This is because they need me now, and it would probably take 3 months to hire me through the proper channels. Now I know there's a risk that after 3-6 months, I get chucked out on my ass, but that risk is – I feel – negligible. I'm getting a really good vibe from everybody involved. They told me that they're going ahead in good faith that I'm going to be hired for the position I'm applying for now, and even if – heaven forbid – something happened in the interim, this project needs people and they'd find me another position.

Since they're not sure exactly what pigeonhole I fit in at McGill, they can't define exactly what the full benefits are. That's ok, for now, because I stated what I want and what I'm willing to compromise on. The good thing is that they agree with me that none of my demands are extravagant, and both sides are ready to negotiate in good faith. I'm willing to sacrifice on salary^†; if I can get more vacation time, and I'm willing to sacrifice on vacation time if I can have the opportunity to go to international conferences with all expenses paid. Basically, we need to talk about all of those factors, but like I said, I have a good feeling :)

† Funny thing: I was a bit disappointed that the initial salary they offered me was below the lower limit of the salary range they'd asked me for. Turns out, they forgot I'd given them a range, and based the offer on what I make now. When I pointed this out, the project manager looked really crestfallen, and said she'd talk about it with the department head next time she saw him – which is this coming thursday. This will be in my favour in getting more vacation time, conference time and raise schedule (I haven't had one in the 3 years I worked for Sequence. They told me that a cost of living raise shouldn't be a problem).