Of late, I have had many colleagues seek counsel on pursuing new opportunities inside and outside their current company. Several have hesitated, telling me ‘they are not sure they will want the position if it is offered to them.’ A few thoughts:
What is really holding you back?
Get in touch with what your insecurities really are. The concern may be fear of not being able to do the job, fear of out-right failure, or fear of moving into a new world and realizing it was better where you were. Look these revelations in the eye. Dig deep and get to the root of them. Challenging ourselves is how we grow – plain and simple. If we stay comfortable, we will be ‘there’ for as long as we allow ourselves. Stretch, push, and grow. It will reveal the strength within us.
Your answer doesn’t have to be yes.
Remember that we are qualifying the potential company, organization, and job – just as they are qualifying us. Just because they offer us a position, does not mean we have to accept it. This is a two-way decision. Never believe that if you are going for a position you are obliged to accept it; unless you have all the information from day one, which is highly unlikely. We don’t know what we don’t know when we are in the initial stages of interviewing. Even at the end of the interviewing cycle, there is no obligation – that is why they call it interviewing. (It is just like dating and thank heavens we didn’t marry everyone we dated!)
So – go for it. Reach. Stretch. Investigate. We never know where the next opportunity for growth, experience, and expansion will arrive. Explore them all! Use good judgment. And ultimately – follow your gut.
This happened to me last May. I was approached by another non-profit to leave my current job of 19 years to go with them. They needed an ED with experience to help turn the organization around. the non-prift was entirely different than the job where I was. I realized I was in burnout after 19 years and i took the job knowing it had challenges. Infact it was the challenges that I looked forward to. I took the job in June and it had many many challenges. Many more than I realized but I can truthfully say, I love it. I get up looking forward to going to work again. My creative juices are flowing even with money hard to come by for a botanical garden. I had to be willing to take a leap and leave my secure job behind. I have a very small staff of 5 instead of 28 and I am feeding the soul instead of the stomach. Of course there are days I ask myself why I decided to change and then I see little kids tickled about a butterfly and I know why.