3 Things to consider when looking for a new job
A number of years ago, I worked for a large IT company. At the time, I had a manager named Larry. Larry was the Regional Director of our division. Every day, working in the call center, Larry would take 30 minutes a day and walk the rows of his sales reps and make sure to have a few seconds with each of us. Sometimes it was a hello. Other times a thank you, and other times he might spend a minute or two learning about who we were. Later, as he got to know us, he would ask how our families were. There was no doubt that Larry was deeply invested in all levels of his team being successful.
I worked with Larry for three years and we got to know each other pretty well. We had a contest one week, and the prize was lunch with Larry. I worked really hard that week and won the lunch. Because of our relationship and time working together, our conversations often went beyond work to discuss family, kids, goals, and other things. It was during this lunch that Larry told me he was leaving and going to a different company. His boss knew, but hadn’t said anything to the rest of the team yet. He spent the next 10 minutes telling me about the great opportunity that he had been offered and that it was a life changing opportunity. I was sad to hear he was leaving, and also very happy for him. I then asked him a question that to this day, I have never forgotten the answer to. I asked him what were the factors in taking the new role. He said there were 3 factors that he always considered when looking at any opportunity. More time, More money, More responsibility. If he got two out of three, he will highly consider it, and if he gets three out of three, it’s a no brainer. Let’s take a look at these in more detail:
More Time.
Time is our irreplaceable resource. We all get 24 hours in a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. That will never change. We must be efficient managers of our time to accomplish all the things we want to accomplish. For most of us, we spend more time working than we care to admit. When a job offers an opportunity to get back an hour or two of time and still do the job effectively, consider the opportunity. I’ve turned down opportunities to manage larger operations because the store was an hour away. Even though the pay increase was more than enough to offset the gas, the thought of spending another 2 hours a day fighting traffic (because the commute was an hour each direction) didn’t interest me one bit. It took time away from the things that were my priority and really made it not worth the extra pay.
More Money.
The draw for more money is always enticing. More money can mean more opportunities. More money can help clean up debt, invest, or travel. More money can even mean buying that dream house you’ve been looking for. The promise for more money though cannot outweigh everything else. What good is the house you buy if you can’t spend any time in it? Money must be weighed in the balance of everything else to know if it’s the right choice.
More Responsibility.
The idea of more responsibility can come in many forms. Maybe it’s the opportunity to manage or oversee a new group. Maybe it comes with overseeing a department you’ve never managed before, and it grows your overall skills. Maybe it’s managing a larger or more prominent team. The opportunity for more responsibility can be life and career changing if done properly.
Larry has been one of the most influential managers in my career and helped me to learn a lot about making smart business decisions. Larry always weighed his priorities against these three factors, and it has served him well. It has served me well, and hopefully it can serve you well too.