Career Guidance: Should I Take the Job or Wait?
November 15th, 2009 | 
Author: Something that frequently comes up with folks I’ve worked with either as a recruiter or a career coach is this quandary of whether or not to take a job that pays a lot less than what you want. It’s a tricky dilemma, but consider the following scenarios:
Andrew has been searching for full-time work for 9 months. He is offered a job with XYZ company, but the pay is much lower than what he wants. After much consideration, Andrew takes the job and it isn’t long before he is making an impact. After 3 months on the job, the GM is so impressed with Andrew’s ideas for improvement and performance, he offers him a promotion with a bonus.
Contrast Andrew with Brandy. Brandy has been out of work for 10 months. She was offered a full-time job but turned it down because the pay was too low. Brandy said she would “just wait it out.” Brandy is still waiting, and foreclosure is eminent.
Many times people get confused about taking a job that is not exactly what they want. I understand the dilemma. Some situations have a lot of complexity to them, so there is much to consider.
Here’s my take:
- Talk the situation through with someone … be curious and open. You may not have considered all the options available to you. Getting help means you are strong, not weak.
- No job comes with a lifetime guarantee or commitment – from either side (employer/employee). If the job doesn’t work out, you can look for something else. Now you’re in an even better position because you’ve likely learned a few things you can put in your “career toolkit.”
- Every situation carries an element of risk to it. It’s important to weigh your options, but get some help if you have “decision constipation.” There are numerous tools available to help with your decision
- Make sure you understand as much as you possibly can about every job offer. What is the potential for advancement? Does the company invest in people development? What is the fiscal health of the company/organization? It pays to do your research.
- Sometimes people are in a situation where they have to take a job they don’t really want – completely understandable these days. Just remember, there is a big difference between taking a job that pays the bills temporarily and denying your gifts to the world.
Let me know how I can help you. I want to know about your challenges and successes.
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I think the perfect is often the enemy of the good. If you pass up something good because it’s not perfect, then you give up an opportunity to work with the situation and perhaps improve it. But I do think you should be willing to leave a job if you give it a fair trial and it turns out not to be a good match. Unfortunately, leaving a job you already have can often be harder than turning down a job offer.
Vote:Diane, the perspective and advice you’ve provided is incredibly timely and relevant to many people, I’m sure, and the synchronicity of this showing up in my box tonight makes me smile because of how relevant it is to me.
As a fellow coach, I’ve worked with clients on this very topic and it’s amazing how easy it is to have perspective on others’ lives and to easily lose it when it comes to our own! I’m looking for an opportunity to secure steady income (aka job hunting) and have felt myself resist the process because I’m afraid that I’m ’selling out’ and not believing I can get paid well and consistently for my gifts. When I act out of this fear I get passive about both finding a job that will pay the bills temporarily AND I don’t use my gifts…I get stuck!
However, when I see that creating financial stability for myself with a job that might ‘just pay the bills’ is a way to move toward sharing my gifts with the world because I’m removing the $$ stress and I never know where it may lead – when I see that I am powerful in making that choice to create what I ultimately want – that’s when I take positive, powerful action and come from my essence. When I stop looking at it as either/or, and shift it to yes/and (yes, this job isn’t my ideal AND it serves a greater purpose that I can’t even fully know yet) – when I approach it from a playful place, like a treasure box that brings an unknown gift, and I let go of the outcome – my energy flows and it becomes an adventure to explore.
And then THAT becomes the gift I can share with the world (while I move toward paying my bills)!
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Vote:Shannon,
Vote:I agree with you that leaving a job you already have can be as hard if not harder than turning down a job offer. Another trend – staying too long. It’s happened to me and many of my clients, friends, and family. Staying too long can have pretty negative consequences (constant conflicts, burn out, health problems, depression, anxiety, poor performance, and so on). This is why I am so passionate about people leading their careers and being very clear about what’s working/not working for them.