Which job opportunity do I take?
May 17, 2019 10:26 AM Subscribe
Deciding between job opportunities - and not any are perfect.
I am about to make a career decision as a grad student graduating and need some thoughts about whether I am going in the right direction. Long term, I want to be doing Y role in X industry.
I am deciding between three choices (two are final rounds and one is an offer):
* Y senior position to one of the VPs at a public company that has good culture. I have worked in the industry before and I liked it but may find it boring.
* Middle manager position at a growth company in X industry I am really interested in. However, some concerns have emerged after a lot of conversations (high burn rate, complex issues with business model, high exec turnover, potential acquisition in two years which would change a lot of things). Yet the employees love the culture.
* Y role to someone in an industry that I don’t want to be in. I did a job in that industry and did not enjoy it. However, the role is different and eliminates a lot of things that I didn’t enjoy (even though the role is lower than the one I used to have but the firm was not as prestigious…which I am not sure if I should be insulted by). The firm is also very well known, and I would be exposed to a ton of companies, and I asked around and people have said this person was a great manager. He also said he will put me in a Y role after two years.
I am in late stage conversations with the first two, and an offer from the last. I am leaning towards the last (as bird in hand, etc.) but I also don’t want to rush into something if it’s not right.
I could also just reject everything and take my time, but I am also exhausted from interviewing and want to figure out my next step.
I am about to make a career decision as a grad student graduating and need some thoughts about whether I am going in the right direction. Long term, I want to be doing Y role in X industry.
I am deciding between three choices (two are final rounds and one is an offer):
* Y senior position to one of the VPs at a public company that has good culture. I have worked in the industry before and I liked it but may find it boring.
* Middle manager position at a growth company in X industry I am really interested in. However, some concerns have emerged after a lot of conversations (high burn rate, complex issues with business model, high exec turnover, potential acquisition in two years which would change a lot of things). Yet the employees love the culture.
* Y role to someone in an industry that I don’t want to be in. I did a job in that industry and did not enjoy it. However, the role is different and eliminates a lot of things that I didn’t enjoy (even though the role is lower than the one I used to have but the firm was not as prestigious…which I am not sure if I should be insulted by). The firm is also very well known, and I would be exposed to a ton of companies, and I asked around and people have said this person was a great manager. He also said he will put me in a Y role after two years.
I am in late stage conversations with the first two, and an offer from the last. I am leaning towards the last (as bird in hand, etc.) but I also don’t want to rush into something if it’s not right.
I could also just reject everything and take my time, but I am also exhausted from interviewing and want to figure out my next step.
It's hard to know how to help without a better understanding of what Y and X are.
Especially Y. Is Y a set of skills you need to practice and hone? Then #2 might be bad, since you won't be gaining experience using them as a middle manager.
I'm confused about the third option. It is described as Y role, but the last sentence says the manager will put you in a Y role in 2 years. Isn't it already a Y role?
posted by girlpublisher at 2:53 PM on May 17, 2019
Especially Y. Is Y a set of skills you need to practice and hone? Then #2 might be bad, since you won't be gaining experience using them as a middle manager.
I'm confused about the third option. It is described as Y role, but the last sentence says the manager will put you in a Y role in 2 years. Isn't it already a Y role?
posted by girlpublisher at 2:53 PM on May 17, 2019
Response by poster: Should have been clearer - third option is working with an investor in a sort of similar role in that it is a right hand person, vs right hand person to CEO inside a company.
posted by pando11 at 6:56 PM on May 17, 2019
posted by pando11 at 6:56 PM on May 17, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
Role #3 is in-hand, so that's good, but if you don't like the industry, two years is a long time. Also for promotion promises, absent a contract that explicitly states the promotion will happen, I'd take it with a grain of salt. That would be my second choice.
Role #2 just sounds really like you don't want it all that much and probably wouldn't enjoy it too much, so I'd eliminate that based on your explanation.
posted by xingcat at 10:44 AM on May 17, 2019 [2 favorites]