A bit of job advice required

[JamesL]

Hi all,

Came across this forum today so thought I would firstly pop in and say hi and hopefully also use finding it to help get some impartial advice!

So onto my situation - I work in Online Marketing and have decided that it is time to move on from my current company, without giving too much away they have made some redundancies and whilst I'm not affected in this round I could be in the future and have a wife and kids to support.

I went to a number of interviews and ended up getting four different offers, two of which I have now turned down.

The other two I am having a hard time picking between - they are very different but I don't really know what is best for my career in the long term.

Offer 1
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Working for a marketing solutions provider it would be a Senior account management role. I know the people who work there well having dealt with them as a client and an agency in the past and in my mind this is the "easy" option. The wage is significantly better than what I am on now and the frustrating things that I do now (chasing for payments from clients, etc!) would be a thing of the past. It's a good opportunity and the extra money would certainly help better provide for my family and pay off my debts.

Offer 2
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The second offer is from two people who I used to work for that have decided to start their own business. The salary would be similar (perhaps slightly less) than Offer 1, however I would receive equity in the company. It's worth noting that the driving force behind it has sold two companies before, the first for £2.5m and the other for £1.5m and would aim to do the same again in a few years, so the equity part is tempting to say the least.. I also really enjoyed working with them both and a few of the staff that I work with now are likely to jump ship so it would be a great team.

And this is about where I am up to - Offer 1 is good, but potentially not challenging however Offer 2 is more of a risk but you don't get reward without this.

I have to give a decision by the end of the week and have tried writing down the various pros and cons on a number of occasions but can't seem to come to a decision.

Any advice is welcome (and needed!) and whatever happens I'll still be in Online Marketing so will hopefully continue to use these forums to offer advice in this area.

Thanks
J

[RayB]

Hi James,

Welcome to A1!

It sounds like a nice dilemma to have.

I'd be tempted to go for the "riskier" second option in this instance - my reason being that if it does not work out it sounds like you are very employable (having had 4 decent job offers this time around) - so you're unlikely to be out of work if the worst comes to the worse.

On that basis - I think it's worth taking the risk!

[pvcprinting]

James,

Welcome to A1

I concour with what Ray has stated..take the riskier job...reading between the lines it is the job you have decided upon anyway

Having had 4 decent job offers I dont think you will be short of work should it not work out

Regards

Pete

[JohnG]

It depends on your age and status in life. Can you afford to take the risk and will your wife be supportive? Will you be able to support her and the kids if it doesn't work out?

If you're comfortable with these issues then do it. You'll probably kick yourself later if you don't.

[Hayles]

Second option for sure

As the others have said, you'll never be out of work by the sounds of it so take a chance.

H

[JamesL]

Hi all,

Thanks for your suggestions. I think that up until this afternoon I agreed with you're comments. Then I met with the MD of "Offer 1" and was given a fantastic pitch with a very different role to what I originally saw and a better offer, so it looks as though that has made up my decision.

Fun times ahead,

Thanks again all,
James

[Calibre Designs]

Glad it all worked out James!

[Indizine]

well do let us know how it goes wont you? I would also have said take the slight extra risk (though Im not sure where the risk is just because it has slightly less money but assuming its more than you get now) but follow your gut instinct and hopefully this will turn out to be the better option.

They say, if it doesnt feel right, it usually isnt. Good Luck!!

[Moneymaker]

I think I would definately go for the riskier situation. You know these people so you know how hard they work and if they really can put in enough effort to make the risk go down a bit! Also, what you said is true sometimes it is hard to really make a big profit without the risk. However, I would say it also depends on if you're just supporting yourself or if you have some youngsters that still need financial support. If so I would probably be a little more cautious with the choice!
Good luck!

[sm1]

You've obviously already made the decision - good luck.

Sometimes it's better to accept slightly less but be more comfortable and stable.

Cheers!