May 16, 2008
I received several responses to that column and, uniformly, the question arose about when you should think about changing jobs or even careers. So, here goes my take on that.
You are minding your own business and thinking about the weekend when the phone rings. A headhunter has the perfect job for you at a marked increase in salary. What should you do?
That scenario happened to me a couple of times over my 34-year career. What I did was consider a few things.
Why should I stay? Are you having a lot of fun doing what you’re doing? Do you look forward to coming to work every day? Can you remember the last time you were bored or restless?
I know what I have here. You don’t know what it will be like at the new place. You are comfortable. You know the security guard and his wonder dog, Rex. You know where the bathroom and the coffee machine are. You know how to work the copier. Your desk chair is set perfectly. You have your secret stash of candy bars.
Moving might be a real problem. Rousting the kids out of school, meeting new friends, establishing new routines can be real stressful for the family. Have a long talk with each family member about the new place and what their problems might be.
Salary is great, but… Don’t forget about the other components of the financial package. Profit sharing, stock options, pension, health care, et al will be very important to you some day, if not now. And, most companies will negotiate on these factors.
The interviewing process can be very stressful and time consuming. You might have to use vacation days to go to interviews and probably tell some little white lies about what you’re doing.
So, those are the reasons you might want to stay. Now, why might you leave?
Money is a great motivator. Particularly if you are stuck in a job and just getting cost of living raises, a big salary increase is very welcome.
You are motivated by responsibility. A new challenge can be just what you need to re-energize yourself.
A new environment, a new city or work place, can be very exciting. New places to go, new people to meet, and a whole new atmosphere can be a great adventure.
Think about job security. If the new position promises better security, it can take a load off your family and you.
(You know, there is one thing I have never understood about personnel departments: Why do we have to have salary ranges for jobs that are so inviolate that if you are doing a great job and love what you are doing, you can’t get paid healthy increases because you would fall out of your salary range. I have seen numerous instances of people getting promoted into other jobs that they don’t want because it was the only way to get a raise. I know the reasoning behind salary ranges, but I think there should be exceptions for people in important jobs, doing great, and wanting to stay where they are. Just an opinion. )
That’s my primer for when the headhunter calls, and you are trying to decide what to do. And, it holds true for career changes too. If you are in advertising, and someone calls and tells you that you would make an excellent computer fixer, go through the same checklist to decide whether you want to compute or persuade.
Now a thought about this month’s topic. Wow, all those charts and graphs and surveys and stuff. All of this is very important to understand your customer and the trends that can shape the future of your restaurant. But, may I offer a word of caution? There is no research like that you conduct on your own. Get out there and talk to your customers. As I have said before, don’t put all your eggs in the basket of some impersonal research organization. You go find out what is going on. The way I looked at the business was that every day I spent in the office was a day that I was not in a restaurant seeing what the customer wanted and talking to him. Read the reports, and then go see for yourself.
A couple of other things about research. Be careful, because people will say what they think you want to hear; they want to be nice to you. Or, they will say what they think is the right thing. All the surveys said that McDonald’s needed a diet burger, so we came out with the McLean, 93-percent fat free. The only way we could sell it was with two pieces of cheese. People didn’t go to McDonald’s then for diet food, but they thought that was the right thing to say.
Use research as a tool, not as an excuse to make a decision. Make use of your experience and gut, and use research to guide you. Way too many decisions have been made on a couple of numbers in a research study. Sit down and ask yourself what is right, and then make the decision. But, all those graphs sure are pretty.
Peaceful and happy trails.
