Dilemma Friday: Would You Take Up Their Offer?
Friday, September 11, 2009Posted in: Dilemma of the week
Continuing the theme, this week’s dilemma is as follows:
You’ve successfully helped build a business that is now thriving. You get on well with your colleagues, and you are well respected throughout the organisation.
You are then approached by a rival company, who have only just started up. They offer you twice the salary you are currently earning, and an office with an amazing view. You do your research and find that they appear to be savvy people, with plenty of experience in this particular field.
What do you do? Eager for a new challenge, do you take up their offer, knowing that it may take a while to help build a credible organisation, or do you play it safe, and refuse, knowing how hard it is to operate as a start-up company, in the current economic climate?
What would you do?
Shiloh Walker
September 11
12:18 pm
Tough one. I’d do some serious research of my own, I guess, before I made a call. See what their business plan, whether they had all their financial ducks in a row and if if things were going forward on a positive note.
And I’d have to listen to my gut. I just don’t know.
Las
September 11
1:38 pm
I’m not a risk taker when it comes to business. Just the idea of starting a business from the ground up makes me anxious for myself and awed for those with the guts to do it. Unless I was unhappy in my current position, or if I really wanted a challenge and could easily afford to take a hit if things don’t work out, I’d stay put, especially with the economy being what it is right now.
Fae Sutherland
September 11
1:49 pm
What Las said. I can be a wild child in a lot of areas, but money and financial security is not something I ever gamble with. As exciting as I’d probably think it would be to be a part of a fresh, eager new start up, I’d stay put. Like Las said, unless I was supremely unhappy in my current position, the economy just isn’t right for taking that big of a risk.
I’m a bit of a conservative when it comes to money and bills getting paid.
SarahT
September 11
2:02 pm
I’m cautious when it comes to all things financial, and in the current economic climate, I’m doubly so. However attractive the job opportunity, it would very much depend on how much I could afford to lose. In other words, could my family get by on just one income if the move should prove to be a mistake? How likely am I to find another job in my field if the new company goes bust?
maddie
September 11
2:02 pm
Ditto on what Las posted, if I’m happy with my job, I wouldn’t risk that for anything
Angela James
September 11
3:20 pm
Everyone knows what I’d do š
Melissa Blue
September 11
7:41 pm
“Everyone knows what Iād do”
I just snorted soda up my nose. LOL.
I’m lazy, so the challenge might pique my interest. The more money promised might make me start imaging Prada purses.
But, it depends on how I feel about the old company. Am I happy with the work I’m doing there.
Hell, do I have a back-up plan if the shit hits the fan? See, I like to take a risk only when it really won’t be one. So If I have savings that can last me, then I might.
It depends.
Christine Rimmer
September 11
8:16 pm
I’d probably make the move. Life is short and I like to change things up. And as for security, well, in the real world, there isn’t any. It’s a myth created by people who want you to stay in one place and do as you’re told.
kirsten saell
September 11
9:41 pm
I’ve been at the same day (night, actually) job for 11 years, and though I do have my moments (okay, several times a night) when I holler “I quit!” and my boss replies “Yeah, whatever,” it would have to be a significant gain for me to go somewhere else. And I’m not talking just money (though more money’s always nice), but hours, freedom to work the way I want, flexibility, and a host of other things. And job security. Because for me, changing jobs is an annoyance I’d like to deal with as little as possible.
So unless my first paycheck could feed me for a year, I think I’d say no.
Myra Willingham
September 11
9:47 pm
I quit my day job as a graphics designer and started my own crafts company. I bought stencils, old barn wood, old tin, paints and varnish, wire, etc. and made Halloween and other holiday signs. I sold tons of those things until I got preggies and had to turn it over to my SILto run because I couldn’t be on my feet or the plug would fall out. š She ran it into the ground, stole money, skipped down to Cancun with boyfriend #whatever and lost it all. I had no money coming in, couldn’t pay the rent on the shop, couldn’t fill orders from several customers who had already paid for signs I could paint while sitting down, and wound up having to file bankruptcy. As for my SIL, hubby bailed her out. I wanted to put her lard ass in jail and would have had it been left up to me.
Lynne
September 12
12:06 am
I’ve had this situation come up several times in my career, and in each case, I was somewhat tempted but ultimately declined. And it turned out I made the right decision.
I’m sure it’ll come up again, and one of these days, I might actually take that leap. But I’d feel a helluva lot better about doing it if I lived in a country with universal health coverage. The big advantage of working for huge, deep-pocketed multinational corporations is the clout they have in wringing favorable terms from insurance companies. I’d have much less protection if I worked for a smaller company.
JulieLeto
September 12
2:21 am
Like it or not, company loyalty doesn’t get you far in the business world. I might go to my original employer and give them a chance to counter offer, if I was willing to walk.
Angela, hugs and shoulder pats. Cream rises to the top…and everything happens for a reason. Those aren’t platitudes, but things I’ve seen in my own life. I’m sure this will all work out for you!
Carol
September 12
4:48 am
I’d do some research of my own and if it panned out, I’d go for it. BUT… I’d negotiate a contract for a guaranteed amount, win or lose, or some type of pre-determined severance. After all, the new employers need my expertise to grow, so it’s all upside to them if they’ve truly done their homework. On my last job, I negotiated a 6 month severance and that was fine. I had another job in 4 months so I got to bank 2 month’s pay.
Tymber Dalton
September 12
3:05 pm
Depends. I believe in diversification. If my other income sources could handle a huge loss if things tanked, perhaps.
I left a 9-5 job to work from home writing mostly full time (software tutorials). I took a side job as a freelance web geek at first, which helped with income. Then I increased my writing income until I could quit the other job and stay home full time. From there I transitioned to writing fiction full time. The entire process took four years. And I still have my tutorials to bring in some income. And my husband’s income, of course.
So in answer, as long as I had a “plan B” to keep income coming in to pay the bills, sure, why not try a start-up?
Venus Vaughn
September 13
6:53 am
It would totally depend on the status of the rest of my life. If that was stable and going well, I’d probably take the shot. If the rest of my life was in disarray, I’d keep my butt in the one secure place I had.
West
September 13
7:03 am
It would depend entirely upon the economy, the state of my savings, and my fall back options. If all of those three are really good, then I just might do it. But if I had even the slightest doubt about any of them, then no way. I’m far too much of a chicken to take that kind of risk without being certain.