Ryan’s Journal: Risk Versus Reward
by Ryan Pew
Job hunting can be stressful, but also extremely rewarding should the right role present itself. You deal with learning about the culture, taking time off for interviewing, crafting the perfect resume, and finally going through the processes to come out on the other side with an offer. That offer can be well worth the stress of it all.
What if you had to do all of that with your current employer’s full knowledge that you were interviewing? Would you still go through the process? Does the risk outweigh the reward?
I actually had that scenario presented to me recently. I have a close working relationship with a hiring director at a company I would be open to working for. I love the culture, how they go to market and it would be a career boost for me.
In addition, since I have a close relationship with folks there, the role opening was presented to me versus me applying on a website and hoping they see me.
One problem though.
They asked that I tell my current employer first, before interviewing, so there is no conflict of interest (my current company does business with the target company).
I have been sitting on telling my boss now for five days. Each morning I walk in with a plan to tell him and each day I delay. I have prayed, meditated, asked for a sign in a dream that I am making a good decision in telling a current employer that I am interviewing before I even know if I have the role.
It has been a major stress for me as I know the move would be great, but I feel it’s too much of a risk to show my cards before I even know the outcome.
Today I even contemplated loosening my own moral code, pulling a Hope Hicks and telling a white lie. I was considering saying I had told my boss when in reality I wouldn’t.
Doing this, of course, may be small, but it starts the foundation on the wrong foot. It chips away at who I am.
I want the role, see a future and see a path forward. But through all my gnashing of teeth, I have not felt right putting my family at risk by saying anything to my boss.
The feeling helped me delay, because today I received a call from that director. He asked that I wait to tell my boss. He realized it didn’t need to be done and it wasn’t right of him to put me in that position.
Have you ever felt you had to compromise to get ahead?
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