Last week, I shared one reason we might choose to stay stuck in a lackluster job. Why? We don’t want to upset either a family member, friend or colleague by making a job or career change.
Seeking others approval can stop us cold in our tracks.
Have you ever experienced this? I’d like to share another common one.
As I pursued finding my career bliss during 1997, I took a short 6-month job stint that I quickly discovered was not the job I had hoped for after only being there a couple of months. I made the decision to continue looking and not worry about how this would look on my resume.
A few months later, I had an interview to work as a Recruiter for an accounting and financial recruitment firm who desired to start a branch in the Denver area. As I continued interviewing and learning more about this position, my excitement mounted. I would have the opportunity to engage more with people one on one and be in a service role helping people find employment. As an extrovert, this sounded appealing vs. working behind the scenes on numbers and data all day.
After a few interviews, I was excited to learn that an offer was finally coming my way. No discussions had taken place at this stage around their salary or benefits package. When I completed the application, I had listed my current salary, but I had not yet asked about their compensation range during my interviews.
My family encouraged me to only take this opportunity if it were a step up in pay. They argued that I should only be considering jobs that would help me progress forward at this stage of my career, and not backwards. I needed to be responsible and take a job that would offer the greatest income potential. Therefore, they advised that if the offer should come in lower than my current salary, negotiate for more money.
Why do we stay in a lackluster job? Money.
The offer came in less than my current salary. I chose not to negotiate the salary at this stage of my career as I didn’t want to jeopardize this job. I trusted my enthusiasm and gratefully accepted their offer. I’m not advocating we never negotiate our salary, I’m advocating that we learn to trust our own internal voice. This felt like the right decision for me. I also knew that I was starting in a new field and had much to learn. Therefore, I was willing to take a pay cut to see how I would like it. Thank goodness I listened and trusted my gut.
Next week, I’ll be sharing more on this topic and my story. Have you ever felt stuck in a job because of the “golden handcuffs”?
