{"id":37581,"date":"2013-09-05T12:00:49","date_gmt":"2013-09-05T16:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=37581"},"modified":"2013-09-05T08:21:55","modified_gmt":"2013-09-05T12:21:55","slug":"should-i-stay-or-should-i-go-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=37581","title":{"rendered":"Should I Stay, or Should I Go Now?"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexis Rohlfing, Head Editor, INALJ New Hampshire<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Should I Stay, or Should I Go Now?<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"alexisrohlfing\"<\/a>Two weeks ago I found myself in the odd position of having to decide if I really wanted a mini-promotion. This is a situation that I\u2019m sure others have run into: you\u2019re not working as an information professional, but you\u2019ve excelled enough at your current position that you are offered a promotion. Whether big or small, there\u2019s that little question in the back of your mind: \u201cIs it worth it?\u201d<\/p>\n

I have been working toward getting into content management or resource development, so being offered more training and responsibilities that fell squarely in my current realm didn\u2019t immediately sound like what I wanted. But should I accept it– stay on my current trajectory and hope that future doors may open? Or should I turn it down, and focus on internal and external opportunities that were closer to where I wanted to be?<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t pretend to have the answer for everyone, but when you\u2019re faced with that type of opportunity that may not be an opportunity, here are some things to keep in mind:<\/p>\n

The WIIFM<\/b> (everyone\u2019s favorite acronym)<\/b> – WIIFM stands for \u201cwhat\u2019s in it for me?\u201d and it\u2019s one of the first questions you have to ask yourself. What are the good things, the positives that lead you to say yes? This can include marketable or transferable skills that will help you get to your career goal, a pay bump, change in schedule that may work better for you, or all of the above.<\/p>\n

What does my \u201cno\u201d really say to the employer<\/b> – The flip side of the coin is, if you turn down the promotion or additional skill set, what does that say to your employer? Does it say \u201cNo, I won\u2019t take the easy road; I\u2019m focused on my goal?\u201d Or is your employer going to see it as \u201cNo, I will not help the business with what it needs right now, I\u2019m focused on me\u201d? The answer to that is going to depend on your manager and your work culture. Part of my company\u2019s culture is a big emphasis on \u201cwe help you, you help us\u201d– they are flexible in adjusting around family schedules and personal needs, but in return you are expected to help the business, such as being trained to take more calls in a group that is critically short.<\/p>\n

What does my \u201cno\u201d really say to me<\/b> – All of these considerations are important, but you also have to think about your yes or no in terms of your career path and goals. Are you saying yes because this is a side path that could prove useful? Are you saying no because the cons outweigh the pros? Are you saying no because you\u2019re just tired of being out of the industry, or saying yes because you\u2019ve decided that it\u2019s not meant to be? You need to really assess where you are coming from on an intellectual and emotional basis.<\/p>\n

Will there be other opportunities<\/b> – If the opportunity that you\u2019ve been given just isn\u2019t what you need at this point, you need to assess whether your current position will lead to more opportunities that do further your career goals, or whether you will continue to have chances that don\u2019t get you what you need. If you\u2019re looking at the lay of the land, and you think that the opportunity you\u2019re considering is the rule, not the exception, you may need to start looking outside your current employer.<\/p>\n

Personal considerations<\/b> – if you\u2019re leaning toward no, and you think this may lead you to look for opportunity elsewhere, are there personal considerations? Upcoming time off that you have to be sure of? Upcoming wedding? Personal leave, maternity leave, or medical leave that you know you can get in your current position but may not be as easy to get if you move jobs?<\/p>\n

For what it\u2019s worth, I did accept the opportunity even though there\u2019s no direct correlation between the job I\u2019ll be doing and where I want to ultimately be. For any decision like this, you have to think through the reasons outlined above. One of the main reasons I chose to move forward was that it is a very visible manifestation of the fact that my manager thinks I am doing well in my job and that I am worthy of more responsibility– something that is good whether you will be with the company for a few years or an entire career.<\/p>\n

So if you find yourself in the situation of wondering should I stay or should I go? Make sure you don\u2019t jump into an opportunity without weighing the options, and don\u2019t judge the opportunity by its outward appearance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexis Rohlfing, Head Editor, INALJ New Hampshire Should I Stay, or Should I Go Now? Two weeks ago I found myself in the odd position of having to decide if I really wanted a mini-promotion. This is a situation that I\u2019m sure others have run into: you\u2019re not working as an information professional, but…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[5173,3802,69,3592,3599,5231,4932],"class_list":["post-37581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-accepting-job-offers","tag-alexis-rohlfing","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-inalj-new-hampshire","tag-promotions","tag-rejecting-a-job-offer"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-9M9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37581\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}