I had an interesting discussion with somebody the other day about a career move. They were in a steady IT job, which was a relatively well paid permanent position close to home.  Recently they had been head hunted by another organisation who wanted them on a temporary contract for a few months. The upside was that this meant that they had the opportunity to earn twice or possibly three times their current salary and the work that they would be doing sounded really interesting. The downside was that it meant additional travelling and was far riskier than their current role in terms of continuity of employment.

What made this case interesting was the chap in question was having a difficult time in his current job and I could tell that it was frustrating him. It is at these times where you need to be most careful about your decision making. I have seen so many instances where people have taken the leap from a job that provides a reliable source of income into a more risky position in an organisation or even a business start-up, but the decision was driven through high levels of emotion rather than logical reasoning.

If you are frustrated, angry or upset about your current role and excited about the prospect of doing something different then you will be tapping into both sides of your own motivation. This is a powerful force and can lead to spur of the moment decisions that you can live to regret. Trust me, I’ve had this discussion with so many clients that are in a place where they are annoyed with their current job and want out. However, when we go through it logically they then come to realise in many cases that this is not best for them. Also, any frustration or problem you have can usually be reframed as an opportunity for personal growth in some shape or form when you think about it.

There was a client of mine who had an executive position. She was going down a similar track. She had spotted a business opportunity that still had to be proven and seemed to be charging forward towards it without really thinking about what was best in a logical way or the risks that even looking into the opportunity were posing for her. She was frustrated at the fact that she couldn’t be creative and didn’t feel empowered and her emotions were driving her to change. When we talked it through we came to a more rational approach.

If you are starting a business or looking to move job you must be mindful of this phenomenon or it will catch you out! Here’s how you can protect yourself….If you’ve decided that you would like to make a change then you might want to set yourself some “exit criteria” i.e. what needs to be true for you to leave. Let me give you some examples:

·         “The new job/business means I will be away from home less than x nights per week”

·         “The new job/business will need to pay me at least x”

·         “The new job/business will mean I commute no more than x hours”

·         “I will continue to spend x time with my family”

·         In the case of going full time into a business “I will have £x put to one side to tide me over if my revenue targets are not realised.”

Do you get the idea? The list is endless, but you need to come up with some criteria that are relevant to your own life, which reflect what’s really important to you. You will probably find between six to twelve important factors.

You can then make logical decisions even during the times when your emotions appear to be driving you. You can lean on the exit criteria that you set to guide you and protect you from making some bad decision because you weren’t thinking straight at the time. If you are in a long term relationship then I also recommend that you discuss the criteria with your partner and agree together. Especially if you are putting your partner or family’s financial well being or other areas of their life at risk by making the move.

Now if you have no existing income and you are completely flexible then this doesn’t really apply because you have little to lose. However, for most people it is worth sitting down and thinking through this stuff. This will also give you confidence that you have made a grounded decision.  Hey – and I am not saying “don’t change”. Change is good, but you do need to be comfortable with the risk you are taking and making big decisions like these in the right way.

If you would like to discuss a career move or new business start-up then please get in touch. I offer a free no obligation coaching session - register via my web site today: www.my-life-coach.co.uk .