Larry D. Lauer

I got a call this week from a colleague trying to decide whether or not to take a job offer at another institution.  He wanted my help in making his decision. These transitions are never easy, and to talk with someone not involved in the situation is always helpful. But at moments like this no one can give you the answer.

I have found that if the offer makes you curious the best thing to do is “play it out.” Do the interview and take plenty of time to work through all the pros and cons. Resist any strong tendency to make a quick decision. Ask for several interviews. Realize you will probably make multiple decisions in your mind before you settle on a course of action. And know that several of those decisions might be total opposites. 

During and immediately following a good interview people often think they will take the job. They may even tell their potential new boss that they are certain they will take the job. But then they wake up at home the next day clearly knowing they won’t do it. Each new job opportunity has its own set of issues and complications. The idea of “sleeping on it” is a very wise one. If you take your time and play it out over time, the best decision usually appears almost like magic.

When that decision is to actually take the new job, never look back.  It is a new day now, and you must declare it so. For example, never arrive at the new job with an image in your mind what a perfect organization looks like… whether it is a university, an arts organization, a business, etc. Each organization has a distinct founding mission and culture that is the consequence of its history. Your job is to learn and completely absorb all that before you help articulate a new, and compatible, vision. Your success will depend on your ability to find and communicate this particular organizaton’s best “big idea.”

Your past experience will help you analyze your choices more effectively. But never say “we did that at my last organization and it never works.” Rather, you must be prepared to test it again in this new environment and with today’s market conditions. Then, use your vast experience to bring more depth and wisdom to your analysis.

All that said, however, my colleague did what I suspected he would. He told his potential new employer that he would take the job.  He went home and slept on it. Then, he had second thoughts the very next morning!  And the decision was easily made to stay.