Whether to pursue a new opportunity

Dear Bob …

I wrote to you last year about a decision I was facing between two job offers and how to tactfully decline one without burning any bridges.

I ended up taking the “smaller” of the two, mostly because it came first and I could not decide any other way.

Now I have in front of me a potentially lucrative career opportunity (both financially and vocationally) at a very large corporation that I don’t think I can pass up. However, it is not a sure thing for me long-term, as there are several aspects I may find I have distaste for: Working for such a large corporation; more “high-level” tasks that take me away from the core geek activities of a software developer; almost doubling my total daily commute.

Because of these uncertainties, I am striving to leave my current employer (at which I’ve been for less than a year) without burning the bridge. There have been several things about this job that are less than desirable (not the least of which is the small company size that provides little opportunity for career advancement), but overall it could still be an attractive employer in the future. Especially since there are some major changes in the works that could have significant impact on the way the development team and efforts are structured and managed.

To make this long story short, I want to take a chance on a promising opportunity but would like to leave my current position in such a way as to maximize the possibility for future engagement.

Have you any advice on how best to do that?

– Non-bridge-burner

Dear Burner …

My opinion: Stay where you are.

A couple of issues worth considering:

* What understanding … what kind of “implied contract” exists between you and the manager who hired you a year ago? Without a doubt your formal employment contract says the company you work for is an at-will employer. That isn’t the issue. The question is what expectations did each of you establish with the other regarding your obligations once hired, and the company’s obligations to you. These aren’t perpetual, of course, but …

* A year is a very short time for a company to recoup its investment in recruiting you. It’s a rare employee who’s productive enough on the first day of work that the company turns a profit on the deal. More usually, three months is the minimum before your employer made money on you. This matters because …

* Your reputation matters to you, and keeping red flags off your resume matters to you. Anyone hiring you needs to be confident you’ll provide maximum value in exchange for their total investment in the search process, in the interviewing process, and in the process of orienting and acculturating you. That’s the problem with job hopping: That assurance just isn’t there.

If you’re working in an unhealthy environment that’s one thing. As it stands, the grass appears to be greener someplace else … and not all that greener, from your description. Imagine how brown it will look once you’re there.

You say the small company doesn’t provide you with opportunity. I’d be surprised if that was really the case. In a small company you have much greater visibility, which means you have a lot of opportunity. It’s more likely to be “diagonal” than vertical, but diversifying your experience is a good thing, not a burden.

This doesn’t answer the question you asked, but I have a good reason for not doing so.

I don’t know how to help you with that.

Except … A thought that occurs to me is that with your mindset about jobs, opportunities and careers you should seriously consider becoming an independent contractor instead of continuing to pursue gainful employment. As a contractor, broad experience is considered a plus instead of labeling you as a job-hopper, and as a contractor you don’t burn bridges by leaving, so long as you do so in a graceful fashion.

– Bob

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