Do you feel lucky? Changing jobs involves some risk.

“I know what you're thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?”

― Clint Eastwood (movie: Dirty Harry)

Changing jobs involves some risk. This comes to mind with the idea that all companies and job opportunities are not created equal.   It’s exciting to get into the interview process and then to be selected as their preferred candidate.  But at the same time, they are evaluating you, you should be sizing up the prospective employer and making some decisions of your own. 

Are you the best person for this job, or are you the only person willing to take this job?  You won’t truly know the answers to all of the questions you want to ask when you accept a job offer.  That is part of the risk that you really can’t avoid.  You will get to ask some questions, but too many questions and you will risk wrecking the momentum of your candidacy.  Companies and people may not show their true colors during the interview process.  No avoiding that.  However, you can keep your eyes and ears open for some telling signs.  You can also reach out to other people in your network and see if you can build some confidence or clarity in what this position will likely be. Seek out a connection or three that worked at this company or that has interfaced with them as a partner, vendor or customer.

It's possible that it doesn’t matter to you.  You just want to get a job, and you aren’t worried about perfect fit…just a way to pay the rent.  You also may be o.k. taking this role and understanding that it isn’t forever.  Work this for a while and see how it goes.  You can always use the off hours from the job to continue your search.  It is a bit harder to conduct off hours job searches and you might burn some bridges if you leave a company too quickly, but this might be the best path available to you.

When you are sizing up the job, here are some things to look for:

1. Is this a position that existed before or is it newly created? 

   1. If the position is new, understand why it is being created and who has advocated for it. Creating new roles at companies is not done lightly and can be undone quickly as well.  Who is the advocate for this position and what is their tenure with the company?  If that person exits, then this position might evaporate too.  If the company is seeing great growth and this is an addition to some existing teams, then that is probably a safer move as well.

   2. If the position existed previously and you are replacing someone, then the concern about the job disappearing without the advocate goes away.  Turn-over at companies is natural.  You just will want to ask how long the prior person was in that role and what reasons did they give for leaving…or were they asked to leave?  There is a limit to what the company can tell you about this situation, but getting a sense of what happened could really help you with understanding the culture and performance expectations of the role.

2. Does the job seem doable?

   1. Most jobs won’t necessarily be ‘easy,’ but some jobs are almost impossible.  In gymnastics lingo…is this a couple cartwheels each day or do you need to pull off the Triple Lindy?   My concerns in this area perk-up a bit more when this is a brand-new position or there has been a series of people moving through the turnstile of this role.  Different managers have different ideas about challenging an employee or taking a risk on a new role or extending the scope of a role.  You don’t get a vote on this, but it’s good to manage your expectations a bit.  The more challenging and stressful, the more you will want to be compensated for success and/or factor this in versus other roles you are looking at.

   2. Confirming what success looks like for this role is a good, and reasonable question to ask.  In 6 or 12 months, what do they think can be accomplished?

3. How is the boss?

   1. This is the person that will most determine your future job satisfaction, longevity in this position and possible promotions.   Have a good gauge on the person you are signing up to work for.

   2. How long have they been with the current company?  Typically, the longer the better, but not always.

   3. What experience do they have in the industry?  Do they understand the business, and will they be able to coach you well as you ramp up with this new role.  Will they also be able to keep teaching you things as your time in the job goes on.

   4. During the interview process what did you think of their temperament?   Do you hear murmurs of yelling sessions?  Do people joke about the narcolepsy of the boss?  Are they a micro-manager or do they rarely talk to their employees?

4. The company

   1. What is the age and stability of company?  Are they generally growing, shrinking or staying about the same size?

   2. Are there 3 employees or 3000?  With only a few people in the company, the culture fit of personalities will be critical and the risk likely increases.  However, it all depends on the ownership structure, the markets and the management team.

   3. Is it a cyclical industry/business?   Some industries will have feast and famine cycles with the economy, and it is common to lay-off people in the downcycle.  Oil and gas is one example.  Other types of companies are project based and they will gear up for a project and then need to shrink again if they don’t have another project.  Consulting, contracting and engineering firms can have this in their DNA.

You should do your best to understand some of the topics mentioned above as you consider your offer or even the companies/roles that you may target.  Ultimately you won’t know any of this for sure.  It will come down to a gut instinct and making the best decision you can with the information you have.  You will also factor in what your personal appetite for risk is at this point?  The answer to that will vary with personality, age and family situation.  Then after you have thought through all of these items you will need to ask yourself, ‘Do you feel lucky?’