Hi all,
Was just wondering what your thoughts are on the subject of interviewing for different jobs and "settling" on one versus looking for that "dream job" or holding out on offers in order to get one that's higher paying.
My SIL recently told me, before I accepted the offer for my current position (telecommuting with a large well-known company and at a decent salary - roughly 20% more than where I was at before), that I should not necessarily take this in relation to another position I was interviewing for (but ultimately did not get) that was more dynamic and *seemed* to offer a better career growth/path progression. But even though I didn't get that offer, it seemed like there was this unspoken advice that I still should hold out on the offer (that I ended up taking) in favor of interviewing for a company that would offer these same benefits (as far as career growth etc).
I can't say my current job *doesn't* offer these things but I'm sure there certainly are more dynamic positions out there. So it also got me thinking about how a lot of people say things like "if you're young, take all the [calculated] risk you can afford to take" which seems to jive with the perspective that I shouldn't have "settled" and should have kept looking.
The situation I was in was of course a not very good one - a few months earlier in Sept I had received notification of advance termination come June 2016, and we had just had newborn son in August. So a big part of why I took the offer I took was for the longer-term stability. But I still think back on the whole "calculated risk" argument and wonder... should I have held out in favor of landing something bigger and better (because I'm relatively young still)? I'm sure I could have negotiated better terms for the offer I took as well but now that it's in the past, hindsight is 20/20.
I think all who have argued in favor of "calculated risk" that I've spoken to in the context of jobs and "not settling" are of the mindset that they would retire [and perhaps filthily rich] at the "ripe normal age of 65" or whatever. Also, who says I *can't* look for something "more dynamic" in the meantime? I think the argument would just boil down to "well, what's the best use of your time and maximizing your time to build up your skillset, etc?"
What say you, fellow Mustachians?