4 questions to ask yourself before a career move!

 "I’ve come to realise your career is all about the choices you make. Every single one matters.” said popular American singer and songwriter - Demi Lovato

When an opportunity comes by, do you often find something holding you back? It could be a  personal circumstance or just a gut feeling, but you are hesitant. Surprisingly, this could even happen with an opportunity that you have been waiting for, for years! If you've experienced this feeling before, maybe all you need is to ask yourself the "right" questions. 

What is the Purpose?
What is the purpose of you pursuing a particular job and does this new job align with your long-term goal? If your purpose is to make money then the job should meet this need exponentially. If you want meaningful work then that should be on offer. If it is a better designation, organisation or increased influence that you are looking for then the job needs to have that as well. Defining the key purpose of what you need will give you a lot more clarity on whether this is the role for you.

What will the long term Impact be? Is there a cost to saying  no? Sometimes when a senior manager or mentor asks you to take on a new role it is difficult to refuse. What would change if you decide not to take the job? What is the impact on your career? If there was no impact would you still take it? It is important to have clarity on how much the decision is influenced by external elements and people around you. 

What is holding you back? What problems do you anticipate if you say yes? If you had a strategy to deal with those problems would you say yes? Often fears that may seem irrational to the world are very real to the person experiencing them. These could be fear of failure, fear of excess responsibility or just the fear of stepping into the unknown.

Will you enjoy this job / Will you be happy? Envision yourself doing this job 6 months later and think of how that makes you feel. This will  be a true indicator of whether you really want it. Any role that will make you sink into negativity may not be worth taking even if all indicators are right.

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