Rappelling 30 stories down the side of a Philadelphia skyscraper is a good way to learn how fast your heart can beat — and where, exactly, it is located in your chest. Looking down as I prepared to exit the window, was terrifying.
I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t scream, and my legs felt like Jello. The people helping me get ready were fun and funny. When I asked what happens if I pass out, they said they would just lower me to the ground. But I didn’t.
Along with about 100 others, I did this as part of a fundraiser for the Philadelphia Outward Bound School. I love helping non-profits do great work and I also love getting myself out of my comfort zone.
Given my fear of heights, this achieved both. And, as usual with scary things, the hardest part was getting started and taking the leap.
Big Steps Are Scary
I was reminded of my adventure the following week, while hosting one of our CMO dinners. This time, the discussion was about a different kind of jump… deciding when to leave a job.
It was a small group and as we got to know each other, we spoke about why each of us had made changes like these in the past, whether leaving academia or taking on new roles and new companies.
As an executive recruiter, I have these conversations regularly; very few of the candidates I contact are genuinely unhappy in their current roles. And while most are “open” to a new opportunity, actually “jumping out the window” and moving into the unknown pushes against our hardwired inclination as humans to avoid risk.
The question to me from the group was, “How do I know when it is the right time to make a move?” Of course, I can’t answer that for anyone. But if you find yourself pondering the same thing, there are a few things I can recommend…
#1. Answer recruiters’ calls.
You may not be looking. But the fact is, you don’t know what you don’t know. A reputable recruiter can bring you up to speed on where the industry is going, how you fit in, what your options are, and what you should be thinking about.
Half the battle is understanding the potential paths and scenarios of where your career may lead and playing out the likelihood of getting there from where you sit. Unlike most of the people in your life — friends, family, colleagues, bosses — a recruiter can give you an unbiased, unvarnished appraisal of the landscape and where you stand within it.
#2. Decide where you are going.
What role does work play in your life? What variables matter most to you? Where would you like to end up at the end of your career?
You don’t have to know exactly, but give it some thought and spend time playing out different scenarios. Do you ultimately want to be a CEO? Do you want to work in a different industry? What skill set do you need? What do you need to learn? Where are the gaps? Are you better off staying where you are or taking on different responsibilities in a different place?
The more sense you have of your desired final outcome, the easier it will be to weigh the options.
#3. Don’t assume things are the same everywhere.
Different organizations will have drastically different cultures. Big pharma companies tend to be more like one another given their “bigness,” though even there, the flavors vary. By contrast, the work environment of small biotech companies is highly dependent on the CEO and her/his style, as well as the dynamic of the Board.
If you settle on “good enough” where you are now, you may be missing out on other places that would be more aligned with what works best for you.
#4. Don’t ignore the risk of staying too long.
Too long with one organization is a red flag for recruiters (as fellow humans, we are also risk averse). Maybe your successful track record isn’t transferable to a different environment with different problems and different colleagues.
We want to know how capable you are of establishing new relationships and finding ways to be successful under different conditions. But if you’ve never proven yourself as an executive elsewhere, that remains an open question.
Staying too long can also limit how much you are challenged and mentored in your current job. Always being the smartest person in the room may be comfortable, even self-affirming. But you want to be working with and for people who constantly push you to adapt and grow.
#5. Beware of the money.
Of course, people want to move north of where they are. But it shouldn’t be THE deciding factor. If there is a job that offers significant growth in some needed aspect, plenty of people make moves for reduced compensation.
I just helped someone do exactly that: a pay cut, but… a different role in a completely different type of company in a dynamic space with a unique and compelling technology. Even if the company ultimately fails, he will have benefitted his biotech career in the long term.
So tread carefully where money is involved. You may have circumstances that increase the importance of compensation (maybe you are close to retirement and need X dollars). But don’t be blinded by money alone. Sometimes, a hostile or toxic culture pays more because nobody wants to be there.
#6. Expect some second thoughts.
Race car driver Mario Andretti famously said, “If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.” That’s a pretty good mantra when considering a significant leap.
Because while most people experience some level of cold feet prior to signing a contract, if you’ve thought things through and done the work (I double-checked all the knots before stepping out that window), know that fear is part of the mix. It’s not necessarily an indication of a bad decision.
Nobody Has a Crystal Ball
The framework I always establish up front with a candidate is that my goal is to make sure they don’t have any regrets that they did it or did not do it. The best way to minimize regret is to be thorough in your considerations, test your assumptions, and play out best and worst case scenarios.
And while sometimes, the best move is no move at all, don’t be too quick to dismiss new opportunities, just because they push you out of your comfort zone.
New situations compel us to grow and build the muscles needed to reach whatever it is we are ultimately striving for, whether that’s a new role, a new company, or finally reaching the bottom of a 30-story descent.
