need some advice
okay friends. i am having a job decision crisis. i've prayed about this, and i've thought long and hard. i've discussed it several times with several people. and yet, i am still at a loss. here's the situation:
currently, i am a sales manager at borders books. i make a very decent wage, get great benefits, love the product that i sell, and i like a lot of the people that i work with (there are a few here and there that i have an immense amount of disdain for). i was originally going to be stepping down to concentrate on going back to school full-time in the fall for my masters. however, some certification logistics with the program have prevented me from being considered for the full-time program (gotta finish one more certificate class...which happens to be in fall...until i can apply to the program). so...i figured i would just continue to work. at borders. at a school district. somewhere. just working, finishing up that one class, and then get into the program.
yet (again), i had some realizations even after that first decision. after much prodding on my part, i convinced pete that it would be a great idea for him to go back to school. he had already been talking about it, but skipped his lsat test back in february. we decided together, that he should at least give it a shot again and see what happens. plus, our overall goal would be for him to be able to make more money than he is now in case i will not be able to work (family/baby planning). obviously, a graduating law student has more earning potential than a graduating teacher.
so...i went into my district manager's office and spoke with her about general manager opportunities. i figured i would make the most out of it, if i was planning to stay with the company full-time. interestingly enough, there were 2 general manager positions that opened up that same day! i was excited and freaked out, because i was definitely not expecting that at all. anyway, i went home and spoke with pete about the opportunity. i spoke with my family. i spoke with some close friends, and i made the decision that it would be a good idea to go for it.
so i interviewed almost 2 weeks ago now. quite a few other people have interviewed along with me in the district, and i had some stiff competition and then some lackluster. i was pretty psyched at first about the idea of being the boss over the whole store, and then all these future events and plans and the idea of working another retail holiday and all the crumbums that we sometimes have to hire...it was just all so overwhelming.
i've been feeling really down and sort of sick to my stomach about it over the past week, and i don't know what to do. i've prayed about it, but i don't know if i am too stressed or distracted cuz i can't seem to get a straight answer for myself. pete won't tell me what to do, because he wants me to be happy and make my own decisions (easy way out--makes me hate him and love him at the same time). i'm gonna have a family counsel about it soon, but i would love your feedback friends! help me! what do i do?! here, i will break it down again:
take gm position (if offered): potentially make up to 15k more a year, work with books (which i love), have an interactive job, make quarterly bonuses, be able to afford a little bit more than i can now, great benefits, support pete thru school (i would go later)
DO NOT take gm position (if offered): would have to find another job (which sucks), new job could bring new career development, benefits (?), bonuses unlikely unless i work in a sales job, support pete thru school, work in the city with other cool city folk, possibly make what i make now (which is still pretty darn good), possible cool new co-workers or lame ones (all jobs have lame people)...basically lots of uncertainty
please respond, if you can. i would love any feedback you can give.
5 comments:
it sounds like a great opportunity. maybe wait till you get the job before you decide?
you seem to really want to take the job, but are for whatever reason feeling guilty about that. i felt like if i were to go into your post and make a list of the positives and negatives you listed, that there would be many more positives than negatives.
i'm not sure what that means that you don't feel like you've gotten a clear answer from You-Know-Who (jesus) maybe somethings are all the same to him? whatever you decide you'll for sure find a way to be happy. love you amanda, tell pete hi.
mike
man, that is a lot of stuff going on right there. well, here is my advice: think about years and years from now, and pick what you want to be doing then. think about what you have always wanted to do, what you have always loved, and then choose that.
if you've got a big goal in mind, the steps toward it will become more apparent. sometimes i think just the simple act of making a decision (whatever it might be) is the most important thing.
you've definitely given it a lot of thought, and i agree with mike: i really don't think you could make a bad decision after having put so much into it.
i know. it's true. i should wait to decide when the job is offered, but i am sort of an interim general manager right now (starting today, in fact). my boss is going to go to one of the stores that recently had a manager leave. i will take over his post, since i have had the most experience taking care of his responsibilities whenever he has been away. plus, i am the candidate who is awaiting that post. i'm not sure how long i will be interim, but i am guessing they will want to make the decision soon on their end since the posting closes this week.
in the meantime, i really want to weigh out my choices in case i don't get it. it's true that a part of me wants the job, but part of me doesn't. there are more positives to taking it, because i haven't been offered or even interviewed for anything else yet. if i don't get it though, i will more than likely get the opportunity to stay with the company in some manager post. i mean, the only reason i even interviewed was from prodding on my boss and his boss's part. they felt i had the strengths and the capabilities to do really well, if i wanted to go in that direction.
"maybe some things are all the same to him..."
i never thought of it that way, mike. that makes so much sense though. i guess either would be a good decision for me, but i would need to follow the direction that will most suit me in the long run.
hopefully, my family will provide some insight this sunday and help me make a decision that is right for me. thanks guys for your advice. i appreciate it. it's good to hear from you two, as well. it's been a long time. miss you and love you both.
Amanda,
I'm not going to give you any advice. Instead, I'm just going to say "Hello!" back to you and thank you for stopping by my spot.
Brigham
thanks brig. you will be officially added to my list. tell andrew hello when you see him next.
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