How do I decide what job to take next?
Most people choose a next role on salary and title, then discover a year later that neither was the thing that mattered.
- Session length
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Matched on
- Your field
Three things worth knowing.
Rank what you are optimising for before you look at any offer: money, learning, stability, autonomy, people, hours. You can have two or three, not all six.
Look hard at the manager and the team. They shape the daily experience of a job far more than the company brand does.
Ask what the last person in this role went on to do. The answer tells you what the job actually leads to.
A sequence that works.
- 01
Write your ranking down
Three priorities in order, before any offer arrives to distort them.
- 02
Interview the job back
Ask what a bad week looks like and how success is measured at six months.
- 03
Test against the ranking
Score each option honestly against the three, not against how impressive it sounds.
- 04
Talk it through with somebody neutral
Somebody outside your company and your family sees the trade-off more clearly.
What to avoid.
Chasing a title that does not change the work
Taking a step purely to escape a bad manager
Ignoring commute, hours and travel until month three
Assuming a bigger brand means better development
The things people ask first.
Is it bad to move every two years?
No, though a pattern of leaving before anything ships raises questions.
Should I take a pay cut to change field?
Sometimes, if the new field pays more later and you can absorb it now. Be sure about both.
How do I decide between two good offers?
Against your written ranking. Two good options is a nice problem and a slow one to overthink.
Get this answered for your situation.
A mentor who does the job you are aiming at can tell you which of this applies to you.