Job seeking from a hunters perspective Blog

Do I go or do I stay? Part 1 June 13, 2011

Upon typing the title I realized that it has two purposes one for job seekers and one for employed people thinking of jumping ship.

Part 1 will be for seekers and part 2 will be for employed.

As workers we do not have control over the markets or the shifts in markets. Sometimes the markets will shift geographically for economical reason for the company.

This creates situations that will instill fear into the hearts of brave men and women. The decision to stay or to go.

For the new graduates entering the work world your family is your security blanket your fall back plan until you have established yourself enough to be on your own. To be independent.

For the experienced worker. You have bought a house you have have a family you have friends….you are comfortable in your surroundings. Your family needs you to be close so that you can watch out over them. It is a tough world and you want the best  for your children and you want to see your grandchildren grow up.

When I was working in the electronics industry I knew that I had a limited choice of places to work. What I called the hot spots, Boston, Phoenix, California, Washington(state), New Mexico and Texas.  That changed in recent years and has seemed to dwindle down to Silicon Valley as being the last hot spot for electronics. Yes there are small scatterings of electronics throughout the country but it isn’t like the hubs of old when you could feel more secure about going to an area where there may be multiple opportunities.

So the choice boils down to this; do I stay and find a new field and struggle to work my way to the top or do I follow my passion and move to where the job is?

You  have a choice of moving the whole family or going out by yourself and just rent a room. You can come home once in awhile while you establish yourself and get comfortable enough to bring the rest of the family out.  This allows you time to find the right neighborhood with the right schools before bringing everyone out.

You always have a choice to stay find lower paying work and struggle or not find work because you are overqualified or not qualified for the new field and wind up homeless. Who have you served by doing this? Your family situation is not one of love peace and harmony. The stress is effecting everyone.  Your wife may have to go out and find work to make up the difference between what you used to make and what you are making now and in most cases that isn’t enough either. Then who will watch the grandchildren because their mother has to work to make ends meet.

Fear is what holds you place. Fear of the unknown, meeting new people making new friends, selling the old house and buying a new one in an unstable market.

The alternative is maintaining the job you are passionate about, the one you are qualified for, the one that may still have upward mobility opportunities with it.  The ability to still support your family.

Distance isn’t the enemy not in this age of text messages, video calls, Skype, Internet, and transportation.

I told my children 2 years ago I love you to death but I have to go where the jobs are even if is off-shore. They understood.

The easy decision isn’t always the right one and the tough ones are the hardest to make but usually are the best because they have been well thought out and planned.

So do you stay and everyone possibly suffers or do you go and embrace a new world and opportunity?

What are you going to do?

What has been your experience if you stayed?

What has been your experienced if you went?