Finding True North....

A lot of people unfortunately put monetary compensation at the top of their list when evaluating their next step in the career.  If you do that without checking your internal compass and figuring out which direction it is pointing you to, you may be making a grave mistake.  I am not postulating that money is not important, it's just not the most important factor in determining your next step.   The allure of money or the potential to make a lot of money wears thin very quickly and you are left having to evaluate your job on it's own merits within a few months.

What are some important things to consider?

1.  Do you fundamentally like the business?  Does it resonate with your core values?  Does the technology or space excite you?  If you aren't excited about what you are doing, then no amount of money offsets boredom.   I truly loved working in commercial space and defense.  The technology was exciting, the people were brilliant and it had a noble mission.  I was providing protection to our troops or communications to developing countries.  For me that worked.  For others the thrill of developing a new commercial gadget does it for them.  Follow your passion, it will lead you to the right place.

2.  Do you like the company?  This is more than feedback from friends or reading the company's profile.  Do they represent values you support?  Do they treat people and customers ethically and well?  This takes some digging to find out but talk to a cross section of people and customers or suppliers to understand something about their core values.  Suppliers are often a good place to check because a company that treats their suppliers poorly may not treat customers and employees all that much better.  I am not talking about aggressive negotiation but things like cancelling orders at the last minute, forcing unfair terms, and consistent late or non-payment for convenience.  Ask yourself if their behavior resonates with the way you would like to be treated and the way you treat others.  I company that does not have a strong foundation in ethics may soon wear thin.

3.  Do you like the management?  Look not only at direct management but also the senior leadership.  What are their values and do they resonate with yours?  Most importantly do they adhere to them consistently and do they stick with them?  If the values do not align with yours or, more importantly if they don't follow through or "walk the walk", then again, this may wear thin over time.

I have had the pleasure of working for some phenomenal companies in some terrific industries.  More importantly, I have worked for some terrific leaders and while I may have been able to make more money if I had done things differently, I believe I have had a pretty good career thus far.  Looking back I have been most happy when these three things were in alignment and least happy when 1 or more have not been in alignment.