Are You Taking a Risk . . . or an Opportunity?

Being more successful in your profession—and in life—can be as simple as how you view the world around you.

You might not think it’s as easy as that, but in my many years as a professional search consultant, I’ve witnessed thousands of situations. I’ve seen the way countless people have viewed the same situation and how they’ve reacted.

The specific situation that I’d like to discuss in this article is an employment position with another organization. In my experience, people view this situation in two very different ways:

1. As a huge risk
2. As a huge opportunity

In the first webinar I conducted in my Employment Insider Series, I discussed the “5 Pivotal Secrets to Taking Your Career to the Next Level.” The fourth secret is “You MUST take risks in order to enjoy rewards.”

It does not matter if you’re attempting to grow your career with your current employer or by finding a new job with another company. In either case, you’ll have to assume a certain degree of risk. They’ll just be different types of risk.

Below are examples of some risks associated with growing your career with your current employer:

• Talking with your boss about what’s making you unhappy in your current job
• Talking with your boss about a promotion and other growth opportunities
• Taking on new responsibilities and/or managing others

Below are examples of some risks associated with growing your career by finding a job with another company:

• Moving to another city for a better opportunity
• Moving to another part of the country for a better opportunity
• Moving to another country for a better opportunity

In my experience, people who view taking a risk NOT as a risk, but instead as an opportunity are the ones who are often more successful.

Consider this fact: people who change jobs every three to five years earn more in compensation and benefits than people who stay at the same employer for 10 to 15 years. Why is that? Because employers must entice professionals they want to hire with more money, compensation, and other benefits.

Do you think the people receiving more in compensation and benefits believe they took a huge risk . . . or that they took a huge opportunity? The numbers alone would seem to suggest the latter.

The bottom line is this: those people who view making a change in their career (including accepting a new position with another employer) as an opportunity are more likely to be rewarded in the form of career growth and satisfaction.

So how do YOU view the world? How do you view the prospect of making a change in your career? Do you view it as taking a risk . . . or taking an opportunity?

Do not let fear hold you back. People seek out better employment situations all the time. They look for opportunities, and even when they’re not looking for them, they’re open to exploring opportunities when presented with them.

And ultimately, they’re rewarded for doing so.

We help support careers in one of two ways: 1. By helping to find the right opportunity when the time is right, and 2. By helping to recruit top talent for the critical needs of organizations. If this is something you would like to explore further, please send an email to stacy@thevetrecruiter.com.