Member-only story
If you’re struggling with career decisions, my story might be of help.
It was 1995. Our company was in the process of being sold. I was the senior technical manager at our company, and a very talented man named Nelson (my friend to this day) was the senior technical manager at the company that was buying us. So, take a guess with me: who was going to be the last standing senior technical manager when the sale was complete?
“But,” I thought, “maybe there will still be a place for me.” You see, in technical fields with very narrow specialties, the number of available positions is relatively small. The more specialized you are, the fewer job openings you’ll find that are a perfect match. Our entire technical staff had been urged to stay. There was no promise of ongoing employment, but the implication was that our specialized skills would be needed by the growing company that was acquiring us.
So, I was trying to decide… should I look for another job, or should I stick it out and hope they made room for me in the revised organization?
I was laying in bed one night, sleepless, wrestling with the dilemma. And then, in one of those flashes of inspiration, I knew the answer.
Option 1: Stay. If I stayed, I might have continuing income, but I might not. Risky.