I'm trying to not feel guilty about accepting a new opportunity.
For background, my degree is in marketing and I had tough luck finding a role in marketing after being laid off due to COVID-19, so I took an internal communications role with a company last September. The company is wonderful and I genuinely enjoy how they prioritize culture and the happiness of employees. My colleagues are amazing and my boss is the best mentor I've ever had.
Unfortunately, I don't like my role very much. My team consists of just me and my boss, and both of our plates are overloaded with different projects. I get task paralysis sometimes and take an hour before I can even attempt to knock out my priority items. My boss indicated that we likely won't get support on our team for a while and she made it clear that we don't have the resources for me to grow outside of my current role, news that she was disappointed to give.
A couple of weekends ago, I broke down and confided in a close friend about how I was feeling. Together, we mapped out how I would like the direction of my career to go, whether it was with my current company or not.
Two days later, I received a call from a marketing director of a company with whom I'd interviewed in 2019. Even though they went with another candidate, the director and I kept in touch over the past three years and she's kept me in the loop on new roles, even if they weren't in her department. She said she wanted to at least get me in with the company and move me to her team. The timing just never worked out.
She called me last week and said that the team JUST approved a new marketing role and before it would get posted, she wanted to offer it to me. I entertained the idea but wanted to first meet with the team and get to know them. it went really well and I officially accepted the offer yesterday.
And now I'm nervous about telling my boss.
Here are some pros/cons of the new opportunity vs. current company:
| New Opportunity | Current Company |
|---|---|
| 1. Working on a team vs. siloed and I think I’ll enjoy my team a lot | 1. I love the people I work with and my boss has been a great mentor |
| 2. Similar PTO/Benefits | 2. Free lunches at current job when in the office |
| 3. Role is in a field that better aligns with my long-term career goals | 3. Role doesn’t align with my long-term career goals |
| 4. Completely remote | 4. Required to go into the office every other week |
| 5. Pay increase is significant | 5. Fitness subsidy ($30/month gym membership reimbursement) |
| 6. Team members indicated that their roles and this role are low-stress | 6. My current role is very stressful |
I know I shouldn’t feel guilty. I know if I died tomorrow, my current role would be filled immediately. I know I don’t owe anything. But I’m so grateful for the people I work with and report to, it’s hard to be okay with doing something for myself and being selfish.
But I know my answer. I know what I should do for myself. I just had to talk about it.