CAREER CORNER
Look Before You Leap
Analyze risk before accepting a new career opportunity
IMAGINE TWO RECENT graduates aspir-
ing to join the world of quality. One of the
graduates starts out as a lab technician and
works tirelessly to climb the corporate lad-
der at a prestigious organization.
He grew up under more traditional,
conservative views and, just like his father
and his father before him, believes that
staying within the safety of one organiza-
tion will eventually pay off. Despite some
ups and downs during his time at the
organization, he ultimately becomes the
vice president of quality.
The other graduate, exhausted by his
entry-level position, decides to leave to
join another, less-stable organization. He
believes that success comes from taking
risks, and that moving to a seemingly bet-
ter opportunity is worth the risk of leaving
his current, unfulfilling position.
After several years of job-hopping, gain-
ing experience and a robust background,
he too became a vice president of quality.
Both graduates have successful careers.
One decides to take a
more conservative
approach, while
the other
52 QP • www.qualityprogress.com
BY DENISE WRESTLER
takes a riskier path. One decides to invest
in the slow-and-steady method, while the
other opts for a higher-stakes, quicker-
returns approach.
Determining not only where you want
to go in your career, but also how you
want to get there, is important to consider
when given an opportunity to change
jobs.
Everyone considering a job change
should perform their own risk analysis
by identifying the characteristics of the
opportunity and comparing them against
the current situation. Important factors
include salary and job title, as well as
things relevant to your overall happiness,
such as time commitments and physical
requirements.
Personalized approach
To begin a risk analysis, identify your
three most important factors and make
the top two non-negotiable. In addition
to flexibility, travel, commute, salary and
title, also consider the work environment
and other benefits.
Consider the immediate and
long-term impact of each factor. Is
it more important that the organiza-
tion has inexpensive health insur-
ance or tuition reimbursement? For
the recent undergraduate con-
sidering graduate school,
tuition reimbursement
could overcome the
benefit of cheap
medical coverage.
Five years, a master’s
degree and a wife later,
however, he may find that his
priorities have shifted.
Acknowledge your own work habits
when considering an organization’s work-
place environment and structure. Some
may find that it is more important to work
for a large organization with specific,
outlined responsibilities. Others may find
more satisfaction working for a smaller
organization that allows them more op-
portunity to explore different skills and be
a critical team player.
One of the most crucial steps of decid-
ing whether to accept a new opportunity
is to research the potential employer.
Reported earnings, mergers and acquisi-
tions, even word-of-mouth reviews are
tools you can use to background check an
organization.
Reach out to contacts and connections
on LinkedIn, use other social media tools
and dig out as much dirt on an organiza-
tion as you can before joining a new team.
Simply viewing an organization’s orga-
nizational chart can tell an untold story. A
top-heavy chart with far more managers
than engineers may suggest an inefficient
organization and a chaotic work environ-
ment.
Many years ago, a colleague of mine
accepted a director of quality assurance
position at a prestigious organization on a
whim. Within her first week, she learned
that her dream job came with nightmare
costs.
Her specific location had received a
warning letter from the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) identifying a
mess that she would be responsible for
cleaning up. In this instance, perform-
ing a search on the FDA’s website would
have given her the insight necessary to be
prepared for her new job.
Within her first week, she learned
that her dream job came with
nightmare costs.
Pursuit of happiness
In the November 2015 issue of QP, I wrote
an article about clocking in and out. The
article highlighted the fact that 67% of U.S.
employees would prefer a job that offered
more free time over one with higher pay.
The pressure that drives workforce com-
petition has been shifting more toward
the work environment and less toward
monetary compensation.
It is no longer unheard of for some-
one to trade in a high-paying, high-stress
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management position for a lower-paying
position that’s lower on the corporate
food chain.
Work-life balance is trending, and so
are employees’ inclinations to routinely
assess their current situation against other
opportunities.
The first vice president of quality,
who moved up slow and steady within
his organization, may have found that
despite his changing needs, his organiza-
tion offered him everything he needed to
maintain his work-life balance. Perhaps
the tortoise found happiness in stability.
The other vice president of quality, who
quickly moved up the corporate ladder by
hopping from lab technician to supervisor
to manager to director to vice president,
may have found that while his resume
contained questionably short stints, it
grew incredibly quickly, and his happiness
ultimately came from taking risks.
Whether you’re a tortoise or a hare,
identifying your individual needs and as-
sessing those needs against your current
situation is necessary when considering
any future opportunities. QP
DENISE WRESTLER is a senior qual-
ity engineer at Nypro Healthcare
in Dallas. She holds a bachelor’s
degree in chemical and biomedical
engineering from the University of
California, Irvine. An ASQ member,
Wrestler is an ASQ-certified quality
auditor and engineer.
July 2016 • QP 53