The thing with decisions is that by saying yes to something as a result you are also saying no to something else. In both cases there are consequences to deal with. In my case, that meant talking to my managers, which is never easy. One of them, the one that I talked to back in January and advise me to take the job, was genuinely happy for me. I kept the news low profile, but the five friends that I shared them with seemed more excited than i was; however, they all understood the reason of my mixed feelings.
A month after my decision I interviewed with two of my future peers. I went into those interviews with an approach I’ve been trying to live by in the last months: if it’s meant to be, it will be. The interactions felt more like conversations rather than interviews, but I felt good about them. Then, I didn’t hear from them in a couple of weeks until the Friday afternoon before I left on vacation when I received in my mailbox an email with the official letter, which I purposefully ignored for a week. The following week, I biked around Chicago and sat in front of Lake Michigan for hours and hours which allowed me to finally look, sit and deal with the emotions I’d been feeling for months now.
I opened the email the weekend I got back. I put together a side by side comparison of my actual salary vs my proposed salary and a theoretical budget (I’m a Finance person!). It was a good offer, but felt that if I considered the experience and value I would add to the team I was joining and the challenge that stepping out of my comfort zone and taking a leap of faith implied, I needed to negotiate the offer. I connected with my set up a meeting for the following Wednesday with my future manager and human resources.
Unapologetic Thoughts 