Opportunity Knocked and I Opened the Door

There’s always a tough decision ahead when opportunity comes knocking: is this really the right thing for me to do at this time??  I’ve designed my twenties to be convenient for seizing opportunities, and it’s hard to know what the best move is when you’re completely open.  That being the case, it’s best to look at opportunities from a realistic standpoint without letting fear of the details scare you away.

Last December, I had lunch with my company’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO).  I was thrilled to meet the new CMO who would be the healthcare thought leader for the healthcare-oriented IT company that pays my salary.  At the time, he offered me a position working for him which my boss, who had just procured me as a young consultant, vetoed.  I agreed with her as I wanted to build my consulting craft.  The opportunity passed by with little sadness, because I knew it wasn’t the right time for it.

A few weeks ago, my boss texted me that the CMO was interested in me working for him again, and she told me to hear him out regarding the opportunity.  At first, I didn’t know what to think.  I’d been in consulting for nearly a year and had made immense progress career-wise.  I was fine with my current role and was committed to finishing out the project I was involved with.  

I heard him out and cautiously considered my options.  My mind was whirling for weeks with detail-oriented questions: 

• Will I ever travel?
• Will I be stuck in a cube again? 
• What will I do every day?
• Will I be miserable? 
• Will I just be a glorified assistant??

That’s when I took a step back and stopped the negativity madness.  I thought of it more in these terms:

• I’ll be gaining amazing exposure to the highest leaders in my company
• I’ll be working for a powerful physician who has been doing great things for our company
• I find my potential new boss funny and relaxed (a critical lesson learned from other bosses)
• Due to his relaxed nature, this job is what I make of it – totally up to ME
• I’m not IN LOVE with my current role—a lot of my tasks are “glorified assistant”-esque anyways
• I’ll be involved with projects around marketing, speaking engagements, his book deal and goodness knows what else
• My life-situation flexibility was something I was so proud of…why not actually use it??
• This is not permanent!

My final, deal-making thought was that I didn’t want this opportunity to slip by…again.  This time it was on my terms and my boss was supportive—how often does that happen?  Sure, it might suck some days and it might be a disaster; however, I wanted this to give this a real chance and explore a different world working with him. 

I finally felt ready to decide and pulled the trigger: I quit freaking out about the details and said yes! 

My advice to anyone in a similar position is to be realistic but give the opportunity a fair chance.  Consider the positives and negatives while listening to your gut.  You have to do what is right for you and live without regrets.  Most importantly, don’t forget how blessed you are to be tossing this around in your head!

Walking Through an Open Door of Opportunity