Should you move on after 10 years?

Q: You're happy with your job where you have been for more than 10 years, but the benefits and salary are below-average. The company is small but successful. Some of your friends have changed companies to advance their careers, with good results. Should you consider moving on or stay and hope for new opportunities at your company?

Nick's reply: In a recent column we talked about whether a new graduate should consider changing employers after just six months on the job. Today we'll look at the same question from another perspective -- that of a seasoned employee.

At some point it becomes important to step back not just to consider other job offers, but to carefully assess where your own company is going.

Your benefits and salary aren't among the best, but you've stayed. It's critical that you figure out why. Avoid the easy answers: I was waiting for growth, another good opportunity never came along, and so on. Understand your reasons for staying, and make sure they're legitimate.

You also need to ask yourself if you're really motivated to do something else. Not everyone is cut out for taking risks and changing their lives dramatically. A job change is dramatic. Make sure your interest in moving is supported by a strong motivation to change your life. If it's not, the shock might surprise you. Just because others do it is no reason to make a move. Make sure your reasons are good ones.

Since you have a lot invested in this company, it's smart to determine whether your company is going where you want to go before you decide to go somewhere else. Everyone talks about the importance of growth, but you must define what it means to you. Does growth mean more sales, expansion into new markets, new product lines, acquisitions and mergers, going public or what? Which of these (or other issues) are most important to you? (It's too easy to start thinking that everyone else's interests should be yours.) Once you've figured that out, you need to have a heart-to-heart talk with the people who run the business.

Since you have been with the company for several years, I'd hope your management would welcome a discussion about the future with a loyal employee. It's normal to express your interest in the company's goals since they will affect you profoundly.

Since this is a small company, it would be reasonable to request a meeting with the president or CEO. Invite her to lunch. This might seem presumptuous, but it's not at all. You have invested a lot in this company. You need to keep track of its progress like you would any company you own stock in. At lunch, explain that you have been thinking about the company's direction and that you're curious to know what the CEO thinks. Don't let on that you're considering making a change. If the CEO is smart, she will figure it out, but she will also see that you're approaching your own future intelligently by trying to assess the company's future.

Try saying something like this: "I know there are certain things you can't discuss with me, but I'm trying to get a feel for where the company plans to go over the next five years, and how someone in my position would be affected by those plans. A lot of people just get up and leave a company because they don't know what the future holds. I feel like I'm part of a family here, and I care about our future, so I just wanted to learn more about it from you."

To scratch your itch, you could just start job hunting immediately. Or you could stop worrying and just keep doing your job. I think both of those choices are weak because they don't address what's really bothering you, which seems to be questions about what your future should hold.

Give your company a chance, but don't do so passively. Ask your questions. Make sure you understand the company's future, and whether it corresponds with the future you want. The best person to ask is the one at the top of your company.

Copyright 2008. Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate

Nick Corcodilos is author of "Ask The Headhunter: Reinventing the Interview to Win the Job" and the host of www.asktheheadhunter.com. He can be reached by e-mail at seattle@asktheheadhunter.com or at North Bridge Group, P.O. Box 600, Lebanon, NJ 08833. Sorry, no personal replies.