Should you take that new job? Simple steps to make a better decision

Words by Grant J Ryan

A new job is a big decision. So many things to weigh up. Common advice often includes listing the things that are most important to you and talking through options with people you trust.

Let us say you are trying to compare your current high-paying corporate job with a new option to go out on your own with a consulting business that allows you to work on the things you enjoy. The new job option would likely be less stressful and give you more control but probably a lower income. The list of things important to you might be:

• Income

• Prestige/status

• Health

• Relationships/family

• Doing something I love

• Time spent commuting

The new tool allows you to also estimate how much each of these things will change with the two job options. Below is a visual of the comparison.

The way to interpret this is that the new job is much better at allowing you to do the things you love, and you spend less time spent commuting. It is also an improvement for relationships/family and health due to less stress and time away from home. But your income and prestige are likely to be a bit worse.

The key thing about this is that it clearly shows not just the things you think are important but how different they are for the two job options.

The advantage of a tool like this is that it forces you to list the key things that are most important to you and to actively think about how different they are for the two job options.

For you, the list of important things may well be completely different from this example. The graph also makes it easier to discuss with anyone else as they can see what you are thinking, and you can then have an informed discussion.

This is a real example, where the person was discussing with their partner how the two job options would affect their family. It allowed them to quickly make the decision that they didn’t care about prestige, and the improved lifestyle more than made up for the loss of income.

The consulting business is now thriving and surprisingly their income, while a bit lumper, is probably about the same as in the previous job but with a vastly better lifestyle.

You can make your own graph at comparonomcs.com – it is a completely free open-source tool to allow people to make better decisions.

Comparonomics: Why life is better than you think, and how to make it even better by Grant J Ryan is out now, published by Big Idea Publishing, available on Amazon.