Should I apply for job

[doiapply]

New position being advertised at work which would be a step up to just below board level. Some of it c20%(?) would involve presenting to the team regularly c150 people, speaking at conferences and doing media / being challenged publicly and difficult conversations. The rest of the role (strategy & finance) would be good / interesting although the workload would be full on.

I could probably do this but I'd find it very stressful to do so much presenting and think it would take my all. I don't like public speaking and don't think I'm good at it either. It really makes me feel ill.

I don't know whether to apply or not? It's kind of expected that I should but I don't know if all the anxiety id definitely have is worth a salary increase. Has anyone had a similar situation and gone on to get over it?

It wouldn’t be something I’d want to do to be honest. There’s no harm in applying, you don’t actually have to make up your mind about taking it until it’s actually offered to you.

I suppose it would be sink or swim, it'll either become second nature, or you'll start to hate the role. I'd be inclined to go for it, but public speaking doesn't hugely worry me, with that amount I think I'd get used to it.

if you are offered the job and decline you will have wasted your own colleagues time

Don't be ridiculous, people decline jobs all the time, you need to get the role to be in a position to negotiate the terms so you can't always know what a job will offer at the start. Perfectly normal to apply and withdraw later, it's business, not personal, I'm sure there would be a reserve list.

Life's too short to do jobs that stress you out. Find a role that plays to your strengths.

Public speaking is something that can be learnt though

I did a course about 20 years ago that turned it around for me as

We used a guy called Robin Kermode for public speaking training. Fantastic. Highly recommend

@Comehellorhigh don't be so dramatic, I would have no hard feelings as a hiring manager if someone from my team dropped out after being offered a job (especially like the one described), recruitment is a 2 way process and you can never guarantee your preferred candidate will accept the role by the end of it for a number of reasons. Obviously the messaging at the end would be important, but it really isn't uncommon, and I would urge anyone in my team to apply for a role even if they're not sure they want it yet, it's hard to make a true decision when it is only hypothetical.

Not quite the same, but years ago I was a very nervous driver, but took a job where I drove all over the country delivering training. It took a while, but eventually I got to quite enjoy driving. I think you could get used to the presenting or, as pp says, get some training. I say go for it. Good luck!

I think it depends whether you want to improve your confidence and public speaking skills. If you do, then this is a great opportunity to do that. You can look at it as a challenge to overcome. But if that's not what you want to do, then it might not be the role for you.

@Comehellorhigh I have worked in the private sector at a senior level too, it says something about you that you take this attitude, not the sector.

Well judging by the fact the only "value" you have brought to this thread is to say the job isn't for OP and having a small minded view of recruitment, you're giving a pretty clear picture of the kind of manager you would be (are?) and that only underlines my point about recruitment being a 2 way process.

Thanks for the helpful responses- I think I might look into some extra training for public speaking as suggested and talk to the recruiters a bit more to see if there's a way I could do a small amount of presenting at first and then do more over time....