I really can't decide whether or not to take this job, if feels like one of the biggest decisions I'll ever make

[katierocket]

currently work from home 4 days a week, earn good salary, have the benefit of flexibility (to a degree), get to see quite a bit of the children but don't particularly enjoy what I do. One of my clients has just offered me a full time job. They will match pay and are prepared for me to only work 4 days a week and on the days I work to start later and leave earlier than usual. It's much more of a challenging job and could be really interesting.
I really don't know what to do.
on the plus side:
*Professionally it would be something really interesting and would get me out of what I'm doing now
*long term the experience I'd gain from it would be huge
*If I don't take it then I'm unlikely to get offered a similar position again.
on the negative side
*I'd have a 45 min communte, 3 days a week
*However accommodating they'd be I wouldn't have the flexibility that I have now.
*If I give up my clients and it doesn't work out then it would take a long time to build it all back up.

And can't decide if I really want to work in an office again. I also want to make sure that I don't take the job just because I'm flattered that I've been offered it and they're being so accommodating IFYKWIM. DP said "what's your gut instinct?" but I don't know!

I'm just worried that I'm going to make the wrong decision. Someone else come and make if for me.

My life motto is "If in doubt, don't". You seem to have quite a lot of doubts, so personally, I wouldn't go for it.

hmmm. I do have a lot of doubts but maybe that's because there is so much to consider.

Sorry, but you have to make the decision! A 45 min commute doesn't sound too bad tbh. A few other things to think about:

• how stable is the job? Is the company well-established and likely to ride out the economic downturn?
• where do you see yourself in 2 years, 5 years time?
• if you don't take the job, what are your plans for getting out of your current job and into one you do like?
• is this an all-or-nothing offer? Could you take on some of the work in a consultancy role?

No, go for it! I was in the same position as you - working from home, then a client asked me to work in-house. Your kids won't be small forever, you may never get the opportunity again. Go on, you know it makes sense...and if you don't, Xenia will tell you off

Take a sheet of paper - divide into 4 columns - pros and cons of each choice - see if that clarifies things in any way.

LOL at Xenia!

I know I have to make the decision, I'm just fannying around swinging one way then the other and it's good to have someone come and give me a slap and tell me to decide once and for all.

They're a very stable company but heh, in this economic climate who knows. I think there is no more likely risk than I currently have. I already do consultancy for them, and if I don't take the job than that will go (just because whoever they get will take on that role). And I've been asking myself the question about where I see myself in the longer term. This job would give me more scope for further development in lots of ways, probably more than I have now.

sakurarose39 - how long had you worked from home? was it a shock to the system going back to working in an office?

well, I htink it sounds exciting and I like working in an office, butI'm a bit odd!

Could you keep on some of your current clients if you do move?

I was working from home for about 10 years - but had odd office jobs for short periods as well, so it wasn't a huge shock. Actually it felt like a "proper" job, with a desk, phone etc. as I had just been working at the kitchen table at home LOL. (I am a translator). I work for an environmental research institute with a government grant etc. so fewer worries about economic impact (also I am in Japan, and things are not so bad over here)

Also, I tried to keep some old clients but it was too exhausting and once I got home, I didn't want to start working again. So I let them go, and concentrated on one job.

Thing is I used to love working in an office, am naturally fairly outgoing and being on my own was the one thing I was worried about when I decided to go freelance (after having DS1) but I've become very used to it and am now considering whether I will have a shock going back to that way of working.

Job is nowhere as glam as Japan!

Oh and on the old clients front, it just wouldn't work. It's all or nothing.

Tricky one. At the point I'm at in my life now, I think a job offer would have to be SERIOUSLY compelling to make me go back to an office. I love working from home. It's the little things that make life easier. For example, when I go to make a cup of coffee, I can put on a load of washing while I wait for the kettle to boil. Might not sound glamorous, but I wouldn't get to do that in an office, so I'd have to do it when I got home.

Also, the daily commute would kill me. I think that in itself adds to stress, despite whatever the job is.

That said, it would be nice to have people to chat to (at the moment, the wall and I are know all each other's secrets).

I think if I were you I'd ask myself this:

• how much do I really not enjoy what I do now?
• how much will I love the new job?
• if I end up hating it, how much time will it take for me to pick up my old clients/type of business again?
• how can I change what I currently do at home to make it more rewarding?

I probably haven't helped at all. But good luck with your decision.

ooh, one more thing.

Do you currently freelance or do you have an actual business (i.e. with a registered name, a website etc.)?

If you have an actual business, I think I'd be even more reluctant to simply walk away from it. So if you do opt to take the job, investigate selling your business (Try Daltons.) I've never tried doing it myself but if you've got viable clients, any kind of systems in place, a website etc all going, you might be able to sell it - then all your hard work isn't just dropped.

45 min commute doesn't sound like a plus to me, but a minus, think you'll need to factor in the rising cost of fuel (if its by car?)

J&J I so agree about the fact that working from home means you can just do other bits throughout your working day (although that is also a negative because I find it easy to be distracted and not start work until 11am!)

I've agonised today about what to do and am 99.9% certain that I'm going to turn it down. I think it's a case of right job, wrong time. Right now the most important thing to me is flexibility (with money a very close second) and however accommodating they are, making that commitment to them will decrease how flexible my life is. Added to which it's a new role (one that very much needs to be there) so whoever takes the job really needs to go in there and stamp their mark on it. I would love, love to feel that I could do it and in another 2 years I would bite their hand off but think now is prob not the time. Although I know I won't get another offer like it....

chocbic - yes agree that 45 min commute is a negative, very much so (is in my cons list in OP).

Never say never. Something even bigger and better might come along when you're ready for it. Also, seriously think about if there's anyway you can make what you currently do more challenging/inspiring. For example, there's a part of my job that I really don't enjoy. So I've now started outsourcing that bit and concentrating on the bits I prefer. By outsourcing it's given me more scope to take on more work so now it feels less like me freelancing and more a proper business with 'staff'!

Yes let's hope so. I feel a bit like I'm sinking in work at the moment so first job is to get back on an even keel and then I think you're right. Take stock and think about the bigger picture.