Leaving a market leader for more comp
Have a real dilemma on my hands here.
Currently work Corp Strat / Dev for a firm that is the clear market leader in the industry, and have been there for a few years now. Recently promoted, and have pretty good political capital at the firm.
A competitor, who is much smaller in size, and certainly middle of the pack comes along and asks me to interview, and then offers me 2x TC.
Truth is, the content of the work at my current firm is super interesting, and in reality I don't want to leave all that much. However, its impossible to ignore an offer that's going to double my comp, for effectively the same title. I've actually made this trade-off before, turning down an offer that was 40% higher at another firm to come work where I am now.
My biggest concern revolves around being able to stay engaged with the content of the work. It's fundamentally different to work for a team that is a market leader, and is making moves that others can't replicate versus a firm that has a lot of catch up to do.
Would appreciate any views from people who have made that decision, particularly if they have any regrets.
I sort of understand the 40% situation, but this is double the comp. I’m unsure how you can turn that down. How much you make now? 250k? How could you turn down 500k?
And it sounds like your reservations are not even around any bad vibes you’re getting from your new firm, it’s just that you don’t want to leave a market “leader”, whatever that means. I mean I could flip the narrative and say it’s much more exciting to be a big fish in a little bond and try to build up a middle of the pack company that coast at the top company.
In my mind, money is the only way winners keep score in life, trump is a great example, so I couldn’t turn down double the comp unless I thought the new firm was underhanded or something.
So I would go to my most trusted senior in my group and ask for an off the record chat after work. After buttering him up with compliments about how you appreciate his guidance and mentorship, delicately bring up the situation. Say that you have expenses and a family to feed and a competitor has offered you this insane package. However, you love where you are and your team, but the money is such a massive jump. Ask his advice on what he would do, and then also bring up if your current firm would consider an off cycle bump if you stay.
But make sure you trust this guy.
Appreciate the candid response. Definitely what I have to do, but realize that I probably do have to jump ship if they're not prepared to match (or get close to it).
Honestly the bit about being the market leader and doing things that other companies can't comes across as kind of absurd. This is a job and it's M&A - it's interesting to be sure, but let's be real we're not changing the world.
You know what could really change your work? A 100% increase in comp. IDK what you make now, but as a VP that incremental 100% should be like, house downpayment money. Or it means you could retire probably 10 years earlier on that comp trajectory.
I have to disagree with you on the content point. It sounds absurd sure, but if you work for a market leader, you are literally dictating the direction of the industry. The move I'm contemplating is like moving from AAPL --> HP.
From my perspective, from a pure content standpoint, there's a huge difference between working for call it Nvidia, or Toshiba, for example. My experience (having worked at both of these kinds of companies in the past), is that you get to work on really cool projects (e.g., with governments or more sophisticated clients, executing industry-moving acquisitions / venture investments). You might try to do that for Toshiba, but no one really gives a shit, and you're more fighting fires and defending market share, rather than considering new market opportunities, for example.
Having worked for a Nvidia and a Toshiba (of my industry) in the past, there's definitely a certain level of frustration that comes along with watching competitors do stuff that you can't do, or being super constrained with resources and being unable to execute or devise a winning strategy. What you are able to execute on depends on the capabilities, resources, and reputation of the firm, almost regardless of industry.
But I hear you, maybe it's like who cares, I get my money, and maybe who cares about the content if you're paying me well enough. In an ideal world, both the content and the pay would be in a place where I want it, but perhaps that's just the tradeoff I gotta make.
My advice is care less about the work and more about the money.
Unless you expect it to be straight up miserable at the new company, I really struggle with not taking the pay raise.
Also - I think it is a highly desirable career path to go from a industry "tier 1" company to a "tier 2" one for stupid pay increase / put you on track for C-suite or other advancement
I get being nervous about leaving a company you enjoy to join the unknown, but does working at a market leader really matter that much to you? take the 2x TC, worst case scenario if you don't like it that much, you can move to another firm, but with a very nice boost to your bank account first.
Bring the offer back to your current firm and see what they can do. Buy you have to be prepared to leave in order for you to do that
I’d agree with being cautious about making the move. Does long term comp scale to similar levels?
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