The movement of labour around the world is ever increasing. New laws are introduced and international barriers are slowly falling. Global market forces are changing the formation of each country and Tertiary sectors are racing ahead of the once dominant Primary and Secondary sector. With an increase in Tertiary sector size comes an alternative approach to success, with emphasis not on sourcing the finest inanimate resources such as the highest-grade steel for the secondary sector, or the finest iron ore, for the primary sector, but instead on sourcing the highest grade animate resources, humans.
The better the resources that are put into the machine of the organisation, in theory, the better the output, or the in the case of the tertiary sector – the service. With this in mind the need to attract the best talent from around the world is ever more important to firms wanting to remain ahead of the competition and provide the highest level of service. As we all know, said firms will remunerate employees old and new according to how high they place the employee’s importance in their contribution to the success of the firm and the revenue they will be able to generate.
In the Professional Services market, demand is high for those individuals that will make a difference to the output of the firm. These are the employees that are globally sought after and which help contribute to the ever increasing statistic based on the international flow of labour. If you do find yourself in this pool of professionals then you will one day, more than likely receive a phone call from a Headhunter proposing an opportunity for you in another firm, and perhaps in another country.
Although you may be outstanding in your professional field of work, you may not be an expert when it comes to considering such an opportunity, so here is a brief guide to making the right decision.
Rule No.1 – The choice is yours
When receiving a proposition to work in a rival firm, or in another country it is very easy to become overwhelmed and every ounce of rationality may suddenly escape your body. This is of course natural as you would have more than likely been contacted out of the blue with no prior warning. The most important thing to do in this scenario is to remember, you must do what is right for yourself.
Rule No.2 – Evaluate your current position
Ask yourself what you enjoy about your current career and what you wish could be better. To make matters easy, below is an example of how to evaluate your current role. Consider each factor and give it a rating, 1 being Terrible and 10 being Excellent.
A
1-10 (1 = Terrible, 10 = Excellent)
Current Department
Benefits
Current level of authority
Salary
Level of autonomy
Work-life balance
Career progression opportunity
Training and developing
Level of client exposure
Geographical location
External market conditions
Prospects for family
Add up your results and put them to one side.
Rule No.3 – Evaluate the external opportunity
It is important to contrast your current situation with the proposed opportunity whilst using some rationale. Therefore, using the same factors used to rate your current position, now rate them according to the new opportunity, this time 1 being Excellent and 10 being Terrible.
B
(1 = Excellent, 10 = Terrible)
Proposed Department
Benefits Offered
Proposed level of authority
Salary Offered
Proposed Level of autonomy
Work-life balance potential
Career progression opportunity
Prospective training and development
Level of client exposure
Geographical location
External market conditions
Prospects for family
Once again add up the figures to and combine the results from A and B and rate them according to the scale (C).
A + B = C
C =
24-120 | This Opportunity is definitely worth considering
121-168 | This Opportunity could be a great move
169 – 240 | This Opportunity is not worth your time
Final Word
Using the rating scale above will hopefully provide you with a clearer view as to whether the proposition is worth considering or not. Of course this method adopts a rational approach to making the decision. However, as we are talking about the tertiary sector and thus dealing with animate objects with emotions you should not neglect your gut instinct. If the opportunity is worth considering you will know deep down but fundamentally, the choice is yours and should most importantly be the right decision for you.
By Jeremy Downton (International Consultant at FPSG)
