The Money or the Dream Job? How to answer this very common career challenge.

Last week I got a text from a client.

She has secured her Dream Job. 

Even better still, she negotiated her salary up by 33% on top of what they originally offered!

It’s fair to say she was ecstatic.

A few days later, I got another text. 

We had a problem.

The company she currently works for had offered a salary ANOTHER 30% higher than the one at her Dream Job.

And she was stuck with one of the biggest challenges a person can face in job-hunting:

The Money or the Dream Job?

Now for some people, being offered a role with a salary 73% higher than the original offer on the Dream Job might seem like a no-brainer. Who would turn that kind of money down?

But for others it’s obvious that even with the much higher salary, it’s better to be doing a job you love.

Where you sit really depends on where you are in life, what you value and what is important to you right now.

So, how do you decide?

Here’s three questions I asked my client to help her decide:

1. How important is this money to you NOW?

If you are 25 years old and starting out your career, you can probably afford to chase the dream to the detriment of the money. If you are 35 with a young family, this may not be the case. You have to decide how important this money is right now - do you REALLY need it?

And don’t just look at the number. Look at it in relation to how much money you need to live the life you want to live. 

Some people believe ‘the more money the better’. But there is definitely a point at which you can live an awesome life and don’t need ‘more’. If the Dream Job is paying that kind of money, it is probably better to love your job, than to loath it just for more money.

For my client, she concluded the money would be amazing, but it wasn’t crucial right now.

2. What is your long term earning potential?

If someone had told me at 26, what I’d be earning at 32, I never would have spent my 20’s hustling to get small incremental pay rises. At 32, I tripled my salary in 12 months and achieved a level of financial security that I’d never felt before.

Therefore, you need to think long term. The Dream is not to just earn great money but to do it in a job you love. And taking a job you love NOW will set you on the path for future jobs you will love (as you are in the right industry/companies)

If you can see yourself in the next 5 years earning big money in the Dream Job, back yourself that you can make it a reality. 

For my client, I KNOW she is on track to have a very successful career. And I’m confident in 5 years, she’ll be earning big money.

3. Imagine what the typical day looks like in each role. Does either one fill you with a visceral emotion?

Spend 5 minutes with your eyes closed and imagine yourself in each role. Imagine a typical day - the type of work you’d be doing, the people you’d be meeting and how exciting/challenging/stimulating you find the work.

If either one gives you a visceral emotion reaction, take note of this.

For my client, her energy rose and she was INCREDIBLY passionate about the Dream Job role.

By asking these three questions, the answer was very obvious to my client.

She took the Dream Job. 

She started on Monday and she absolutely LOVES it already.

No regrets.

Getting real will reveal the truth

I'm a big believer that asking yourself the tough questions will reveal the answers. Just 3 questions made what would have otherwise been a long tough decision making process, super easy.

If you find yourself in this situation, I highly recommend giving it a try. It will save you a lot of time. And a lot of heartache in making the wrong decision!