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Early in my career as an acquisitions editor for a well-known publishing house, my role was to find and sign authors. I had to monitor the market, identify good targets, forecast the P&L and put together the business case. When I was armed with all my data and ammunition, I would take my pitch to the executive boardroom, a very elegant and intimidating mahogany-paneled room with a long table around which all the executives and an assembly of peers would sit. At the head of the table was an icon in publishing, our CEO--my first, true mentor.

 

Every editor had to present their pitches in this very public forum to the CEO. He would ask questions designed to catch you but really to force you to defend your proposal. He would ask everyone--every person around the table and in the seats lining the walls--for their opinions and invite them to ask questions, putting you in the hot seat. He had a pivotal question when a proposal was on the fence:

 

Is this your choice or an opportunity? 

 

You had to think very carefully before answering and prepare to defend your response. He was asking whether this proposal was the right topic, the best author, the right market climate and the right solution for what customers needed. He wanted to see if I had done my homework. I was confident in my pitch because my “editorial gut” or instinct was exquisitely honed by the exercise I had gone through to develop it. In short, he was testing me to see if the company were to give me a million dollars, would I choose this author to publish. He also checked to see if the proposal had come in “over the transom” unsolicited and checked a few boxes, but not the critical ones. Had I submitted such a pitch for whatever reason--convenience or to fill my quota--this was considered an opportunity, not my choice. He could tell if an editor was presenting an opportunistic proposal, but didn't perform the due diligence or didn’t have the gut instinct to support the business case.

 

I learned quickly to apply that filter to every pitch I made--first in my publishing career, then later when I led product and business portfolios in both educational and healthcare technology. Is this proposed solution my choice or an opportunity?

 

I also found this question very valuable in making big career decisions because it forced me to perform the necessary due diligence with regard to the role I would assume, the company I would choose, the impact on my career and the impact on my family. 

 

Is this job, company, or work my choice or an opportunity? 

 

When making a career transition, we owe it to ourselves and to our prospective employers to interview them and perform our due diligence to ensure the match is a win for both parties. When I think back to the major career transitions I made--and all were also industry transitions--I asked myself this question. For those companies that were my “choices”, I had conducted extensive research on the companies, the people and their products or services. I made PRO and CON lists, debated them with my husband and explored the cons with the CEOs. I had developed such confidence in my decision, I could feel it in my gut--my instincts were strong. My decision was solid. It was my choice.

 

The one time I did not perform the due diligence, I took a role that was not the right fit for me. I saw the warning signs during the interview process, but I intentionally ignored them. My motivations were not focused on the role or the company, but instead they were driven by an opportunity that did not quite meet all my criteria. As I left that company, I knew I had not followed or trusted my gut instinct.

 

As someone who mentors executive women and other professionals, I have shared this question of choice vs. opportunity and my experience to help them look at their career decisions through a different filter. I encourage anyone making a career change to trust his or her gut instinct and:

 

• research the company to learn what employees are saying about the CEO, the company and its products or services, 
• assess how the company’s values are realized and if they are aligned with your personal values, and
• visualize whether you will wake up every day inspired by the work and people.

 

What big decisions are you on the fence about? Have you done your due diligence to ensure the decision you make is your choice, and not just an opportunity?