Good Morning DINKS. Today we are discussing the possibility of making moves in our career. I personally have mixed feelings about my career at this point in my life. I like working in personal finance, but I have been doing it since the year 2001. Although nothing is ever guaranteed in life, I am grateful to have a stable job that provides a regular income stream income. However, at the same time I would like to explore new potential career opportunities, whether they are in the field of banking and personal finance or in a totally new field. I am also playing with the idea of going back to school to study journalism with a minor in marketing. Is it normal to always want more, or is it okay to stay where we are?
This past week I received an email from our district vice president stating that my branch manager submitted my name to be part of an advisory panel for the commission of the arts. My branch manager never asked permission to or advised me that she wanted to submit my name for this advisory panel, so needless to say I was absolutely shocked when I received the email from our district vice president inviting me to the first panel meeting.
I am not sure how I feel about this situation, on one hand I sort of take it as a compliment that both my branch manager and my district vice president chose me to represent our bank on this advisory panel; and I do sort of feel obligated to accept the position because our district vice president is expecting me to participate. However on the other hand the bank may totally be using me as a representative. I am one of the only people in my position who has a professional designation, and therefore I can see how the bank would want me to represent the company on an advisory panel with other professionals such as Notaries and Accountants. I am not sure if I should take this opportunity as a huge compliment or if it was just an easy cop out for my branch manager.
The fact that our branch manager gave my name to our district vice president makes me feel as if my bank has bigger plans for me, however at the same time I am incredibly insulted that they assumed I could participate in work related activities after work hours. Maybe my participation in this after work activity (even though it was forced) will lead to bigger and better things for me in the future, but the question I keep asking myself is do I see myself working for the same employer until my retirement?
How would you feel if this happened to you? An even better question is what would you do if you were in this situation? Maybe you would take it as a compliment and accept the position, or maybe you would feel it was an easy cop out and you would respectfully decline the offer.
Photo by sean
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
Unless you are planning on leaving your company anytime soon, I would take the opportunity. Rejecting it would look bad and will almost certainly make it a little more difficult for you to move up in that company. If you do decide to look elsewhere later on no harm done and it would be easy to cut ties. If you want to go back to school (full time I’m assuming…?) then you also will have a legitimate excuse to back out.
Either way, I would take it, for what that’s worth.
It is a compliment. Sheesh
I’d say it’s both. You are the best person for the assignmt. It is a compliment that your supervisor recognizes this. However it’s also a cop out because they assumed you would make yourself available.
The real question you should ask yourself is not whether or not it is a compliment or a cop out, but rather what can it do for you? Will you meet new professional connections? Is there anything from the experience that you could parlay towards your changing career goals? And finally since you’re not sure you want to leave your current job yet, will not taking the assignment harm your current job?
Personally, I would lean towards the thought that you never know where new experiences or contacts may lead your career, and would say go for it.
Thank You for the feedback. I did accept the position :-)
Awesome! Let us know how it goes