6 months away

Of course, in the corporate world, until you receive the offer/confirmation letter, there are no promises. Not until the money is banked into your account are you sure that you are getting what you were promised. Hence, one should not make rash and potentially high consequence decisions based on verbal promises and words, as from my miniscule experience, I have come to realize that managers will say what they reckon are the right things to certain people in order to push the right buttons to achieve their personal cause. There is nothing wrong with that, but we just have to exercise caution and not believe everything we hear.

However, this particular manager, is a highly reputable and straight-backed man, a Christian (who smokes, gambles and plays pool, but hey, don’t we all) and a very decent person who would rather be short-changed rather than to join the integrity-less masses in the hope of accelerating his way towards a more rewarding goal.

And he has promised me that a promotion will be coming my way between the year end and the 1st Qtr of next year. Now, any other promotion would be quite ordinary, but this particular one will be very welcome and attractive indeed, as I know the position I will be moving into, as well as the accompanying base salary. I am not that much interested in the title, but the salary that comes with that position is really attractive for a dingbat like me. For a start, I believe that for someone in my industry, with my age and experience, I’d be one of the highest earners then, and that would enable a lot of things that would be quite important at this juncture in my life. For instance, it’d make buying a house much easier, I will be able to have some investments and have a sounder financial plan. Great! Also, if I do intend to leave this company, I’d be set to move to green pastures rather than leaving while in my current designation. Additionally, the new position would really push me to gain more experience and knowledge fast, and expose me to higher level management thinking, for whatever its worth, in this company.

However, as with all such incidents, we tend to focus on the commensurate benefits first. There are a few drawbacks. Firstly, I know the expectations, stress and deliverables will be magnified like never before, and I will definitely be under the spotlight. Can no longer fly slightly below the radar any more, and it’d also be payback time, for some managers stuck their necks out to push me into this role. Secondly, work life balance will be severely affected, as the volume of work will demand much more time invested at work. Well the good news is that with more money, more time at work, that means less time to spend it on, hence equates to more savings. Lastly, by the time the promotion kicks in, I will have passed my deadline for returning to Australia, if I do intend to service my PR.

Decisions, decisions…give it up and go anyway…or stay on and go only after I get the promotion? The thing is, if I do go once I do get the promotion, it is not likely I will be able to get similar positions outside due to my lack of experience at that position, having just come into it.

Never mind… I will park these thoughts aside for now. Time to focus on work again…a lot of it… and need brain work to do. Let’s do this right.