Is the Grass Greener?

Is the grass greener?!

So, you’ve taken the risk, you made the decision to leave and you’ve gone through with it. Having spent sleepless nights thinking your decision through, worrying about what to do and trying to figure out whats for the best you have finally reached a decision and have followed it through. I think we would all be fibbing somewhat if we said that there wasn’t some small element of worry, somewhere deep down inside. At the end of the day you have left something familiar and stepped into the unknown, who knows what will happen!

As I mentioned in my last blog I spend a large amount of my time speaking with candidates who find themselves in the situation where they want a change. They know they want to leave their current role as they’re unhappy, travelling too much or just want more of a work life balance, but actually making the decision to leave is the hardest part of all. The idea of locuming compared to a permanent job which isn’t making them happy sounds perfect! The flexible hours, excellent rates and exciting work all sound great, but is the grass always greener? My role in this situation is to help and advise candidates, giving them all the information they need in order to make an informed decision that is going to be right for them. As my candidates will know, I will never turn round and say hand your notice in tomorrow and I’ll find you a job for next week. This is not realistic, nor is it fair to advise you of this when I can’t promise I can find you something straight away. Instead I will guide you through the process, talking through the pros and cons, letting you know what to expect and how I can help. I will be extremely proactive on your behalf, searching for clients who are recruiting and making you aware of the roles, the rate on offer, the hours etc. This gives you the information and market insight that you need in order to make an informed decision, if and when you decide to take the plunge. When you do decide to make the move and accept one of the roles we have talked about, I will be there to guide you through the process of leaving your current role and commencing your new assignment. Usually this is a simple process, we confirm your assignment, you hand in your notice and you look forward to your new start! However, as with all things, sometimes not everything is plain sailing, what you hope and expect to happen might not occur, and you may be surprised and disappointed by the events that follow! But I will be here, helping and guiding you so that you can get to the greener grass on the other side!

So is the grass greener? Was it worth the risk? I honestly can’t answer that as each individual is different. What I can say is that the vast majority of candidates that I speak to who have made a move are delighted that they did so. This is for many different reasons, it may be that they are no longer working twelve hour days and are enjoying a work life balance with their family, or that they no longer have a four hour daily commute. It could be that they have escaped the office politics and a negative working environment and are now enjoying meeting different people and seeing different offices and parts of the country. It could even just be down to simple mathematics and they are now earning more than they ever have. Either way the risk was worth taking. As I mentioned in my last blog, I took a risk setting up Temporis Recruitment two months ago! Is the grass greener? Well it is too early to tell entirely at the moment, it has only been eight weeks after all! What I will say though is that I am doing the job that I love, I have reduced my daily commute from over two hours to three minutes (!) and whilst I am working all the hours that God sends I am doing so in an environment where I am happy, and settled. If any of my candidates were to turn round to me and describe all of the above points when they had made a move then I would have to agree, maybe the grass is always greener after all!