Sparkle1984
15-12-15, 23:20
About 10 days ago the founder of a local technology start-up contacted me online, saying she would like to meet up with me for an informal chat about a vacancy that's opening up in her company. I initially agreed, thinking I may as well go along and find out more, and we planned a meeting for this coming Friday.
But having done more research, I'm starting to have doubts, especially as my current job is pretty secure and I'm working for a well-established company. So I don't want to put my career at risk by applying to work at a start-up which could well fail within a couple of years. (According to statistics I've seen, more than half of new start-up companies fail within the first few years). Also, my current company is fairly large and I feel like I'm happier being a small fish in a big pond rather than a big fish in a small pond.
In my current job, there are people I can ask for help and advice if I get stuck, whereas at this new company it could well be just me and the owner (and maybe one or two people doing admin/sales work), so it may just be me doing the technical work. So I'm worried that I'd have nowhere to turn if things went wrong.
Also, I've heard that if you work in a start-up you might have to work very long hours, and I'm not sure if I'd be able to cope with that as my anxiety and depression means I have less energy and feel tired sometimes. (In my current job, I work a standard 35 hour week.) You also might have to take on work outside your role, for example if the owner is out at a meeting, I'm worried I might have to deal directly with customers knocking on the door, and answer phone calls etc.
One of the advantages of working for a start-up is that you can often progress more quickly than in a standard company. I also feel happy that this business owner has enough confidence in my skills to approach me in this way. If I was unemployed and I had nothing to lose, I would probably go for it, but as I already have a secure job, I'm worried about jeopardising it. If this new job didn't work out, or I wasn't happy there, it might be difficult to go back to my current employer.
Should I change my mind about going to this meeting on Friday, and if so, how can I turn it down without offending the owner of the company (especially seeing as I originally agreed to attend)?
But having done more research, I'm starting to have doubts, especially as my current job is pretty secure and I'm working for a well-established company. So I don't want to put my career at risk by applying to work at a start-up which could well fail within a couple of years. (According to statistics I've seen, more than half of new start-up companies fail within the first few years). Also, my current company is fairly large and I feel like I'm happier being a small fish in a big pond rather than a big fish in a small pond.
In my current job, there are people I can ask for help and advice if I get stuck, whereas at this new company it could well be just me and the owner (and maybe one or two people doing admin/sales work), so it may just be me doing the technical work. So I'm worried that I'd have nowhere to turn if things went wrong.
Also, I've heard that if you work in a start-up you might have to work very long hours, and I'm not sure if I'd be able to cope with that as my anxiety and depression means I have less energy and feel tired sometimes. (In my current job, I work a standard 35 hour week.) You also might have to take on work outside your role, for example if the owner is out at a meeting, I'm worried I might have to deal directly with customers knocking on the door, and answer phone calls etc.
One of the advantages of working for a start-up is that you can often progress more quickly than in a standard company. I also feel happy that this business owner has enough confidence in my skills to approach me in this way. If I was unemployed and I had nothing to lose, I would probably go for it, but as I already have a secure job, I'm worried about jeopardising it. If this new job didn't work out, or I wasn't happy there, it might be difficult to go back to my current employer.
Should I change my mind about going to this meeting on Friday, and if so, how can I turn it down without offending the owner of the company (especially seeing as I originally agreed to attend)?