A menu with two choices

This week I struck gold – sort of.

Well, maybe silver.

My youngest who graduated from college in May received not one but TWO job offers. I advised her it’s now a matter of vetting which one not only offers the best overall package (not just salary) but in essence which one she feels more comfortable with.

Hopefully she will go with her instinct and make the best selection. And from a purely selfish standpoint begin to gradually wean off my payroll.

I understand her predicament, although in full disclosure, that never happened to me nor is it likely to in the near future at my rapidly advancing age.

It is sort of similar to a situation we currently are managing. A seller firm in the Northeast is being courted by two much larger successor practices – each with stellar reputations throughout the profession.

They have met with each firm twice and now face the difficult and often gut-wrenching decision of which one to proceed with and which one to either place on hold or thank them for their time and effort.

I told them in no uncertain terms they have to make a choice and quickly because you can’t go through the protracted process of due diligence with two firms simultaneously.

Like we advise all our clients, it’s not always a matter of dollars and cents although compensation as well as perks and benefits are certainly a critical aspect of any decision. But again, it’s who you feel the most comfortable with. Usually after the initial meeting, two parties can sense if there’s any degree of chemistry between them as well as a culture fit. Because if they’re not completely comfortable with one party or another, how could they possibly expect their clients and staff to be?

So I recommended they ask themselves three basic questions about their potential successors – what’s it like to be a partner here? What’s it like to be a client? And what’s it like to be a staff person?

I told them combine those answers with each offer package and then that will make a difficult decision that much easier.

So I will learn the fate of both decisions by early next week. I’m confident each will make the right choice – my daughter because it will be her first “real” job and the client firm because it will be the last and most important decision they will make regarding the future of their firm.

Here’s hoping.