Optimize for feeling lucky - by Ami Vora

When I’m deciding between big job choices (like whether to stay at my current role or take a new one), it feels like my whole career hangs in the balance. I convince myself I have to make the exact right choice or my career is over, and I think of all the ways the wrong decision will ruin my future. Sound familiar? This is a privileged problem to have, of course, especially in a rapidly changing industry when it can be hard to find even one good opportunity. But when this choice does come up, I’ve learned a surprising way to ratchet down the pressure so I can make a calmer choice. As you might expect, whenever this choice comes up I reflexively start building elaborate spreadsheets in my head, trying to weigh the importance of comp, culture, learning, title, and everything else. All the smart people around me reinforce this with very rational advice about choosing jobs that ladder into my “long-term goals” (even though I’ve never been good about having those!). This makes sense, of cou

When I’m deciding between big job choices (like whether to stay at my current role or take a new one), it feels like my whole career hangs in the balance. I convince myself I have to make the exact right choice or my career is over, and I think of all the ways the wrong decision will ruin my future. Sound familiar? This is a privileged problem to have, of course, especially in a rapidly changing industry when it can be hard to find even one good opportunity. But when this choice does come up, I’ve learned a surprising way to ratchet down the pressure so I can make a calmer choice. As you might