Before You Say Yes to That Promotion…

Someone offers you a promotion and it feels good.

They noticed you. They picked you. There's a new title and a bigger number.

Before you say yes, slow down.

A promotion is a trade. Know what you're trading.

1. Do the hourly math.

A lot of leadership roles are salaried.

That can mean no overtime, no shift differentials and more hours than you work now.

Take the new salary. Divide it by the hours you'll really work.

Then compare it to what you make per hour today, with your differentials included.

Sometimes the raise is a pay cut with a nicer title.

2. Find out what the job actually is.

You may be great at your work. The promotion is usually a different job.

Staffing. Schedules. Budgets. Meetings. Complaints. Being the person everyone calls.

Ask someone who has the job what their week looks like. Ask what they'd tell you privately.

3. Count what you give up.

Your schedule. Your days off. The ability to clock out and be done.

Maybe the people you work with now, and how they see you.

None of that shows up in the offer letter.

4. Ask where it leads.

Does this role open something you want in three years?

Or is it a harder version of where you are, with no clear next step?

A promotion that gives you more options is worth more than one that only gives you more work.

5. Check whose idea this is.

Being asked is flattering. It's also convenient for them.

They have a hole to fill. You're reliable. That's a reason for them, not for you.

Do you want this job, or do you want to be chosen?

You can say no.

Turning down a promotion isn't a lack of ambition.

It can mean you know what you want your life to look like.

And if you want it, take it with your eyes open. Negotiate the pay. Get the schedule in writing.

Either way, decide on purpose.

Stuck on a decision like this? Send it to Dear Money Nurse. I'll tell you what I'd do, and why.