Decisions, decisions

I had an interview at lunch today. Someone that I interviewed with in 2008 remembered me and contacted me out of the blue to "chat" about a new opening. Well, it went really well and I think I'm actually the top pick for the position! He said if I wasn't interested I should let him know and he'll expand his search, but he's basically set on me if I'm in. There are many factors to consider still, but if they can beat my current salary, I should probably accept it. Barring that current unknown, the pros outweigh the cons. I'm glad that I struck out on my own in my current job and broadened my experience, but I am ready to get back into an agency setting with other creatives. I've been out of it for two years now.

It was a very honest discussion. I'm sort of a seasoned veteran in my professional life already and I know what I'm looking for. Momentum burned me, so I essentially wanted to know if this agency would do the same. The person that interviewed me worked at Momentum (before my time), so he knew how to draw the comparisons. For starters, it's an agency of only 20ish people, not part of some huge global bureaucracy like IPG (parent company to Momentum and third-largest marketing/ad company in the world by revenue). This place is set up so that everyone works on all the brands instead of a team that's devoted to just one brand, which means that if they lose business, they don't also lose the people dedicated to that business. Actually, they recently acquired O'Charley's and some other business, which is why they need to add someone. Working 50-60 hours a week happens occassionally, but it's the exception and not the rule.

I'm pretty sure I would be happier there and I feel like I belong in an agency. (It's in a new office in the center of downtown, too. Cool!) I've done a lot for my current company in a year and a half, but it's too easy and I'm rather bored. I'm just not living up to my potential. I got them started with a brand image and a million templates, so most things just require maintenance. I'm launching or wrapping up some big projects but should make plenty of headway on them by July, so if I left, that work should still last them for months (in some cases, years) to come. The thing is, I was planning on going back to an agency 6+ months from now, though, not one month from now. The insurance company has been good to me and my boss is AMAZING, though, so that's the main thing holding me back. I don't want to burn bridges.

I told the interviewer many of my concerns and he had some interesting things to say. For one, he said that "the curse of being valuable is that we're always in the middle of something." In other words, 6 months from now something else will probably seem "too important to leave." He also said that I should listen to my heart and he wouldn't push me too hard, which strikes me as an unusual thing to say in an interview. He knew I was torn, though, and he's been in this kind of situation.

I'm supposed to keep him posted on my thoughts, so I will at least tell him I'm still interested and hope for an offer. I didn't know what I was getting myself into this afternoon, but now that it's had time to sink in, I would be a fool to turn it down before I even get a written offer. So...life has gotten in the way of plans again, and I don't think I mind it so much anymore. We'll see.