Do I Really Want To Work For You? |
I was sitting in a conference room along with my new colleagues, all of them professors, some of whom were soon to be celebrating 30 years of service to the university.
I saw burnt bulbs, weary and dispirited eyes that had once shone brightly, perhaps as mine did as a freshly minted Ph.D. and their new tenure-track assistant professor.
As if a gloved hand grabbed me from the inside of my body and shook me, a question sprang forth in my bones:
"Do I really want to be sitting in this room 30 years from now?"
And because these folks would be voting on my tenure in seven years, I couldn't help following-up this question with another:
"Do I really want to work for you?"
Soon after that initial meeting, within a few months, actually, I resigned what most people in my place would have considered the opportunity of a lifetime, a prestigious position at an idyllic institution.
As it turned out, I made the right decision, largely, I believe because I asked those questions.
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