Every major decision you make is going to be a leap of faith. You can do all the research in the world, but in the end, it comes down to just holding your breath and jumping.

I recently had a candidate who was very interested in a certain position at a very prestigious agency. We discussed it in depth, and I submitted him to the agency without reservation. His skill set was a perfect fit.

Apparently, they agreed because within hours of taking a looksie at his resume, they wanted to fly him in for an interview. So, he flew in, and they all had a great chat. Within hours, they wanted to make him an offer. Wha? Just like that?

I admit – it was fast. He was thinking that he would have another opportunity to ask more questions and get more information, but alas, they were ready to move. So, I called him. And again, we spoke in depth about it. But what about this? And this? And this? He had a lot of legitimate questions, but when it came down to it I had to explain to him that this agency has this reputation for a reason. They are ready to move forward, and he needed to realize that they were looking for someone with the cojones to jump in with both feet without having to know what kind of stapler he’d be given when he started. Either he was ready, or he wasn’t.

If this was a smaller, not so hot shop, it may have been more of a question, but I’ve done this long enough to know that you gotta go with your gut. You have to be willing to take chances. You will never have all the information you need to make perfect decisions. It would be a very boring world if that were the case and we would learn nothing. But if he was willing to go on this amazing ride and take it where it leads him, he could wind up someplace amazing. Or not. But he will never know if he doesn’t give it a shot.

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