I just got a job offer for a content lead role at a really cool startup. It is about $7,000 USD less than I was making at my last role and that I got multiple offers at 3 months ago. And it offers more than double the value of my previous stock options. It's at an earlier stage than my last startup role so they will be worth more if the company takes off. It will also allow me to do some truly innovative content work with a lot of creative freedom. Someone please tell me its okay to accept this even though it's below what I might make elsewhere -- but doing less interesting work? My brain is having a hard time with the decrease in salary from three months ago. I already negotiated it up from the original offer and the offer is not a bad one -- it's at the high end of content salaries. I just got really good offers in my last search.

First off, congrats on having these opportunities! Sounds like people recognize the value you bring. One thing that helped me on my career journey is making a chart where each factor is weighted: work-life balance, benefits, salary, type of work, etc. Then when I was choosing between offers, I would look at how ALL of the factors added up (depending on how you weighed them), instead of the single salary number. For my current role, I actually turned down a competing offer for $10k more because the work-life balance and title meant more to me in the long-term. I think salary will be a bigger factor in the next role I choose, but for now I'm really happy with my decision. So, TLDR, take some time to write out non-salary factors and see how those stack up

did someone say salary? here's some data that might be helpful. https://superpath.co/blog/content-marketing-salary-report

Thanks David! That's helpful. I've never been laid off before and I've never accepted a role at a lower rate than a previous job before. So, it just feels a bit disorienting to decide to do so. But I decided last night to accept the offer for exactly the reasons you suggest. This role will set me up for future career success better than other roles that I might accept. Or a type of career that will make me very distinctive -- I'll be redefining B2B tech brand voice in exactly the way that I've long thought it should be redefined. And the company gave me much more stock than the last round of offers -- which might prove to be more valuable. But definitely says some key things about how important they think content is for their success! I'm really excited about this next stage in my career. Thanks for your help and thoughtful advice. Much appreciated!

Note sure if you're still looking for advice on this, but my 2 cents having gone through a similar situation. First: Options are useless when calculating compensation. So I'd leave that out of the picture. Second: What does their current pipeline look like? I'd stay away from companies that have less than half their ARR in pipeline. Third: only after the above would I consider the nature of the role. This comes first for me. If the money is slightly less, I freelance and make it up. Fourth: How well do they know their product? If they don't know their core market and seem to be winging it, walk away. I run an agency so have dealt with quite a few jokers running companies. I'll spare you the details but the points above usually reveal red flags. Always look at the company first before considering the attractiveness of the role. Most people (including you from your text) only think about their experience or growth and forget to evaluate the company correctly. Get outside your point of view.

Just want to say congrats! I remember you posting in Katrina's AMA that you felt companies were not really seeing your value and I'm happy you found a good role! Excited to see your work, be sure to post in #gen-promotion when you start publishing 😄

Thanks @purple-monitor-35762! I ended up with three companies that wanted to make offers. Lol. It's hit or miss with my background. There had just been a bunch of misses in a row that week. And thanks @boundless-addition-21876. They just closed their Series A and are moving out of beta so they do not fit some of that criteria but they have good 2-3 year runway. I did have that conversation with them. And the VP of marketing and the sales head are both very experienced. the founders seem to let professionals do their jobs rather than interfering. They have also built and exited a successful company in an adjacent space and sold it to Google where they then worked for years in senior roles.