Fortunately, Tara took the advice you gave her in last week's discussion and was able to use it to quickly strengthen her network. She relied on those network contacts to help her land interviews with a few different organizations. Tara was meticulous in timing follow-up interviews so that in the event that multiple organizations made offers, she'd be able to compare them and make the choice that was best for her. Now, Tara has two offers to choose from. What should she do?

The first job offer is from a medium-sized organization that runs a system of heath care clinics that serve low-income neighborhoods in her community by providing prevention and wellness programs. Tara would be working in the organization's IT department to modernize their aging and clunky electronic health records system. This organization really wants to hire Tara because they are highly impressed with her previous experience in working for one of the world's largest big tech firms.

Tara is intrigued by the offer because she enjoys helping others. In addition, she has a number of close relatives who suffer from highly preventable chronic health issues, so she has personal reasons for wanting this organization to be successful. There are some downsides to this choice, however. The pay is less than what she been getting previously, and because this organization relies heavily on public funding and donations for its funding, it is always possible that her position could be eliminated if budget cuts are required.

The second job offer is from a company that is considered a major rival to the organization she was just laid off from. This company hired more prudently during the pandemic and in so doing avoided the need for layoffs. In addition, this company's products and services are more diverse than those of her former company, so they are less vulnerable to economic downturns. As a result, this organization has been scooping up the talent let go by its rivals.

The position Tara has been offered is largely similar to what she had been doing at her old job. The pay is a little bit higher, in fact. In job interviews, the company seemed interested in her past experience and felt that her insights would be valuable in the rollout of new products. At the same time, now that Tara has had time to reflect, she isn't sure if designing the next big social media application refinement is really making people's lives better in any meaningful way.

In your initial post, answer the following questions.

• Which job do you think Tara will accept and why?
• Have you ever been in a situation like Tara in which you were torn between two different career opportunities? If so, how did you resolve it?
• Do you think it's more important to make money or make a difference?