u/INF1NITE

Title says it all. It’s crystal clear and has similar viscosity to water after reconstituted

I currently work at a PE-backed, high-growth cybersecurity/compliance company as a Manager of Talent Acquisition. I expect to be promoted to Senior Manager at year-end, bringing my compensation from roughly $165k all-in (base + bonus) to $182k all-in starting in January. For reference, my promoted base will be $165k. The company is solid, I have no concerns about layoffs, and I’m firmly positioned to continue growing there. I enjoy my job overall, with a few exceptions.

My main concern is that my financial growth has been slow compared to what I know is possible by switching companies. This January will mark 4.5 years with the company, and even with my expected promotion, I’ll have only increased my income by $40k from where I started despite three promotions and a tremendous expansion of responsibilities. I now manage a large team and work 60+ hours/week. Because of this, I’ve been exploring opportunities in the market.

Recently, an external recruitment/staffing firm reached out about hiring me as a 360 recruiter handling both recruitment and sales. Their expertise is GTM hiring at scale, which is also my primary focus and why there’s strong alignment. I worked at an agency for my first job 8 years ago and wasn’t a huge fan of it. However, I’ve recently been eager to break into a full-cycle sales role, like an Account Executive, because of the commission and uncapped financial upside, though I’ve had essentially no luck. This staffing role is similar but more of a hybrid recruitment/sales position, which has still piqued my interest. It would likely pay $100k base + uncapped commission, but doubling my base and beyond would require an absolute grind. In other words, I’d be leaving $85k in guaranteed compensation on the table to make the switch.

With all this in mind, I’m looking for advice. Should I leave the safe, secure position with slower comp progression and get out of my comfort zone to pursue the potentially much greater upside of commission? Has anyone been in this exact predicament? How did it work out? And what’s everyone’s perspective on staffing firms right now and how they’re performing given AI and the broader market?

Additional context: I’m 32, and both roles are fully remote.

Thank you, everyone, for the advice and perspective!