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Corporate buy-outs, corporate downsizing, layoffs, these are words that strike fear into the heart of many Americans. Often it is the owner and management who will be the only ones to go as the new owners' or executives move in to take their place and they are relying on you as one of the people who already know their job, to help them through the transition. Sometimes your boss is shopping for a better package elsewhere and you or some of the other employees may be shopping your resumes as well. Imagine that your boss who was ousted, or who is shopping the job market has found a great new job with another company and they have told him to assemble his own team and bring them with him. He asks you to come with him because he values you as a member of his team and he sees a bright future for all of you with this new employer. The question now is do you stay or do you go?

There are all kinds of things that you must evaluate before you decide whether to stay with the existing job or go to the "greener pastures" that your boss is offering you. First, you are flattered, that your boss thought so highly of your work and would like to continue to work with you, this is truly an accolade to the job that you have done while working under them. You need to suppress the desire to act just on that basis or out of a desire to please a boss that you have liked working and whom you respect with for whatever length of time. This is not about that relationship though, this is about you, and what you need to do is sit down and think about the pros and cons of accepting his offer.

These questions will help you to evaluate whether it's time to jump ship with the boss when he goes:

What am I leaving by taking this job?
Remember you still have a job. The job that you have now you have probably settled into. You are obviously liked and respected, or you wouldn't still be employed there. You have carved out a niche among the other workers and you know your job well. Possibly the opposite is true and you do not like your job or you come into conflict with your coworkers often and you are actively looking for a better or just a different job. That could put a whole different spin on your evaluation of whether to jump ship or not couldn't it?

Where is this new job located and how does it affect my commute to/from work?
The location of your job may have been a major factor in your decision to purchase a home in the area that you have. Now with the housing market doing poorly in many places

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