Have you ever heard the phrase, “Don’t yuck my yum?”
The first time I heard it was at sleepaway camp. It was one of those simple rules that stuck with me: don’t look at what someone else is eating, wearing, or doing and criticize it. Just because it’s not for you doesn’t mean it’s wrong for someone else.
I’ve found myself thinking about that phrase a lot lately, especially when I scroll through LinkedIn. Someone announces they’re leaving a large corporation for a startup. Someone else moves from in-house to agency. A senior executive takes an individual contributor role. Someone walks away from a prestigious title to gain flexibility, work-life balance, or simply a chance to do something they enjoy more.
Without fail, there are opinions:
- “Why would they leave that company?”
- “That seems like a step backward.”
- “I wouldn’t have made that move.”
But here’s the thing: careers aren’t one-size-fits-all.
What looks like a dream opportunity to one person may feel completely wrong to someone else. Likewise, what others perceive as a risky move may be exactly what someone needs to grow, recharge, or redefine success on their own terms.
As recruiters, we see this every day. People don’t make career decisions based solely on compensation or title. They’re weighing culture, leadership, flexibility, purpose, growth opportunities, family priorities, commute, geography, health, and countless other factors that outsiders rarely know about.
The “best” job on paper isn’t always the best job for that individual. One candidate may happily trade a bigger title for a better manager. Another may leave a household-name brand for the chance to build something from the ground up. Someone else may decide they’re done climbing the corporate ladder altogether. And none of those decisions are wrong.
One of the most rewarding parts of executive search is helping people define what success means to them instead of what everyone else thinks it should be. The right career move isn’t the one that impresses the most people on LinkedIn. It’s the one that aligns with your goals, your values, and the life you want to build.
So the next time you see someone announce a career move that you wouldn’t personally make, remember that old camp lesson: Don’t yuck someone else’s yum.
You probably don’t know the full story, and you don’t need to. Sometimes the best career move is the one that simply feels right for the person making it.
Singh Hecht Executive Search is a national boutique search firm specializing in the areas of public relations, communications, and marketing.