Thinking about moving? Read this first
Most senior finance people don’t leave a job. They drift toward the exit slowly, over months, usually because something stopped adding up. The pay, the scope, the people, the direction. By the time you’re updating your CV you’ve often already decided, and the decision was emotional before it was rational.
That’s fine. But a move at FC, FD or CFO level is a two-year commitment that shapes your earnings, your network and your next move after this one. It’s worth being deliberate. Here are the five questions worth answering honestly before you do anything.
1. Am I actually underpaid, or does it just feel that way?
This is the question under most of the others, and almost nobody answers it with real data. You hear what one peer earns at a dinner, you read a vague salary survey, and you build a sense of grievance on two data points.
Get the real number. Know what your level, in your sector, at your size of business, is paying right now. Not last year, not the national average, the current market for someone doing your exact job. Sometimes the honest answer is that you’re paid fairly and the problem is something else, which is useful to know before you blow up a good situation. Sometimes you’re 15% behind, in which case you have a conversation to have, and you may not need to move at all.
You can’t negotiate, or decide, without that number.
Finding it takes two minutes. The Finance Pay Index shows you exactly where your salary and total package sit against real UK finance professionals at your level, in your sector, at your size of business. Add yours, see where you rank, free and anonymous.
Check where I rank →2. Is now the right time, or should I wait?
Timing at your level is mostly about money you’ve already earned but not yet received.
Before you resign, look at what you’d forfeit. An unvested bonus. An LTIP or option tranche that vests in four months. A long-term incentive tied to an exit that might be closer than you think. Walking away from six figures of deferred comp to save eight weeks is a bad trade, and it’s one people make in frustration all the time.
The other half of timing is the market. Finance hiring runs in waves by sector and by season. There are quarters when PE-backed CFO mandates are everywhere and quarters when they dry up. Moving into a strong market gives you choice and leverage. Moving into a weak one means taking what’s there.
If you’re not in a hurry, a few months of patience often pays for itself many times over.
3. What am I actually a fit for?
Be honest about your ceiling, in both directions.
If you’re an FC wondering whether you can step up to FD, or an FD eyeing a PE-backed CFO seat, the gap is usually not technical. It’s whether you’ve done the things that role is really hired for. Board exposure. A fundraise. An exit. Managing investors rather than just reporting to them. If you have those scars, say so loudly. If you don’t, the move is still possible, but you’ll need to be realistic about which businesses will take the bet, usually smaller or earlier-stage ones where the upside is scope rather than salary.
Equally, don’t undersell. Plenty of strong finance leaders apply down a level because they’ve lost confidence, then wonder why the role feels small a year later.
Not sure which way to jump? Members can model the move before they make it. See what the market pays if you step up a level, switch sector, go PE-backed, or relocate, all from real UK finance data.
Model my next move →4. What is the market actually doing?
Before you decide anything, get a real read on demand. Which sectors are hiring finance leadership right now. Where packages are moving up and where they’re flat. Whether the day-rate or interim market is hot, which it often is when permanent hiring stalls.
This isn’t idle interest. It tells you how much leverage you’ll have, how long a search might realistically take, and whether the grass is genuinely greener or just differently coloured.
5. How do I explore without putting my current job at risk?
This is the practical fear, and it’s a fair one. Finance is a small world and word travels.
A few principles. Don’t flip your LinkedIn to “open to work”; at your level it signals the wrong things and travels fast. Be careful who you tell, including trusted colleagues, until you’re genuinely progressing. And run any serious search discreetly, through people who understand that confidentiality is the whole point and who won’t put you forward anywhere without your say-so.
You can look properly without anyone knowing. You just have to be deliberate about it.
The honest summary
The best moves are made from a position of strength, not frustration. Know your real worth. Know what you’d be giving up by leaving now. Be clear about the role you can credibly win. Understand the market you’re stepping into. And explore quietly until you’re sure.
Do that, and whether you move or stay, it’ll be a decision rather than a reaction.
Start with the number everything else hangs on.
See where your pay ranks →