What should you do if you are 'head-hunted'?

[tigersam258]

A friend of mine that I have known for a few years now has tried to prise me away from my current job with a tempting offer.

I am really happy with my current job and have been able to travel to many places in the world with it but this other job is a lot more money.

I don't want to let him down and I dont know whether I will love the new job as much as the current. Has anyone else had a similar situation that can give me some advice?

[buildersmate]

In some industries headhunters operate all the time and its not usually to get several calls per year from agents. It is tempting to feel flattered by such calls/interviews and even offers but I suggest you try and divorce yourself from this and look dispassionately at what is actually on offer and what is at risk. To a large extent, one knows an awful lot about one's existing job/organisation but one only knows what one is told about the 'offer'. That's why its important to do some research independently or ask to talk to others in the organisation because you otherwise only know what the organisation chooses to tell you (upsides, but few/none of the downsides).
You don't say whether this offer involves working directly for this friend, (is this person a Director, for example) or whether he is merely trying to recruit you into his organisation. If the working relationship would be close consider the impact on the friendship; you would end up working for this person and at one level the equal relationship you currently have will change forever if you then work for the person (I'm making an assumption here - no-one recruits another to be their boss).

[CharlieB5]

Thanks for your comments and just to clairfy this is a friend that is looking to recruit me into a position within the same company as he knows me skillset. We would not be working for each other as it is in a related but different part of the organisation. Oddly enough we became friends AFTER I worked as his boss in a previous job.

I recognise that in 'selling' the role, all of the good points are made very flowery and the others are maybe passed over but I dont think that he would push me into a role that was not good or at least appropriate.