How Do Know When it’s Time to Leave Your Job?
You might have heard the adage, “winners never quit and quitters never win.” While that saying may apply to a lot of things in life, it doesn’t always apply to your career. Sometimes quitting your career path can lead to a revitalized life, a bigger paycheck, and relief from an unhealthy atmosphere.
This article will provide 5 ways to figure out if it’s time to make a career change.
1. Stressing at the thought of going to work
It might be time to get a new job if the mere thought of going to work literally makes you sick. Think about changing your career path if you feel that your mental, physical, and emotional well-being is at stake.
Sure, all jobs will cause you stress sometimes. For the vast majority of people, stress comes with being a part of the American workforce. But many employees find that job stress is fairly easy to manage. If you’re finding that you experience nausea or headaches whenever you think about your job, consider contacting people in your network to start the job search process.
2. Complaining about your job too often
Everyone complains about their job sometimes, even the people who love their work. No one will ever love every aspect of their job all the time. But you might realize that your friends have gotten tired of you venting about your coworkers, your mean boss, or your horrible commute.
Excessive complaining about the conditions at your job may signal that it’s time for you to get on LinkedIn ASAP. Spending some of your work time polishing your resume sure beats annoying your friends about your whiny boss for the umpteenth time.
3. You don’t have a good boss
We all have had a bad boss or two (or ten) in our work life. While many of our issues at work may have a lot to do with our behaviors, sometimes it really is the boss’ fault that your workplace is in utter chaos. Having a bad boss definitely is a sign that you should abandon your job. However, the article stresses that before you go find a new job, try to rectify the situation by talking to someone in human resources or by moving to another department.
4. Coworkers are leaving the company
You might be in a workplace where it seems that every other week, someone is clearing out their desk. You might have attended a few going away parties in the past couple of weeks. Everywhere you turn, people are either updating their resumes, spending time on LinkedIn, or filling out online job applications. This website advises readers to ask a couple of your work friends why they’re looking for new jobs. The answer may not only surprise you but may also spur you to start your own search for a position at a company that better fits you.
5. You wouldn’t switch places with your boss
Do you know for a fact that you wouldn’t “pay the cost to be the boss?” Those who actively feel sorry for their boss might find they’re in the wrong job if they did a self-examination. First, ask yourself why you don’t want to seek a promotion in your current company. You might not only realize that you’re in the wrong job, you might even find that you need to get into a new industry.
Knowing that you’re in the wrong job is only the first step on a long journey. A lot of self-examination, networking, and self-promotion will have to take place if you want to find a job that you truly love. But if you do the work, you may find that going to work in the morning doesn’t have to be a stressful, anxious affair.