When to stay, when to leave

Over 2 million people voluntarily leave their jobs in the United States each month. Do you want to be one of those people who takes a chance and seeks a new job for any of the following reasons?

• Better pay or benefits for the same job
• Increased options for advancement at a growing company
• Cutting back or increasing hours due to life changes (new baby, kids graduated, divorce)
• Current company is struggling - headcount, raises, bonuses, etc.
• Escaping a toxic work environment - bad manager, co-workers, general drudgery in the office

Let's talk about the last two bullet points, because this is really when a judgement call needs to be made. Do you leave a job that may be paying the bills, to take a chance on another company that could be worse? What if you leave your job and end up someplace worse?

A friend of mine went through this experience recently. Let's call him Chris. His company was downsizing his department, and he made it through the first round of lay-offs. Management assured him that  further cuts were unnecessary, but my friend couldn't shake the feeling that more bad things were in store. At this point I should add that Chris was married, had a 2 year old child, and his wife didn't work outside the home. His family was completely dependent upon his income. Needless to say, he was losing sleep over this decision. If he plays it safe and remains with his company, he could end up in the unlucky position where he is forced to find a new job without a job (remember, it's always easier to find a job when you have one; this avoids any unfortunate stigma with hiring managers). But if he "jumped ship" he could end up someplace else worse.

When we met, the first thing we did was agree on his goals. Without a clear goal in mind, career management and advancement is very difficult. Each one of us must determine what we need versus what we want. For example, if your goal is to retire young, you might pursue different jobs and industries than someone who wants work/life balance and a secure job. In order to determine goals, think about your priorities to help get you started. What is important to you? Rank these items in order from most to least important. 

Once we determined his goals (which in his case were a secure position, high salary, close to home) we were able to cull the list of potential companies he should target in his search. When he compares jobs from companies that meet his requirements against his current job, the decision to leave starts to get a little easier. In general, we can reduce anxiety about career changes when we begin comparing apples to apples instead of the abstract "some job could be better/worse."

One key thing to keep in mind during job searching is that we need to keep our heads clear and minimize extra anxiety. When we're anxious we're not going to think as clearly and this will impact our ability to perform in interviews, networking functions, and our current jobs. Always try to sketch out how something looks in reality versus what might be your biggest fear or greatest hope. Staying in either of those two extremes for too long is not going to lead you to your next successful career change.

Are you considering a career change? What is holding you back from starting this process today?