When to quit your job and look for a new one

Monday, September 3, 2012

When to quit your job and look for a new one



When I was with a financial firm, a colleague from the yester years met me, and the first thing he said to me was “I am pretty sure that you will not leave the company till they kick you out”. He knew I was not satisfied with my present job. And he also knew that I was not performing to my potential. My sales had gone down, and I was somehow dragging in.

For him to comment seemed perfect, but I still continued because my mind was not ready to accept any change. I was already working for many years in this firm, and to make another start would mean adjusting to a different setup once again. 

However, I also had this in my hindsight that my days could be numbered, and I might be sacked anytime. And I am pretty sure that many of you had often faced this kind of situation. But you still didn’t act, because you don’t know when to quit. How will you decide that it’s time to move ahead? 

When you know you might be sacked

There are times when you get signals that your time is up, it may be because you don’t fit into the scheme of things in the present set-up, or if you are in sales, then your performance needs catching up. It could also be your relationship with your boss, which is dragging downwards. These are times, which inform you that your days might be over. And if you are still not bothered, then you can be in for some serious trouble. Hunting for jobs while you are still stuck with a company gives you opportunities to negotiate better pay and position.  

Your promotion is stalled 

When a company feels that you are no longer needed in the set-up, you could be sidelined. The best way here would be to hold back your promotion. Companies use this tactic to displace influential employees. Some would say why a company will tolerate someone, if they do not want to. Sometimes companies do not want to disturb the in-house equilibrium. The employee in question might be someone too powerful who could influence others, and therefore, companies do not intend taking risks. 

Your equal becomes your boss

I have closely seen how companies cramp someone, when they prefer not to see him in the set-up. They could compel him to report to someone, who has been his equal for a long time. And believe me, that is a thorn in the flesh, companies do this because they are bound by certain policies. Sacking someone straight way will shake others belief in the company. The employees will start pondering if he could be sacked, then where we stand, particularly, if the sacked individual has been a long trusted one. 

If you ever come to this, seek a job while you are still at it, or else the company might make your life more miserable, and take your breath out of you. 

When you want a change

You had worked hard all this while, and given your best for the company, but now you can take no more. You are sick of shaking legs with the same old employees, and you are even sicker of taking your boss’s nonsense every day. If you are up to this, then you are advised to look for something better and different, otherwise, things will get even worse. 


What if, some companies come out with better offer? Individuals work hard to earn, every penny counts in the end. And there’s no harm in grabbing higher pay jobs, particularly, if it satisfies you. 

No visible growth in the company

Some companies seemed to have taken a bad hit due to recession, or due to any other reason. It is very difficult to imagine any growth happening, especially, when companies goes through such phases. It necessarily doesn’t mean that the company will not bounce back. It all depends upon how you view the situation. If the situation is not favourable, and doesn’t seem to improve very soon, then the ball is in your court. 

There are also times, when you have reached a point, beyond which there’s no possible growth in your company for you. Your immediate hierarchy above you is someone who has been around for a long time, and the company view that person more significant than you, well in that case, you will never get that relay baton to move forward. 

Conclusion 

Never jump on the bandwagon without a reason. Always find a reason to do so, change your professional set-up, only if you have to. Change should bring good tidings, and if it doesn’t, then you might well regret doing it.

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