Finding a new job is one of the top things for a new years resolution. However, it can happen at any time.
Getting mad at a boss, or having a bad day is normal. Hopefully they occur infrequently. But when those days start becoming more and more frequent, its often a sign that it’s time to find a new job.
It’s tempting to quit when you feel like your contributions don’t matter. I get it.
Tip: But don’t quit without another job lined up.Don’t be emotional. Be smart! Job hunt.
Quitting is easy. Finding another job is not as easy.
True Story: The second job I had was tough. The owner wanted to sell the business, so he put nothing into his business. He failed to pay vendors so supplies never came, and customers often walked out without returning. He turned a deaf ear to any suggestions as he didn’t want this to be his problem any more and generally neglected the building, the business, and everything about it. Employees left and often weren’t replaced, which meant more work for everyone else.
The poor quality of service and harsh work environment led me to quit. It was hard to walk away from friends, but easy to leave the job. However, it also took nearly 3 months to find another job, and a several more weeks before I actually started the new job. Being out of work 4 months meant my savings dwindled to nothing, and my bills ran up all while having a new wife and child on the way.
I stayed at that new job for a while (several years). It had many of the same problems, and some different ones. It was stressful. But this time I waited till I found a new job before I quit. When my (soon to be) new employer asked me when I was going to give notice I told them as soon as I had a written offer in hand. They emailed me that afternoon, and I turned in my notice the next day.
That was a good day for me there. The best I had in a long while. But I didn’t suffer lost income, bills piling up, etc. It took some time and suffering on my part, but in the long run it was worth it.
Now that I’m a little older, and hopefully a little wiser, I’ve come up with some ideas on when it is a proper time to quit a job vs when you should be looking.
Unethical and/or Illegal Things
You should never be asked to do something unethical or illegal. These aren’t necessarily the same thing, but I put them together. Now just because it’s something you don’t want to do, doesn’t mean it’s unethical. And every job has parts of it that aren’t fun.
I like to let people know that what they’ve asked is not right. Sometimes, things go crazy and people don’t realize what they’ve asked. Asking someone “Are you sure you want me to __________? Wouldn’t that be illegal/not right/have bad ramifications?” Sometimes they just need to be reminded – sometimes they want to see if you will do it so they don’t have to.
Depending upon their answer is whether you should keep working, start to look for another job, or quit outright.
Unnecessarily Dangerous Work Environment
This is closely related to the first thing, and can be tricky because it dangerous can fall into different categories. In some cases you need to leave immediately, in others, you can look for a new job and suffer for a few weeks or months until needed.
Dangerous can obviously be physical – there are lots of jobs which have danger associated with them. But there are also safety precautions to limit the danger – so it isn’t unnecessarily dangerous.
For example, working in a bad part of town and being the one to lock up and leave is different than being part of a lock up team, which all leaves together as there is safety in numbers.
Dangerous can also be in how you are treated. Being physically assaulted is clearly bad. However being yelled at, belittled, etc, isn’t good either. I’ve had good bosses who corrected mistakes I made, and made sure I knew what I was doing incorrectly, and I’ve had bad bosses who yelled and belittled me for making mistake when I was never trained on what to do. One I stayed with for years and have still been known to do him favors when he contacts me, one I left as quickly as I could.
Each person has their own point of what is safe vs what is dangerous. If you are not in imminent physical danger, I say look for a new job, but don’t quit unless you have one lined up.
How good is your manager?
I’ve stayed at bad jobs because of good managers. And I’ve left decent jobs because of bad managers… sticking around because of work friends is common, but I wouldn’t say wise. Work friends come and go, and you can always make new work friends, or keep meeting with your old friends.
Managers are a bit more tricky. I had one place I worked where we had five managers in two years. They couldn’t keep them. The last was good though, and I stayed until he left. Once he announced he was leaving, I started looking.
On the other hand, I had a decent job, which payed a lot, but the manager was a ghost. Don’t expect to hear from them, know what’s coming down the line, etc. While I like a certain amount of autonomy, I didn’t like being ignored. I found a new job. It unfortunately didn’t start for almost eight weeks – so I stayed with my position until it was time to give notice, and then I happily did.
What are Job Prospects Like?
Each industry has different levels of job prospects. And just because the overall job market is good, doesn’t mean it is for what you are trained in. Look to know how likely you are to find a job.
If overly difficult, look at what it would take to go into a new job field. The days of doing the same basic job for your whole career is over. Now a days, people can expect to work in three to five different career fields. Sometimes they are related, sometimes they are vastly different.
I met a teacher who used to be a police officer. I know a teacher who became a game designer. I’ve met farmers who started to work in product fulfillment, and retail mangers who do anything but now…
Leaving a job voluntarily, and not having one for six months or more is difficult to survive financially, so have some place to land if you can. Almost as bad would be taking anything that came along because you were about to be evicted, etc. That’s never a good way to find a good job.
Having a Job Lined Up
I’ve determined that looking for a new job is one of the hardest things for people to do. I’ve worked with people who swore that this year they’d have a new job, only to not go on a single interview…not because they weren’t qualified, but because they didn’t apply anywhere. They hated it, but it was a hated environment that they knew. They knew their horrible boss, they stupid co-workers, and the enemy you know is better than the one you don’t. So they stayed.
Others, and far fewer, left jobs taking a “leap, and a net will appear.” Well, sometimes it does, and sometimes you hit concrete. I’ve even seen a few come back after a few weeks, and that never looks good.
So if you are wanting to quit, step 1 is look for a job. Luckily there are lots of opportunities to find jobs now. “In the old days” finding a job in a new city was tough. Now you can go online and search for jobs in any state. Something may make it easier or harder to leave that job, family/friends/house to sell/etc, but none of those are insurmountable.
Taking time off work to interview is often the hardest thing. I’ve spent more than one lunch break interviewing, and that worked well for me. Most future employers will understand that, and I’ve known many who interviewed people before normal office hours, after, or lunch, to work around schedules. Usually, not wanting to miss work, will help you look good for a future employer. A poor employer will be more demanding on that, and may be a sign that they are not who you want to work for.
Once you interview, get a job offer, in writing. Usually there’s a clause that they can back out if they find something in a background screen etc. Verbal promises are easy…and lots of people I’ve found will say “We’ll get back with you,” when in reality it was just easier to say that than to say that you weren’t a match.
With an offer in writing, the job is usually an assured thing. That’s when I give notice.
Never burn a bridge, no matter how bad it is
I’ve worked for some bad companies in my years, and I’ve had some bad bosses – neither of which I’d ever want to work for again. That doesn’t mean that I still didn’t give proper notice.
You never know who knows someone, and that can prevent you from getting another job, promotion, etc. So leave on good terms, and step one is usually giving written notice.
Some companies will escort you out right away, some will hold you for the entire time. Regardless of what they do, you did the right thing, and that’s important.
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