How do you know when it is time to change jobs?
I have heard this statement from past co-worker’s numerous times, “I have had enough, I need a new job!”
Companies are always changing from an organizational view. Promotions, layoffs, individuals leaving for new opportunities. The prospect of constant changes and reorganization has become the new normal.
We all have experienced them at one point or another. I have personally experienced within 2 years, 5 managers, this would have made your head spin out of control.
If you are lucky the new manager will be someone that will let you perform your daily work with little oversight. The worst-case scenario, you are reporting to someone who doesn’t understand what you do. You are now working under someone who is micromanaging you. Your days of coming to work with a smile on our face are over. Coming to work has become dreadful.
You must decide after a month of the reorganization, do you want to stay, or do you want to go?
What are your options?
Door number one! Do you have any insights from other co-workers of new positions in their departments?
Are you going to apply knowingly HR will notify your current manager about your application?
How is the new manager going to react? Even though HR prohibits retaliation you are always at the mercy of that manager.
Instead of taking a chance moving to another department based on how the current manager’s reaction could be, you choose door number two! You are updating your resume and posting on job boards and social media, hoping to connect with a recruiter that will help you land a new job.
It can be overwhelming to think about your options and moving forward with them. A lot of individuals would rather continue to complain about their job, and stay where they are unhappy, thinking their fate is sealed. When in fact, they are the one building that illusion around them based on their fears.
We all hear about the state of the job market, competitive job interviews etc. You can fall easily in the trap of believing there is a shortage. Now you just have projected to the Universe there is a lack of jobs for you as well. You need to change your thought process from shortage to abundance.
Are you ready to make any kind of changes?
Ask yourself if you are ready to coexist with your new manager?
When commuting to work do you feel your anxiety increasing to the point where you want to turn around and go home?
Do you feel you are going nowhere?
Are you feeling trapped?
Do you plainly “hate your job”
Have you reached the point where you are not learning anything new, but feel like you are regressing?
Are you bored?
Are you staying in your current just to pay the bills? Many individuals will stay where they are for this reason, regardless of the stress it causes them daily. If this is the case most people will go back inside their shell until they can retire or get laid off.
If you are staying, I am wishing you well. Remember becoming disgruntled toward other co-workers is not going to help. You have made your choice, you are in the driver’s seat!
If you choose to go then you are moving to the next level. You can, in some cases, start your own company on the side while still working, until the company is profitable.
Or you have updated your resume, posted online, a recruiter is helping you. You have been applying for jobs that interest you. The doors of possibilities are wide open to you!
You are now going through the interview process, this is exiting but you still must do some homework. Know the company with whom you are interviewing, doing some research about the company can give you an idea who the company is. What are the core values and mission of that company? Do you feel it is the perfect fit for you?
Come to the interview prepared, have at least two successful stories, two stories where you have failed to meet a deadline. Prepare a set of questions about the job and work environment that you can ask the hiring manager.
A few things to consider during the interview:
Refrain on exposing the current company’s “dirty laundry” it is not appealing for any hiring manager to have someone speaking poorly of their current manager. It raises questions about you, if they are going to hire you. Are you going to say the same about them?
If someone is asking you about a time when you couldn’t deliver a task on time, do not say I have never had one, then proceed to explain a complete failure about a project. In all my working life, I missed a couple of deadlines, not a lot but a few, that I could share with the recruiter. We all at one point have had a story when we couldn’t meet a deadline for one reason or another.
Write a thank you email to each of the individuals you have meet. This will make a huge difference to the hiring manager.
Now let’s talk about the salary, I have never spoken about the salary during the pre-interview with HR. I agreed verbally with them to move to the next step of the process. My focus during the first interview with the manager was about the job requirements. Paid attention to the environment, what kind of atmosphere do I feel, is it positive? I ask myself if I could work with the hiring manager. I made sure if they were interested in me, to let the hiring manager know I was going to negotiate the salary with him. When the offer letter was sent to me, I provided a counter offer, explaining why I was worth the amount I was requesting.
If you are looking to change company, make sure you are doing it for the right reason. I have often seen individuals leaving companies for the wrong reason than coming back later. Because they repeated the same patterns somewhere else with different people, they didn’t learn their life lessons.
Always follow your gut feeling, if something sounds off than something is off. It is better to be in the driver’s seat to say no to a position that doesn’t feel right, than jump in with both feet and later regret it. I have turned down position’s based on an individual’s behavior during the interview or a bad feeling about the company when I walk in. Become an observer from the first time you enter the company to the time you exit the company. You can learn a lot.
During your search try to stay positive. I understand sometimes it is hard, with all the stress we are putting on ourselves. Keep faith that you are going to land a great position.