“Should I stay or should I go?"
The holiday season, leading into the New Year, is traditionally a time to get serious about your job and career. After all the festivities subside and reality sets in, you’re back to your old daily grind.
You’re forced to figure out what you want to do with your life. People start thinking, “Is this all there is? Do I want to be stuck in this job for the next 10 years?” The challenge is that most people don’t know what to do.
The current economy is tenuous at best. Inflation is raging at 40-year, record-high levels. In response, the Federal Reserve Bank is hiking interest rates higher to deflate inflation; however, its plan calls for layoffs. The rationale is that you won’t spend money without a job and inflation will subside.
If you quit your job, there are no guarantees that the other company will be better. If you decide to stay and stick it out, it's most likely that nothing will change.
To help you think through what to do, here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Does management value and appreciate your hard work and efforts?
- Are you fairly compensated?
- Is there a potential for growth and advancement?
- Do you feel a sense of purpose, and is the work meaningful?
- How does it feel going to work?
- Do you have work friends, an empathetic boss and competent executive leadership?
- Are you happy?
These are just a few of the questions you want to ask yourself. If you feel that your job lacks meaning and purpose, management doesn’t care about you, there is no upward mobility within the organization and you feel unhappy, these may be the signs that it's time to move on.
If You Decide To Go
Thoughtfully think through your reasons for wanting to switch jobs. Often, people quit a job too hastily. It could be due to an altercation with a co-worker, your boss said something mean or some quitfluencers left and now you feel that you should leave. Reacting in haste will not end well. You’ll take one of the first offers extended to you. After a while, you’ll realize you were too impulsive, but now it's too late. You find yourself stuck in another bad situation. If you leave, it will make your résumé look jumpy. If you remain, you’ll be miserable. When interviewing, the human resources person will sense your agitation and anger. It's not a good look. In a tight white-collar job market, it's easy for the HR person to take a hard pass and go on to the next applicant.
Don’t quit without another job already lined up, as the job market is too precarious. Put together a list of what you want in the new role. This should include target companies, the compensation you desire and the ability to grow, learn and develop.
Before you go on interviews, conduct due diligence. Research the companies, their management team and the people you will directly report to. This can be accomplished through Google searches and checking out profiles on LinkedIn.
Throughout the interviewing process, you should also interview the company to see if it’s a mutual fit. Ask hard-hitting questions to ensure you understand what you’re getting into. Inquire as to their financial situation. Has the company enacted layoffs, or are there plans for job cuts in the near term? In light of the FTX crypto catastrophe, look into any potential shading dealings at the firm. When you meet with the manager, human resources and others involved with the hiring process, get a vibe check. You want to know if they are happy, stressed, engaged or disengaged. If possible, find someone you know at the firm and ask for their honest assessment of the company and its people.
