Knowing when to leave your job and move to a new role can be a gut feeling, but that doesn’t mean you should let your emotions lead the way.
Making the decision to leave your job and move on to the next phase of your professional life is a significant milestone and one that should be given careful consideration. Transitioning to a new career takes planning, courage and sometimes a little push, but for college career services expert Laurie Nilo-Klug, it is important that you don’t wait for your breaking point before you begin to look for a new position.
“This may sound weird, but one of the easiest ways to leave professionally is to start looking at other opportunities when you initially feel ready to leave,” she told SiliconRepublic.com. “Many people wait until they reach a breaking point before looking for other opportunities. This can put a person in danger of being careless in their current role, being inconsiderate with colleagues, or leaving abruptly.
“Some other ramifications are jumping to another job too quickly, you might find that the new job is worse than where you were before and coming across as too eager or negative in job interviews. However, when you start looking for other opportunities before you get to that breaking point, you can take your time finding another opportunity and focus on the positive aspects of your current role.”
Spend your time wisely
Starting a new career, regardless of your stage of life, is going to be a somewhat anxious experience. While it is an exciting change in your life, it is only natural to worry about certain aspects, such as how you will be perceived, your suitability for the position and whether or not you enjoy the new responsibility.
Nilo-Klug would advise professionals to cultivate a support network of friends, colleagues and mentors to help navigate the sometimes tumultuous waters of working life, but also, just to offer a friendly face or voice outside of work when you need to remove yourself from that aspect of your day.
“It’s important to have friends outside of the office so that you can step away from work. It’s also important to have friends in the office to have people who just ‘get it’ when you talk about work. Having colleagues with the same or similar job titles as you can be helpful to bounce ideas off each other,” she said. “Having mentors in and outside of the company you work for is helpful for navigating office politics. You can navigate your career with more confidence when you have a good support network.”
She is of the opinion that employers should always strive to be considerate in situations where professionals are starting out in their new roles, but also in general. This is evident, she explained, in the popularity of career terms and buzzwords indicating the lengths unappreciated employees may go to prior to leaving their positions, for example, quiet quitting, ‘act your wage’ and ‘lazy girl jobs’.
It’s for everybody
The list of reasons not to leave your current role could be a mile long. From the fear of the unknown and a reluctance to be ‘uncomfortable’, or even just the fact that you like where you are, there will always be a good reason not to leave. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t.
The world of work has changed significantly in recent years and for many, particularly those returning to work or transitioning to an entirely new field, it could feel as though nothing is as it was. However, for Nilo-Klug, there are a number of tricks that we are all capable of learning that will ease the move.
She suggested making strong links between your past experience and the job you are applying for to show how your level of skill, determination and adaptability makes you an ideal candidate for the advertised position. Additionally, professionals should always research roles that depend on transferrable skills, which are talents that can be applied across a broad range of careers.
“I think it’s best to bring aspects of your old career. Bring along the positive aspects and learnings, but leave behind experiences that create negative assumptions.”
Finally, she advised career starters to always enter into a new role with curiosity. “When you start with curiosity, you’ll be able to learn a lot. One of the benefits of being the new hire is that you can use the ‘I’m new here’ card. No one expects you to know everything, so go ahead and ask all of your questions.”
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