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Should I Stay Or Should I Go?
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Anuradha Mayer
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Anuradha Mayer | Excelle
August 19, 2008
Thinking about taking a new job at a new company? The prospect can be simultaneously exciting and downright terrifying. Professionals cite deciding to leave a job or company as being amongst the toughest decisions they have had to make in their career.
With the amount of time we spend at work, we should find our experience to be mostly fulfilling. One executive I know has joked that “work is like marriage and if you are going to be married, you might as well be in love.”
Besides compensation, there are many factors that go into taking a new job. Here are just a few to consider:
• *Are the company values in alignment with yours?* Think about what matters to you most such as integrity, collaboration or fun. And are these values actually real on how the company does business and treats employees? These values set the tone for the company’s overall culture.
• *What will your lifestyle be like?* Does the new job involve extensive travel or long hours in the office? Will you have the ability to work flexibly? Are you required to wear suits(or the dreaded pantyhose) or will you be dressing casually?
• *Who are the people you will work with?* What is the caliber of your co-workers? Are they the kind of people that you can learn from and do great work with? Will they be supportive and team oriented? And are they people that you may potentially socialize with?
• What is the role and how does it fit into your overall career plan? I often tell people to think less about their next job and more about the one that comes after that which is the ‘real job’ you are striving for. It is this next job that should be setting you up to be ready for that real job.
• *Is this the right time in your life to make a change?* Starting a new job takes an enormous amount of energy to absorb all the new ways of doing things and building relationships with new people. Do you have the energy to devote to establishing yourself in a new company at this point in your life? Or are there things going on in your personal life that require your attention and energy now?
As you weigh all these factors together, does the new job and company stack up as the right next move? To learn more about managing your career, check out We are All Self-Employed: How to Take Control of Your Career by Cliff Hakim.
esperanca1
about 1 year ago
4 comments
Thanks for the great article! Sometimes we also have to think about how much time we have left. Time (not money) is the most valuable asset you own. When this runs out, so does opportunity. For example if you're 30 years old, one wise friend asked me:"you have five decades left, what are you doing to do with the time." Further,
1. What do I want to be doing on a daily basis ten years from now?
2. When I'm 85, if I live that long, and I look back,
Who do I want to have become
What do I want to be leaving behind me
Where do I want to be going
What do I want to be bringing with me or sending ahead of me?
These are profound questions to help one embark on the journey of not merely making a living, but building a good life without regrets. Sometimes I think we fail to invest thought into the lifespan aspect. We think, "well this is good for now," and before we know it, our NOW and TIME is up. Become the navigator of your life. All the best!
Belkis
about 1 year ago
152 comments
What a great article that evaluates the important questions to ask before taking the next big step. Most of them ran into my head before making the complicated decision.
anuradha
about 1 year ago
8 comments
Hi swb10two,
Good for you for considering other options and realizing you already have a good gig. Sometimes it takes looking at those options to validate that we are in the right place.
anuradha
about 1 year ago
8 comments
Hi TallAnna,
Appreciate the comment about considering if this is the right time. I know so many folks that stay because the time just is not right. Have you perhaps done that in your career?
anuradha
about 1 year ago
8 comments
Hi Insanitek,
Thanks for the comment! Good for you to be thinking about this stuff while in grad school.
Excelle_Editor
about 1 year ago
546 comments
These are such thoughtful reminders of what to consider before leaving. Especially the last point - Is this the right time in your life to make a change? Sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in one thing that it's easy to forget to take a step back & look at the overall picture. Each job is a stepping stone & a learning experience to the next.
AJaneChambers
about 1 year ago
440 comments
I recently debated switching careers and had to evaluate the decision quickly (received a couple of job offers in the new profession). The questions that you highlight in your article are so important, and the answers that I found in my case led to turning down both jobs and realizing what I had in my current (self-employed) situation.
Insanitek
about 1 year ago
296 comments
Thanks for the enlightening article. Sometimes I forget these things when looking for my new "career" in graduate school.