You’ve hit that crossroad in your career. Whether it’s because you’ve topped out, the company just isn’t growing so upward momentum is scarce or you’ve been there a long time and wonder what else is out there, something has you questioning whether it’s time to start looking for something new. How do you know that you’ll make the right decision and not end up regretting it? You can easily ask friends and family for advice, but know that they are going to give you their answers based upon their desires and that’s ok. After all, you are asking for their advice. The best way to make your decision is to form your own answers, based upon your desires. So here are a few steps to help get you there.
First, get really clear on what you want out of work right now and over the next three years or so. Is it flexibility, great medical benefits, mental challenge, higher levels of leadership, security, more money, education assistance, or even a different environment to challenge your knowledge? At different stages we need very different things from our jobs. When my kids were born, I was so grateful to be at IBM, where I was given flexibility to do my job in a way that worked best for my family. I loved the people I worked with, the continuous challenge, and amazing benefits. As my kids got older and I was approaching almost 13 years of employment in one company, I also wanted the challenge of using my skills somewhere else. I spent a lot of time getting very specific about what I was and wasn’t willing to leave for, so I didn’t land myself in a place of regretting my decision.
Second, block out the voices of others. So many times, we leave because we think we should want certain things like upward movement and better pay, but we are actually really happy where we are at. Don’t make your decisions based upon societal pressures. Decide based on what you want out of your career, at that moment. Making the decision based on someone else’s view of how our life should be lived, typically leaves us with a feeling of resentment and a job we don’t enjoy.
Third, determine whether you can get what you want right where you are or whether leaving is required. This might require having an open conversation with your boss, something too few people do when making decisions like this. Several times over my IBM tenure, I thought I would have to leave in order to get what I wanted out of work. I was living in North Carolina and had decided that I wanted to return back to Colorado to be closer to my family. Instead of finding another job and jumping ship immediately, I looked for ways I could stay with the company and still move back. When open positions started to dry up, I went back to my manager with a proposal that allowed me to move and do my same job from Colorado. Because I traveled almost 80% of the time, I ran the financials of flying out of Denver vs. Raleigh for all of my trips and it turned out, I could actually save the company money by moving. In the end, it was a no brainer for both of us. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t scared to death having the conversation, but thank goodness I did. In all my corporate years, not once did I regret having a conversation about my career desires with my boss. We think they know what’s in our head, but they simply don’t unless we tell them. Yet, they are likely involved in conversations all the time, regarding our future. Make sure they know what you want!
Fourth, if you decide to leave, keep referring back to your criteria from the first step. Too many people jump at the first chance once they’ve decided to leave without being intentional about what they really want. Define your non-negotiables up front and stick to that. When you do decide to make that leap, make sure you are very clear and like your decision why you are leaving. Everything after that is mind management. There is never a right or wrong decision, there is only the one you made and then what you choose to make it mean.
Need an objective party to work through this process with you? I can help you explore all the angles of a career move, so you can uncover your own dreams and desires. Schedule your free consultation to discuss.