Forgive me for using the lyrics of the 1970/80s band, The Clash, as the headline for my post, but this cry of teenage punk angst seems to neatly sum up the various dilemmas of the disgruntled or ambitious employee. When is the right time to leave a job?
For the would-be job leaver there are a few dilemmas that may apply to you:
Dilemma #1 – Have I been in the job long enough to avoid being seen as a job hopper?
Dilemma #2 – Is the grass really greener elsewhere and might I miss further opportunities to advance right here?
Dilemma #3 – Will I get a suitable reference from this employer or might they make life difficult?
Dilemma #4 – Have I really got everything I could out of this job and am I just thinking I have to leave so that the grass doesn’t grow under my feet?
Dilemma #5 – Am I just running away, whether from the fact I can’t do this job or because of the boss, colleagues, or the general working environment?
One or a few of these dilemmas may be familiar to you, so let’s look at them in turn:
Dilemma #1 – Have I been in the job long enough to avoid being seen as a job hopper? Conventional wisdom suggests that a job seeker should stay no longer that two years in a job, but then the beauty of conventional wisdom is that it can be transformed to fit any occasion and I’ve also heard twelve months as the optimum time to leave. Too short a time period, and certainly less that twelve months, will raise suspicions, but more important than the length of time you stayed in a job was what you achieved while you were there. Most importantly it needs to be verifiable, perhaps you completed a landmark project in record time, or you doubled sales in a few months. Providing you have convincing and valid reasons for changing jobs, then this should not be an issue, particularly if your skills and experience are in demand.
Dilemma #2 – Is the grass really greener elsewhere and might I miss further opportunities to advance right here? This is a valid dilemma: essentially you are giving up the certainty of your existing employer for the uncertainty of another. It could well be the case that if you stay there are opportunities in the pipeline or, perhaps, your existing manager didn’t know you were looking to move on and they may make you an attractive offer that encourages you to stay. There is no harm in quietly saying to your boss, “I am ready for my next challenge and I thought you should be the first to know.” They’ll appreciate your candour and you may be surprised by what they come up with.
Dilemma #3 – Will I get a suitable reference from this employer or might they make life difficult? This is a tough one and largely depends upon what you achieved in the time that you were with your current employer and what you relationship with them is like. Libel laws discourage anyone from saying anything defamatory about you in a reference, but some places might just acknowledge that you worked there and not add anything else. Do you have other potential referees from other posts that you have held elsewhere who will be willing to give you a reference? References are notoriously unreliable and often distorted, so are there other testimonials or other evidence of your achievements that you can offer as well?
Dilemma #4 – Have I really got everything I could out of this job and am I just thinking I have to leave so that the grass doesn't grow under my feet? As the saying goes, “a rolling stone gathers no moss.” Sometimes, however, we feel we have to move on, just because we get a sense that we have been somewhere too long. Maybe I am enjoying my role, perhaps the pay is fine, the job still excites me, and I like the people I am working with. So stay, for the time being, and whilst each of those factors apply. Perhaps when one of those factors changes, think again and consider whether that move is now overdue.
Dilemma #5 – Am I just running away, whether from the fact I can’t do this job or because of the boss, colleagues, or the general working environment? “To thine own self be true,” said Polonius in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Are you running away because you haven’t been able to do the job? Is the boss stifling you or blocking you from doing anything? Are the colleagues unhelpful or part of clique that doesn’t include you and it’s creating a bad atmosphere? Whatever the reasons, be honest with yourself as to the real motivations as to why you want to leave, if it is you, then you will find the same self behind a desk at your new place, so you might like to consider what things you can do to change.
It’s never an easy decision and you should find some comfort in the fact that others have faced similar dilemmas in the past, and if you are still unsure, then there’s always the sagely advice that comes courtesy of The Clash:
“If I go there will be trouble, An' if I stay it will be double.”
Written by Will Trevor - Founder and Training Consultant at Windsor Training: will.trevor@windsortraining.net
The Clash lyrics courtesy of writers: Mick Jones, Joe Strummer - Copyright: Nineden Ltd.
Picture Credit: By High Contrast (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0-de (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/de/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons
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