Should I Stay or Should I Go?
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Posted By:
Phil Rosenberg In: Business Professional
That uncomfortable feeling … A self assessment of when to
consider a job change. But how do we tell if this bad feeling is
temporary, or something that we can overcome? Should I Stay or
should I go? If you’re in this situation, should you stick it
out? Or should you listen to your feelings and get out?
That uncomfortable feeling … A self assessment of when to
consider a job change.
I spoke to a friend yesterday, who asked for some advice. It
seems her sales job wasn’t going as well as she had hoped. She
wasn’t making enough money to cover her expenses, and she was
“starting to feel uncomfortable”.
Feeling uncomfortable is our internal warning system. Remember
the Robot from “Lost in Space”, who would announce “Danger, Will
Robinson!” We all have that Robot inside us, that internal gauge
that tells us if everything is good, or not.
But how do we tell if this bad feeling is temporary, or
something that we can overcome?
My friend has a dilemma that many people see in their career.
She had moved 4 months ago to a sales role, after 3 months of
training. On one hand, she’s getting negative feelings from her
boss….On the other hand, she’s only been in her new role for 4
months. New and heavily commissioned salespeople often struggle
and feel this way at the 90 day mark, and don’t start seeing
results for 6-12 months, depending on the
company/product/service. Veteran salespeople know that the
start-up phase of a new job is challenging.
Should I Stay or should I go?
If you’re in this situation, should you stick it out? Or should
you listen to your feelings and get out? The answer depends on
the kind of person you are, and your specific situation.
Ask yourself these tough questions:
YOU:
1. How uncomfortable are you (scale of 1-10)?
2. How concerned that you are about to get terminated?
3. Do you perform you best under pressure, or do you perform
best when comfortable & confident?
4. How is the stress affecting your health? Your sleep? Are you
getting sick more often?
5. How is the stress affecting your relationships? Family?
6. Are there insurance or benefits reasons (Ex: education,
pension, vesting, stock plans, etc) that are overriding reasons
to stay at your current company?
7. Are there other reasons that leaving would be difficult? (Ex:
Flexibility, lack of relevant jobs in your area, commute,
daycare/school proximity)
8. How much financial cushion do you have?
YOUR BOSS & COMPANY:
9. Is your company profitable? Hitting its revenue and profit
numbers?
10. Is your company hiring, holding headcount steady, or
expanding?
11. Are you hearing company messages about growing sales, or
managing costs?
12. Is your company seeking to be purchased, to purchase/merge
with other companies, or stable?
13. Is your boss’ job stable? Is your boss under pressure, or
considered a key player?
14. If your boss makes you feel uncomfortable, does he/she do
this to others on the team? Or is it just you?
15. Has your boss taken away some of your responsibilities (or
accounts)? Are you still in the loop for communications or
meetings, or do you feel left out? Has this changed recently?
16. What have others in your company done in your situation?
17. What have you seen when others were terminated within your
company? How long had the problems been going on before
termination? How far in advance were formal warnings given?
18. How likely will your boss get promoted or leave? Can you
outlast your boss?
19. Would you want to get transferred to another department
within your company? How likely & how quickly can you get
transferred?
20. Large company vs. Small? Liability and regulatory concerns
faced by large companies often make it a longer and harder
process to fire employees. If you’re in a small company,
especially if your boss is the owner, termination decisions are
typically driven more by emotion than policy/procedure.
JOB MARKET:
21. What’s the job market like? Do you think it will be better,
or worse, 6 months from now?
22. How transferrable are your skills? What’s your realistic
estimate of how long your search will take?
23. Do you want to stay in your current field/industry? Or do
you want to change?
24. How prepared are you for a job search? When was the last
time you updated your resume?
25. How much time do you have to search for a job while
continuing work in a pressured environment?
Some overall thoughts:
Reasons to stay:
If you haven’t had any two year job tenures in a while, consider
toughing it out. It is even more difficult if you were at your
current employer less than a year and leave without a couple of
success stories. Employers discount “bouncy” resumes, and judge
job hopping candidates as having less adaptability to tough
situations. If you feel you’re handcuffed to the company due to
benefits, you likely have a challenging decision.
Reasons to go:
You usually have a job search advantage if you make the decision
to leave, before possible termination (Exceptions: Long
severance packages, really bad job market conditions, no
relevant jobs in area). It is more difficult to confidently
explain why things didn’t work out, in a way that makes you look
good. Even if your company had layoffs due to losses, employers
often view this as poor judgment on your part, especially in
management roles. If the job market is good now, strike while
it’s hot (it won’t be hot forever).
If you are being asked to do things that are unethical or
illegal – go. Period.
Either Way:
Get your resume ready, and start networking, just in case. You
never know what kinds of great opportunities are out there until
you open yourself up to the possibilities. And it’s good to be
prepared. |
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