There are a lot of reasons to stay at a job — it pays well, you have a great commute, you have co-workers who double as friends. And even if your job isn’t your dream job, if you’re comfortable and content, it may seem worth it.
But that attitude could lead to complacency, which then leads to laziness, and then fear. Laziness, because when you don’t have to do more than keep the status quo, you don’t challenge your skill set by constantly learning and improving on the job. When that happens, fear kicks in, and you become afraid of looking for another job because of the fear that your skill set isn’t up to par anymore, or the job market is drastically different.
According to management author and career expert Suzy Welch, knowing when to quit your job can either propel your career forward or set you back. These days, the average worker will change jobs four times by the age of 32; if you want to advance professionally, you need to regularly assess your career happiness and goals within your personal framework. Reviewing your accomplishments is not only good for your ego (with the bonus that you’ll get in the habit of regularly updating your resume!), but you’ll also be able to gauge the market conditions within your industry.
Here are four signs that signal whether you need to find more satisfaction out of your current job or discover new opportunities and move on.
1. You’re Not Learning New Things
Maybe the skill-set you came with to the job is the same one you have now, three (or five!) years later. If your learning curve has flattened out or you’re really not feeling challenged, you may need to move on. You don’t have to learn something new every day, but you should be picking up new skills and enhancing your core skills. Most of the time, this involves being proactive — you could ask to go to professional development conferences, involve yourself in a new project or take classes in your discipline. But if these options aren’t made available to you, it means your company isn’t serious about investing in your career development.
2. You’re Not Advancing
Same goes for the external recognition of your skills — if you’ve been at the same company and position for the past three years and haven’t been promoted, it’s time to see how you can propel your career forward elsewhere. Maybe the company owner’s kid holds the top position in your career path, or another longtime employee. Whatever it is, if you don't see a path for promotion or growth within your company, move on.
3. You’re Not Getting Feedback on Your Work
Maybe your direct manager doesn’t give you feedback on your work, or the feedback that he or she gives you isn’t actionable in ways that you can use to grow as a professional or move up your organization. If this is the case, you should be looking elsewhere. It’s hard to improve when you don’t know what it takes to grow within your company. Great managers are invested in your work and career development; they should offer advice and guidance regularly.
4. Your Gut Says it is Time to Go
Do you have the sense that you’ll be better off somewhere else? Do you spend eight hours in the office daydreaming about another place? Don’t ignore your gut feeling; no one knows your work environment better than you do. If you're feeling 'meh' about the product or service your company is in, that's a sign that you should move on, says Suzy Welch. "Life is short and precious." She adds, "If you're being called morning, noon and night to follow a particular passion, go for it.”
Time to move on? Check out all of our open jobs here.
