Are you quitting your Job for right reasons?

Change is the only constant, and Job Change is an important aspect of one’s career. Driven by higher salaries and larger growth opportunities, everyone has own reasons for making a job switch. But as it’s said, “Grass is greener on the other side”, not all Job changes result in a dream come true. So, if you have a switch on your mind, you must focus on the following points:

- Job Change can play an important role in Career Growth
- Knowing When to Change
- There is a risk involved
- There are Good and Bad reasons for change

Role of Job Change in your Career

The road to leadership in career is versatility and ability to handle diverse functions, challenges, situations and responsibilities. Versatility comes with hands on experience across various roles and functions; hence the change is relevant for the career. However in some situation you may experience such versatility by working with same organisation, and in some situation you may need to Change your job for wearing versatile hats.

Every new hat you wear, brings out a new you, and provides a new direction to your career. However it is important to understand, that a short role, adds no value and too long role may lead to stagnation and non-complacency. Hence, knowing when to change is of utmost important.

Knowing when to Change

The curve below presents a brief insight into Growth vs. Time. This curve shows the right time when you must look for future opportunities.

Typically, when you feel you have reached a level of stagnation in your growth, it is the time when you should seek a new Role / Position. In such a situation, suggested approach is talking to your manager and exploring if the same can be done without changing the organisation.

Positive options for changing the job role
Above diagram shows various Positive options for changing the role once you have achieved sufficient in your present position

The Risk & Challenges

With change come risks and challenges. It is not easy as it looks unless you are taking smaller steps towards change. Bigger the jump, higher is the risk or challenge.

What can go wrong? If you haven’t thought about it yet, it’s important to think now. A job change brings new connections, culture, tasks, different difficulty levels, responsibilities and many newer elements in your professional life. Sometime it may lead to a newer city / country as well. Hence planning and managing change is inevitable before the change actually happens.

The steps that you take to manage the anticipated change are also very important:

Know the new people in advance - Today social media tells you enough about anyone.

Upgrade yourself - In today’s digital world, it is very easy to learn and acquire new skills. One can learn the skills required for new role or position, and do self-preparation by taking structured courses online or through self-learning.

Know the environment – Well understanding of your new location, place, traffic, and time to commute, with simple things like where you’ll get your nearest cup of cappuccino, shall come easy for new challenges.

Go Slow – Even after you have done a great work at researching about new life, you may like to go slow with expressing yourself. If you exhibit high degree of awareness from the start, you may impress people, however also set the expectation wrong, and once your ‘surprise’ ammunition are over, it shall look like an empty gun.

The reality shall only unfold once you join the new position however as discussed, one must do his/ her ‘homework’ well to ensure a smooth life at new work place. Most people get so complacent in their present environment that change looks very difficult to them, which itself is an alarming scenario as change can happen anytime, even if we don’t invite it.

The Good, Bad and the Ugly reasons of Job Change

Yes, there are bad and ugly reasons of job change, but before that, let’s quickly see the good ones.

As we discussed above, a Job Change may shape up your career, if you are changing for following – Good – Reasons:

- You growth is stagnated and you wish to take newer challenges
- You don’t find yourself fit & suitable in the present work culture
- You have a personal situation which demands the change
- The organisation is not recognizing your efforts
- You are facing ethical issues

As one can see, above are the reasons that leave you with no choice but to change, where you have done enough for your present organisation, and now for either of the above reason you have a inherent demand for change, it is probably time for same.

Such a change is always amicable, with stronger relationships with your present employer

However, if you are changing because-

- You got a great salary offer, as market demand for your kind of role grew significantly in the near past
- You got a call from a MNC or big company, a dream job, just few months after you joined your present job
- You don’t like people here
- Your don’t like your boss
- You have heard about a merger, lay-off, etc
- You are bored of this job
- You didn’t get the expected appraisal
- Your dear friend left the organisation
- Your girl friend joined this organisation, no room for privacy

This sudden impulse can be highly damaging to one’s career. As you see above, most of the reasons stated are ‘manageable’ and also indicate your own fault in some cases, like people relationship, getting bored, etc.

Further, such reasons cannot be stated clearly to your prospective organisation, and hence you shall resort to fabricated stories of why you are changing.

Chart highlights the key reasons for dissatisfaction at work

And now the big question is - why are you changing your Job? Are the reasons negative or Positive? And most importantly have you figured out the future?

It is time for introspection and following questions shall help

1. Why do you wish to change your Job, the real and true reason
2. Have you contributed enough to your present organisation
3. Have you learned enough, contributed enough to your career in present job
4. Are you prepared for the new position, do you know what it is? What it would need?
5. Have you upgraded yourself, taken enough and more learning sessions, courses to prepare for growth and higher salary (read responsibility, hard work and expectations)
6. Will you continue to have amicable relationship with your boss, management, co workers once you leave
7. Will you be able to state real reason for your change to your new employer
8. Will you be able to ensure your leaving has no damage to the organisation, by proper handover, replacement, etc

Career growth is important for everyone, however your resume should talk a lot about your work life and hence it is important to build it right, first ensuring it is True and second ensuring it is Good.

In a competitive market, everyone has become more intelligent in reading what is not written in the resume, by looking at the resume.

And in the situation when you shall be asked real question, reasons, Will you be able to stand tall?