| In early 2003, this would seem to be a no-brainer. But it isn't. And I apologize ahead of time to everyone who's unemployed and would be grateful to struggle with this dilemma. Chin up, eventually, it will be your turn.
The labor market is like this cosmic game of musical chairs. Everybody wants to be sitting down when the music stops. And nobody's in any hurry to get up and play again. After all, the U.S. unemployment rate is hovering around 6% these days. So …
Why Are You Thinking About Leaving?
For the last decade, it was an established principle that you have to move on in order to move up. Techies were blithely skipping from job to job every 6 -12 months to pursue the next rung on the career ladder and a big increase in the ole paycheck. Life was good.
Until it stopped. And we all know it's not coming back anytime soon. Every gainfully employed IT worker knows a bunch of people who are out of work. Why would anyone consider the risk of leaving a job right now? Here are some of the reasons I hear all the time:
- I just hate this place and I've got to get out
- I really want to do something different
- I've hit the ceiling and there's nowhere else to go
- I'm pigeon-holed as fill in name of job here and no one will see me as anything else
- I'm bored doing the same work over and over again
- I work with old technology and I'm worried about my future
- I've got a toxic boss (see Dealing with a Bad Boss)
- I'm underappreciated and/or underpaid
I've got good news and bad news about this list. The good news is that all of these are valid reasons for leaving a job. The bad news is that none of them are valid reasons for leaving a job.
How can this be, you ask? Everything depends upon the answers to two simple questions with hard answers:
1. Is it the work or the workplace?
2. Is it them or is it me?
Is It The Work or The Workplace?
Most of the reasons listed above - "I really want to do something different"; "I've hit the ceiling and there's nowhere else to go;" "I'm pigeon-holed as fill in name of job here and no one will see me as anything else;" "I'm bored doing the same work over and over again;" and "I work with old technology and I'm worried about my future" are work/workplace issues.
Most people make the assumption that the only way to address these reasons is with a new job. They don't generally stop to think that the new job is nothing more than a container for a new challenge. And that new challenge might be available right in their own back yard.
ML wrote to me, concerned that she didn't see any mobility for herself in within her Fortune 1000 employer. She said that she was seen as a good technical project manager, but she couldn't break out into overall project management. She asked whether she should leave or just wait for her manager to move on so that there would be a space for her to move up.
ML's mistake was not being proactive. She was waiting for her employer to notice her achievements and reward her with a new challenge. She didn't talk about her career goals or ask what she needed to do to get there. It's not surprising that nothing happened - most companies are hotbeds of inertia. Change only happens when there's a major stimulus. Have you done anything to create one?
Think about all the energy and effort you'll expend to find a new job. What result would you get if you invested half of that energy and effort in changing your situation at your current job? If you explored opportunities in other parts of the organization? If you tracked down someone to serve as a mentor to you? If you asked for assignments outside your normal scope of responsibility to grow your abilities?
This works best when you move in a calm, measured way. Don't lay out your objectives as a set of non-negotiable demands. Most effective? Offer a complement to your current responsibilities - not a replacement. The more you do to reassure your boss that you'll support his/her goals while you pursue your own, the more successful you'll be.
Is It Them or Is It Me?
The remaining reasons are primarily them or me issues - "I hate this place and I want to get out;" "I've got a toxic boss;" and "I'm underappreciated/underpaid." While the last two may be true (considering the particular facts), it's the way you react to all three statements that matters.
Recently, I got an email from newly-hired Reader B, who complained that his work was being reviewed daily by his supervisor and found wanting. He was being asked to do work outside his job description and reprimanded for coming in at 9 and leaving at 5:30. B. said he'd taken the job in pursuit of better work/life balance and resented being "threatened" by a supervisor who told him he was still in a probationary period and that the situation would be escalated to HR if it continued.
Despite the fact that B. cited general dissatisfaction among his team members, his anger wasn't justified. B.'s boss might be a jerk and a bully, but he's also following standard management procedure. B. was warned that his work was unsatisfactory, told what he had to do to improve and reminded of the consequences of not doing so.
Reader B. doesn't seem to get that he's in a "Me" situation. He's a newbie, with few rights and privileges. He thinks he can define his work situation based on a standard job description and his own personal needs. He argues with his supervisor's opinion of his work rather than asking for help and guidance. Did I mention that B. pointed out some errors in the boss's work too?
Talk about clueless! I'm just trying to make the case that it's easy to get bound up in your own perspective. Remember what they used to say back in the ‘60's? You're either part of the problem or part of the solution. It can be more comfortable to feel victimized than to face reality.
Reality today is uglier than it used to be. You don't hear all that much about having fun at work these days. Productivity is up because headcounts are down. Each workplace defines its own norms and standards (within the confines of the law, of course) and either you accept them or you move along. Only you can decide where that line is drawn and money talks in this labor market.
The Conclusion
There are always good and bad reasons to stay or go:
"Poor, poor pitiful me" - bad.
"This is the opportunity of a lifetime" - good.
"No risk, no reward" - good.
"I'll never get another chance" - bad.
Most everything else is ambiguous. Only you can decide which is which. It depends upon your career goals, your risk tolerance and your individual life situation.
More
Everyone faces the stay/go dilemma at some point in a career. Write to me at Jamie@jobcircle.com and tell me about your experience. What did you learn? What would you have done differently? What would you tell people about it? Send me your raves or regrets.
Enjoy this article? Read more of JobCircle.com's Career Coach articles.
Jamie Fabian spent more than 15 years as a human resources executive before changing careers to become a senior project manager for a growing IT consulting company. Now in management consulting for a large Pharma company, Jamie would like to be seen as a hybrid of Tom Peters, Tom Jackson, and Tom Wolfe, but spends too much time working, driving carpool and watching mindless TV to write more than this column. You can contact Jamie with questions and comments at jamie@jobcircle.com.
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