Should I Stay or Go?

We are just coming out of the Great Resignation – a period of time spurred by the pandemic and a booming job market when unprecedented numbers of workers quit their jobs.

And apparently, a few more “Greats” have surfaced since then:

The Great Retirement – Baby boomers hanging up the cleats and deciding to retire.

The Great Reshuffle – People not only switching jobs and companies, but changing industries altogether. Of those who changed jobs in 2021, more than half changed careers entirely, according to Pew Research.

The Great Relocation – People moving to new locations due to the increase of remote work, and a booming job market more generally.

As you’ll notice, all of these “Greats” result in an employee leaving his/her current job and company. They don’t represent people staying put…at all. 

As a recruiter, I speak with dozens of talented people every week who are considering a job change. But I’m here to raise a bit of caution about changing jobs because sometimes, the best decision is to stay right where you are. 

Job changes are a big deal, riddled with risk. In fact, 33% of new hires leave that job within 6 months (CareerBuilder). 

So before handing in your letter of resignation, take a step back, a deep breath, and consider the following four aspects of your current situation.

Mission 

The mission of your organization drew you to work there at one time. You are passionate about what it’s doing and who it’s serving. However, nothing is perfect! It’s easy to lose sight of the mission while you’re working day-to-day in the weeds: making cold calls, designing power points, and populating excel docs. Every organization will have difficult people – coworkers, leaders, donors, volunteers. Is that reason enough to leave it all behind? Take a step back. Is your organization still making an impact on the world? Does this still excite you and align with your passions? Perhaps a bit of soul searching and recommitting is all that you need.

Leader

65% of employees would rather a new boss than a pay raise (Inc.)

Is your boss awesome? Are you in the 35% that actually like their boss? Does he/she care about you, and not just what you produce for them? If the answer to these questions is yes, then think very carefully about leaving. Your boss is a key factor in a satisfactory work situation. It is hard to find a great one, and risky to try a new one.

Career Story

What are you building towards? Where do you want to be in 5 or 10 years? Have you earned sufficient experience, developed the right skill sets, and established a track record of success in all of the building-block-roles required to get to that position? Is the new role that you are considering going to help you get where you want to go, or are you running from something? Short job stints (< 2 years) and/or a string of unrelated positions will inhibit your ability to build towards something – whether that’s a VP of Marketing or a Head Coach of a college basketball team. Projects take time to develop -- valuable experience is gained and skills acquired by seeing these projects through to completion. 

It’s important to keep the bigger career picture in mind and not jump at every opportunity that sparkles.

Compensation

Far too often, there’s only one number that people care about – salary. Time and again I see candidates hung up on a few thousand dollars when considering a new position, while not considering the other factors: benefits, PTO/vacation, remote flexibility, 401K, growth opportunities, etc. Not to mention, happiness. Before accepting a new position, take a step back to look holistically at what comes with the package.

As with most things in life, the grass always looks greener on the other side, but sometime where we are is right where we need to be.