Examine the Reasons You Want to Leave Before Beginning a Job Search  

With the New Year underway, many people find themselves driven to pursue their resolution to make this year better than the last. One thing that is often considered is whether it’s time to seek out a new career opportunity. While this may seem like a great idea, you should carefully consider the reason you want to look for another job before you start looking for one.

Three legitimate reasons to look for a new job:

• You’ve reached your full potential at your current company. Staying in a job where you aren’t engaged probably means you aren’t motivated to give 100%, that you aren’t being challenged, and that you aren’t continuing to learn and grow. It’s also draining and can disrupt many areas of your life, including relationships and personal health.
• You can’t work with your manager. Differences in personality in the workplace are unavoidable, and oftentimes can be dealt with enough to make it through the day. It’s a much bigger issue when you don’t work well with your manager. There is truth to the saying that people leave managers, not jobs. While it’s good to make an effort to work differences out, many times, it’s just not possible, which can lead to a stressful and unhealthy environment. Additionally, if your manager isn’t supporting you in your career growth, you likely have little motivation to be a strong contributor.
• You aren’t empowered to do your job. Your company hired you because you bring knowledge and expertise in your field to your position. If you work in an environment where someone is always directing you about how you should do things that fall under your umbrella or is constantly challenging your direction, it can make for a difficult working situation. We all deserve to work in a position at a company where our knowledge and ability are trusted.

Three questionable reasons to look for a new job:

• You have trouble getting along with your co-workers. Everyone should be capable of working with people they don’t particularly enjoy. You don’t have to be best friends, but you should still be able to get along and do your job. If possible, find ways to minimize contact with those you don’t enjoy working with. Seek out co-workers you do like, and focus on spending time with them. Make an effort to connect over a break or lunch to remind yourself why you do like coming to work. Unfortunately, no matter where you go, you probably aren’t going to like everyone in the office, and that’s alright.
• Office politics create an unpleasant work environment. There’s not a lot to say about office politics, other than you can find them in almost every company, to some degree. People who leave jobs because of office politics think the grass will be greener somewhere else, but more often than not, they discover they are faced with the same issues in their new company. Don’t leave a position thinking that you won’t have to deal with this situation somewhere else. You will.
• You want to earn more money. If a higher salary is the only reason you are looking for a new job, you might consider having a discussion about compensation with your manager first. Do your research to find comparable salary information for your role and geographic location, then schedule a meeting with your boss to talk about your perceived value to the company and what you are proposing. Don’t be afraid to make the ask, and don’t assume you will be turned down. In the best case scenario, you will get an increase; in the worst case, you won’t, but you will have advocated for yourself and can now reconsider your options. If you feel you can’t continue to work for your current salary, then you might decide that looking for a new position is your best choice.

Before you can decide if a new job will lead to greater career satisfaction and personal happiness, it’s important to carefully consider the reasons you want to leave your current one. In the end, only you can make that decision, and you want to make sure it’s the right one.