 |
When it comes to deciding whether or not to stay in a decent job or leave, there are a lot of factors to consider. There’s no one piece of advice pertaining to everyone on whether you should stay or go. Advantages and disadvantages differ in every situation.
Stay in your decent job, or go?
I spent the first quarter of this year working with some new clients. Each of these clients were in a decent job with a good company, but they felt like it might be time for some kind of change. They weren’t sure though if this included leaving their current company, or staying with their company but in a different role.
After going through paNASH’s coaching process, one client discovered it made more sense for her to stay with her current company, but to ask for a significant pay raise and title, based on all of her contributions over her many years there.
I worked with her on how to negotiate the pay raise and title advancement. She ended up with a whopping 25% pay increase, and part ownership of the company she helped build over the years! For her, it was a better fit to stay with her decent job than to go.
Another client determined from the coaching process it was time to not only change companies, but also industries and job functions. After preparing her for interviews, she soon received an offer in a different industry. She was a little concerned that accepting the first offer might be a bad idea.
I explained how it’s not a bad idea when the job meets and exceeds all of her “must-haves“. The new job fit her passions, lined up with the skills she possessed, would give her the skills she wanted to gain, and paid more than she was hoping for! She definitely was not settling when it came to this offer.
Factors to consider
When it comes to your particular situation on whether you should stay in a decent job or go, there are a few factors to consider:
Stay, if…
- there are opportunities for advancement
- you can find ways to learn and develop new skills
- the company culture is good and it’s a good fit for you
- there are tangible displays of appreciation for your efforts (i.e. pay raises, bonuses, promotions, etc.)
- the people are great
- the company is growing, thus bringing in new people to learn how to work with
- your company cares about you as a person and provides ways to recharge
- you enjoy at least 60% of your tasks or projects
- the annual pay increases are more than a typical cost-of-living increase
- you’re not micromanaged
Go, if…
- you’re burned out and your company doesn’t care
- there’s no room for advancement or growth, and you need more challenge
- your company provides no professional development or training in new skills
- the outlook for the future of the company isn’t good (i.e. there are hints of future downsizing)
- your company or your supervisor is rigid about the way things are done
- you’re consistently expected to take on additional workloads indefinitely, without added compensation
- employee morale is low
- you don’t believe in the mission of the company, or the products or services it provides
- you’re in desperate need of a significant raise in less than two years
- you agree with at least three or four of the above statements
No need to fear looking like a job-hopper
One factor not listed above is length of time. Many people still believe the old idea it doesn’t look good on a résumé if you’ve not stayed in a decent job for a significant amount of time. This is no longer the case due to several reasons.
One, it’s now extremely rare for anyone to work for the same company their entire career. The average person changes careers (not just jobs) seven to ten times in their lifetime.
Two, younger generations typically change jobs in two years or less. As a result, most recruiters have been advised to adjust how they view an applicant’s work history.
Three, events in recent years led to many job changes for a lot of workers (i.e. furloughs, layoffs, the Great Resignation, and moves to companies allowing more remote work). Employers and hiring managers now take these unprecedented changes into consideration when reviewing résumés.
Also, some career experts even say staying with the same company for more than five years isn’t good at all, because it makes you stagnant in your skill set, and it limits your pay increases to just cost-of-living percentages.
Is it time to reevaluate staying or leaving your decent job?
I’m including in this post some links to past articles to provide more details to the factors listed above. But if you feel like you need additional guidance through your career decision, let’s talk! Click here to sign up for a complimentary initial consultation.
You don’t have to settle for just a decent job. You can find something even better!
