Changing jobs: how to decide to change jobs

July 19, 2019
Life style
Svetlana Sazhina

How to decide to change jobs, especially in adulthood? Not every person is capable of taking this risky step. Moreover, the old place is already familiar and familiar. And yet, if you are not happy with something at your previous job, you should think about changing it and look for more interesting options for realizing your talents.

How to decide to change your job to a new one

Many people sooner or later experience a period of dissatisfaction with their lives. Everything seems like an uninteresting routine, and life seems to pass you by. Work brings neither pleasure nor decent income. Missed opportunities will not come back, time is wasted and not for the intended purpose.

Such a decadent mood is often inherent in people who go to service under duress. They suffer every day from the need to perform uninteresting, monotonous actions, a strictly regulated process. At such moments, the thought comes to mind: should I change my job? Not everyone can decide to take this important step. And to put fears to rest, experts recommend:

Highlight the most negative aspects of your old job.
Determine your individual requirements for the new service.
Analyze your inclinations and capabilities that will suit the conditions of the new job.
Study the market of proposed vacancies and choose the most suitable ones.

Perhaps this algorithm of action will help you decide on serious life changes.

Reasons for changing jobs

Incentives to change the place of duty can be divided into subjective and objective. Purely personal reasons include tense relationships with superiors and conflicts within the team. Such situations arise, as a rule, due to a large amount of work, which requires considerable physical or moral costs. Such incidents can be eliminated by having colleagues relax together in an informal setting or by getting the help of specialized psychologists who will conduct special training on team building and raising work morale.

External, objective reasons that make you think about changing jobs include lack of career growth and prospects, low salary, etc. Let's look at each of the reasons separately.

A new job is a means of healing

About two years passed before the woman decided to take a desperate step and leave a job that was no longer enjoyable.

Now running her own social media marketing business called TinCup Social, Helen has no regrets. The woman notes that changing her profession changed her life. However, Helen admits that she was initially ashamed of her choice. She understood that people were judging her choice.

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"I do not regret anything. I have built a life that allows me to do something useful, spend time with my family and improve my health,” says Helen.

Complete stagnation and no growth

Each job is valuable not only for its salary, but also for the opportunity for career growth and expanded prospects. And if, despite diligent performance of his duties, an employee cannot advance in his career, this may become the reason for his dissatisfaction. In this case, one of the ways out of the current impasse may be leaving for another duty station.

Complete stagnation in the service can also be attributed to the suppression of all employee initiatives on the part of superiors. It’s as if the boss doesn’t see the subordinate’s desire to grow, and in some cases, he forbids taking any steps towards progress. Rational proposals, new ideas and non-standard solutions are perceived by superiors as a desire to stand out and curry favor. This happens if the boss (for some subjective reasons) is biased and unsympathetic towards the subordinate. If negotiations with superiors do not bring the desired result, then the only way out of the situation is to simply leave for another duty station.

Is it worth changing jobs?

If in your organization you have reached the ceiling and further development is impossible and you cannot realize yourself. Work turns into a routine, and you do the same thing year after year. In such cases, before leaving this job, you may want to try yourself in a related field, that is, move horizontally in your organization.

Such experience may be useful in the future. If you think that you are underestimated, prove your professional suitability - by showing initiative, take part in competitions to fill vacant positions in your team. And if all your endeavors do not lead to a positive result, change your place of work. After all, according to psychologists, you should change jobs approximately every five years. You should not change jobs frequently. According to employees of recruitment agencies, a person who frequently changes jobs has some kind of personal problems.

small salary

The most popular reason for changing jobs is low wages. Even if the specialty is chosen to your liking and the work brings moral pleasure, a small salary can become a serious incentive to change your place of work. In addition, the salary may not correspond to the duties performed. In other words, one person can do the work of several employees. Unfortunately, this situation occurs in almost every enterprise.

Of course, in private companies the possibility of negotiations with the administration regarding a salary increase is not excluded. If the conversation is unsuccessful, you can quit.

The situation is more complicated in budgetary organizations. Here the salary is fixed and its increase is possible only in case of career growth. Of course, there are all kinds of bonuses and monetary incentives, but they usually go to selected employees. In this case, trying to change your job to a more promising and paying one is the only correct decision. At the same time, you should be confident in a successful outcome and have no doubt that you can find a job that will pay more than in your previous place.

Change of management

As you know, a new broom sweeps in a new way. And new bosses may want to select their team of employees, making it clear to old employees that it's time to leave. The problem becomes especially acute during a crisis, which the company is going through for a number of reasons.

With a change in management, the leadership style changes, and as a result, the working conditions and rules. The situation at the enterprise becomes nervous and tense. All this happens because both the new boss needs to get used to his new status and the employees need to get used to the new management. Some workers cannot withstand uncomfortable conditions and prefer to quit and look for another job. How to change a service, how to make the right decision is a priority problem that arises before a person. And the main thing here is not to panic and confidently move towards your goal.

Fatigue and hopelessness

Working 14 hours every day, it is difficult to stay in good shape all the time. Sooner or later, chronic fatigue and emotional burnout come. In addition, there is practically not enough time for other areas of life.

The first sign that you are burnt out at work is the depressing thoughts that you have to go to work again tomorrow. Another sign that it’s time to change something is increased frequency of colds and depression. Due to constant illness, a person becomes irritable and conflicts not only with colleagues, but also with members of the household.

When, waking up early in the morning, you say to yourself: “I want to change my job,” this is a sure sign of the need for such a change. Otherwise, the feeling of fatigue and hopelessness will persist for a long time. As a result, not only the employee’s health will suffer, but also the results of his professional activities.

Understand the reasons

As the classics say, if you wonder whether you love a person, most likely you don’t love him. The persistent thought that it’s time to change your job is an important signal that’s worth listening to.

In order not to blame yourself for making a spontaneous decision, prepare a list of reasons why you would like to change jobs. They can be divided into two logical groups:

Objective reasons

These include factors that are specified in the employment contract, and which at this period of your life may not suit you, namely:

1. Salary amount. Prices are rising, expenses are increasing, but wages are not changing? This is a good reason to open a job search site.

2. Long journey and neglect of quarantine. Of course, there are specialists who cannot take their work home. But, if in your field it is objectively possible to cope at home, especially in such difficult times, and your manager neglects these safety measures, then this is a reason to think about it.

3. If the usual 2.5 hours of travel to work used to be easy, but now it has begun to greatly affect your daily routine and fatigue. It's normal to be tired.

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4. Changing responsibilities without your desire. If you applied for a job as a Project Manager, and then your responsibilities turned you into a secretary or lawyer (without your desire), this is a fair reason for changing jobs. Agreements must be respected, especially at work.

5. Reducing bonuses, recalculating KPIs and saving on incentives. Yes, quarantine is a difficult time. But if you hear from your employer “say thank you for paying me a salary,” then this is a sign of an immature company. In a friendly, mutually responsible and mature team, each level of management understands that the organization is made up of people with their own needs, mortgages, loans and families. A sharp reduction in bonuses and an increase in tasks suggests that the company thinks first of all about its own well-being, risking the well-being of people.

Subjective reasons

We spend more than 70% of our time at work. It is impossible to miss emotional burnout and subjective reasons for changing jobs - this is fraught with constant stress and neglect of your emotional health. Subjective reasons include:

1. Poor relationships in the team. Everyone has their own concept of “bad” - some people like to keep their distance, while others are comfortable making friends and ordering pizza on Fridays. Evaluate relationships according to the criteria that are comfortable for you personally, and not those that are usually taken as the “standard”. It is almost impossible to work in a difficult team, and it is a mistake to think that everything will go away on its own.

2. Toxic or aggressive leader. We will not analyze leadership styles, but there is a clear and unspoken rule about what should not be tolerated in relations with superiors under any circumstances: rudeness, aggression, shouting, fines, moral pressure, threats and blackmail. Even if everyone in the company is accustomed to “Maria Vasilievna’s management style,” this does not mean that you have to deal with stress and unacceptable attitude towards yourself every day.

3. Fatigue and poor health. These are already symptoms of professional burnout that should not be neglected. If you feel that every time you get up to work causes fear, and fatigue manifests itself already in the first hour of the working day, then try to monitor these symptoms and understand whether this is due to your reluctance to continue your career in your current place.

4. Lack of interest in work. This is especially true if you previously had items on your to-do list that you approached with interest and excitement. Of course, after six months or a year of work, enthusiasm decreases, but if it has reduced to complete indifference, this is a reason to reconsider your career plans.

5. Failure to fulfill plans and constantly negative assessment of your work. There may be two reasons for this: either you have become objectively worse at coping with your responsibilities, or your manager has raised the bar and demands on you. In both the first and second cases, it is worth considering whether you are ready to work harder for the same pay and make efforts to be at your best.

Dismissal

There are other reasons to change jobs. It happens that an employee is forced to be fired. This fact is perhaps the most unpleasant reason for changing jobs. The reasons for dismissal can be different - from the dissolution of a department or an entire company to the elimination of a position. In this case, the main thing is not to panic and not to look for the culprits of your problem. Even if you were fired due to failure to fulfill official duties, this is a good reason to analyze your mistakes and draw appropriate conclusions. This situation also helps you understand whether you want to stay in the same field or radically change your field of activity.

Dismissal is unpleasant not only for the person fired, but also for the person doing the firing. For most management, this step is not easy. But if this has already happened, you need to conclude that you should say goodbye to this company and look for happiness in a new field.

Basic steps in finding a new job

When you make a firm decision to change your location, you are taking a certain risk. To reduce it to a minimum and quickly achieve your goal, it is recommended to adhere to the following algorithm of actions:

First of all, you need to understand what exactly you want - to change your place of work or field of activity.
Before changing jobs, you need to study the supply and demand market. For a successful search, you should analyze what skills and knowledge are required to perform certain duties, and what new vacancies are opening.

When trying to change your place of work, it would be a good idea to remember your connections acquired at your previous job. Colleagues and acquaintances who work in other companies can be an important source of useful information.
Having collected the necessary information, it is recommended to create a competent resume that will describe all the advantages of you as a professional. It would be useful to remember both the place of your previous work and your position.
Once you have compiled your resume, you can send it to employers who have applied for vacancies. It is very good if the resume is submitted along with a cover letter, which indicates the personal merits of the applicant.

How to find a new job while still in your old one

If the thought of changing his place of work constantly haunts him, it means that the employee is not happy with something. Going nowhere is a risky business. It’s much calmer to look for a new job when you have a reliable rear. In this case, the search will be calmer and without much nerves.

There are several rules for successfully finding a new job while working in your old one:

First of all, it is recommended not to advertise your plans. Most likely, the boss will not be delighted to learn about the plans of his subordinate, even if the reasons for the upcoming dismissal are very objective. In addition, if you don’t find a decent option, you may change your mind. If the search result is more than successful, the administration should be notified two weeks before your departure so that you have time to find a replacement.
When submitting your resume on recruiting sites, it is recommended to set it to invisible. Hiring managers often visit such online resources, and it may be that specialists from your company are the ones who can review your application. This way, information about your plans will become available to everyone.
It is not recommended to browse job sites in the workplace. Also, in order to maintain confidentiality, you do not need to keep your printed resume at your workplace.

When going for an interview, it is recommended to choose the right time. In the case of several interviews, you can take time off at your own expense or at the expense of an upcoming vacation. But it’s best to put off looking for a new job until the holidays. Then there will be no need to ask for time off.
Of course, during the interview, after your phrase: “I want to change my job,” the recruiter may ask the question: “Why?” Under no circumstances should you describe disagreements with your previous bosses and colleagues. Reasons include low salaries, desire for career growth, expansion of the scope of activities, etc.

There is a desire, but no determination

Work is an important part of life, so changing it can be difficult. Analyze the situation you are in now. Weigh all the advantages and disadvantages of your current job. Be determined if you realize that there are too many shortcomings and you need to look for a new source of income. Start your path to a new life, the advice of a psychologist will help you take the first step.

Recommendations

If you have found several reasons to quit, but don’t quit, then this advice will come in handy:

Psychology suggests taking “small steps” to achieve your goal. Write your resume on Monday. On Tuesday, select 3-4 vacancies. Submit your resumes on Wednesday. Call a possible employer on Thursday. Go to an interview on Friday.
Take some time and imagine in detail that you have already quit and are working in a new place. If you want to change your profession, devote a little time every day to the responsibilities that you imagine you will have in your new job.
Ask yourself every day: do I need what I do? Do I want to continue doing this? What do I really want to do? If you realize that all this time you haven’t been doing what you wanted, don’t be upset - you’ve gained work and personal experience, and now use it to change your life.
Think about what you work for: for yourself and your development or for colleagues, family, friends? The decision to quit your job or stay should be yours alone.

Motivation to change jobs

Preparation

If you are not going to be fired in the next few days, there is no point in leaving rashly. Changing a job to a similar one does not make sense. Think about what you don’t like here, what you want and want to find in a new place. Take a piece of paper and write down the pros and cons of your current job. Analyze your answers.
If you decide to change careers, learn the details of the new profession and your competitiveness before you take the first step. If this profession is not valued in the labor market, it is worth considering it not as the main source of income, but as a part-time job or hobby.
Write a resume and prepare answers to possible questions from the employer. If your first interviews don't go well, don't get discouraged. Try again and work on yourself.
Before the interview, practice in front of a friend or in front of a mirror. Look the interviewer in the eyes, smile, remain calm and confident. Think of the interview as a performance and yourself as an inexperienced but talented actor.
Before the interview, prepare the questions you want answered: salary, schedule, requirements, etc. It is important not only to please the interviewer, but also to evaluate the company’s conditions yourself before deciding to sign an employment contract.
Search actively. Constantly call, send your resume, contact HR departments.
You shouldn’t leave behind a bad opinion or quarrel with your colleagues or boss. Try to maintain a good relationship with them.

Change of specialty

Sometimes, in order to successfully find a new job, it is necessary to change not only the place, but also the specialty. Today, mechanics, turners, plumbers and other technical professionals are again held in high esteem. On the other hand, the rapid development of IT technologies requires programmers, system administrators, and web designers. All this can be learned even in adulthood. The main thing is to find good retraining courses or dare to get a second higher education. This way you can solve the problem of how to change jobs at 40 by mastering a new specialty. After all, as the old movie says, “at 40, life just begins.”

Look at “other people's rake”

Now we are talking not about the motivational course “How I became a businessman in 3 days,” but about the stories of real people who changed jobs during an unfavorable period or found themselves in a difficult financial situation. Other people's experiences, especially positive ones, always motivate decision-making. The realization that a large number of people were not afraid to change their profession or go to a lower salary for the sake of their well-being and comfort will help get rid of many fears. Look at other people's mistakes to avoid making the same ones and get around the sharp corners of changing jobs, focusing on the experience of other people.

Simple rules for conflict-free care

Having found a new job, you need to try to leave with dignity. After talking with your former employer, thanking him for his experience and years of service together, you can say goodbye to the team. It is recommended to organize a small corporate event or just a tea party with people who helped the employee and were his faithful colleagues. When leaving, you should not miss the opportunity to meet with former colleagues in a common field of activity. Therefore, it is important to remain on friendly terms with the employees of the former enterprise.

Dream or stability?

Pictured above is Naomi from Buckinghamshire. She is 37 years old. She wanted to become a veterinarian since she was three years old.

After five years of university, two years of graduate school and 14 years of work, she resigned from her position.

Naomi quit her job as a veterinarian in 2021. She had a wealth of experience and several regular clients. And Naomi liked her work. But unexpectedly for herself, she realized that her type of activity did not completely satisfy her.

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It took Naomi a long time to accept this idea. From her youth, the girl imagined how she would run a private practice, how she would become the most sought-after and professional veterinarian in her city. Naomi thought she would work with animals until she retired. But no!

The girl realized that her activities were preventing her from developing. Naomi wanted to quit her job as a veterinarian back in 2012, but her relatives dissuaded her. The girl gave in to persuasion. However, the thought of changing her field of activity did not leave her.

How to fit into a new team

In a new team, an employee needs some time to adapt. You should be prepared that at first they will take a closer look at your new colleague and study his professional and personal qualities. You must try to show your best side. It is not recommended to make friends from the first days. Firstly, in such a short period of time it is impossible to get to know another person. And then, the new environment may not immediately accept a newcomer to their team. It is best to present yourself as a professional whom you can turn to for advice. At first, some nervousness of the new person is normal. Over time, when the employee settles into a new place, he will be able to fully demonstrate his professional qualities.

Change your life on the second try

When Naomi once again expressed her intention to her loved ones, they again began to dissuade the girl from taking a desperate and risky step for the sake of stability.

In 2021, Naomi launched a podcast, which was a turning point for her. She now works part-time as an equine veterinarian, alongside the International Women's Podcast Awards, which she founded, and The Skylark Collective, a global community of women in podcasting.

Naomi is very lucky. After all, the relatives, despite their doubts, supported the girl’s decision to change her profession and try herself in a new business.

Naomi later realized that the fear of judgment was keeping her from her dream job. She was afraid that others would not understand her decision.

“My mom is very proud that I am now a business owner and forging my own path. I will always be a veterinarian - no one can take my degree and qualifications away from me. And the fact that I decided to give up my usual way of working does not mean that I failed, it just means that I made a different choice.”

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