Is changing jobs right for you? Hi! I am Michael Akbar, certified career coach and creator of Career Aikido.
I remember when I was looking for my very first job, almost 50 years ago. I just wanted a job; it didn’t matter what it was, as long as it paid at least minimum wage. I ended up mopping floors and cleaning toilets. Needless to say, I didn’t start out with the best job satisfaction. The whole idea of just wanting to get any job probably sounds ridiculous to most of you. As I got older and changed jobs, I started to realize how critical the nature of my job was, not only in terms of my needs at the time, but also in terms of how it would impact the trajectory of my career, my financial well-being, and my happiness.
Of course, once you’re in the thick of your career, it can be hard to assess when it’s time to change jobs. Back in the day, it was common for large employers to retain employees throughout their entire career right up until retirement. Today, employee turnover is much higher, but people still desire a healthy level of stability. I often recommend switching jobs to clients who are looking to grow in their career and continuously increase their salary. But how often should you change job, especially when many employers still provide strong incentives to stay, with employee benefits like vacation time, health insurance, and continuing education.
Rather than focusing on “how often should you change job” I think there are more important questions to consider. Having now worked with close to a thousand coaching clients, I’ve come up with an easy-to-use tool that can help you take a closer look at your job situation before deciding to change your role.
I recommend that you use this tool at least once a year to decide if changing jobs is in your best interest. The tool involves answering 10 simple questions. These questions are the byproduct of having listened to and helped my coaching clients over the years. That said, if one of these questions doesn’t make sense to you, you can always replace it with one that does. The tool is flexible in that sense. Also, not all these questions may be of equal importance to you. So, you can assign a different importance for each question.
A question that is not important to you can have a weight of 1, and one that is very important a weight of 5, and then anything in between for other questions. Let’s say you are a workaholic, and you don’t care about work-life balance. In that case, you might give a weight of only 1 or 2 to question number 9, “Is my work life balance acceptable?”
Other than that, using the tool is pretty simple. For each question, you choose a number from 1 to 5, 5 implying a more affirmative response.
Let’s look at a few examples. The first question is “Would I look like a job hopper if I left now?” If you strongly agree that you would—let’s say you’ve been with the company for only a few months—then give it a 5. If you strongly disagree, give it a 1. In any case, it’s good to have a good reason in mind for why you’re moving on. You don’t want to find yourself in a panic in the waiting room before you interview, searching “why leaving job reasons” or “leaving job reasons example” on your phone.
Also, if you think this is an important criterion for you, you can give it an importance of 5—otherwise, something lower. For example, if you are thinking of going and working for your mother-in-law who loves you, she may not care as much about how long you’ve been employed at your current employer, especially if you’ve been a great daughter-in-law or son-in-law. Of course, she may not be as forgiving with other people!
Let’s try question #3. “How clear is my path for rapid advancement with this employer?” If there is a clear path for upward mobility, you may want to give it a higher number, like 3, 4, or even 5. Otherwise, say, if you feel stuck, a lower number, like 2 or 1.
Once you select your answers, the gauge will give you a reading that indicates whether you should stay and get the most out of your current job or to look for or even create a better job for yourself.
For example, if the indicator is reading more in the reddish area, that is a signal to you to start considering a move. If the indicator is more in the greenish area, that is a sign to consider staying put with the current employer and working on maximizing your advancement there towards better roles.
Whether you should act on those results depends on how strongly you feel aligned with them. Typically, the closer you are to either end of the gauge, the stronger is the clarity of the direction you want to take.
Now, either way, whether you want to find out how to get the most out of your current job or get another job that makes you happier and wealthier, I recommend that you book a free consultation with one of the advisors on the team to discuss your goals and needs and receive recommendations on the best strategy to realize your employment goals.
So, to summarize, the tool I shared with you will help you decide if it would make sense to seek advancement at your current employer or to consider changing jobs, a better job elsewhere.
Once you have made that determination and verified your finding with one of our advisors, we can then help you with the next steps.
This next step may involve our next tool or assessment. Let me show you.
Using this assessment, you will find out::
The most favorable work environment for your personality. This is important because rather than feeling you are pushing a boulder up a hill every day, you want to enjoy your career in a state of flow.
The distinct features of your personality that you can leverage for your career success
The career development considerations to accelerate your promotion or land you a higher-profile job
Your unique personality strengths that you can use to develop a personal brand and market yourself for a job change
Your pitfalls or blind spots and most importantly tips on how to manage them
Followed by questions unique to your personality that define your best-fit job characteristics
And a list of top careers that match your personality and interests if you are thinking of changing careers
So, there you have it.
Go ahead and use the tool to determine if changing jobs at this time is right for you.
Irrespective of the outcome, book and have your complementary consultation with one of our advisors.
Either way you’ll come away with a recommendation on the most effective action plan to achieve your goals.
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