There comes a time in everyone’s career where you somehow fall into a job that you end up not liking at all. Maybe you had high expectations before starting the new role or maybe it was simply just not right for you. Whatever the reason, you feel like you need to quit ASAP and switch to another company.
Once you have come to this realization, you need to figure out what is the best way to go about finding and switching to another role.
My thoughts during my first job after college
If you have not been in your current job for at least a year, then stop right there. Stay at least a year before you think about quitting. Especially if you are early in your career and it is your first job out of college. You need to have a good foundation built for that first job to gain some good references that you can use down the road. Ideally you stay at your first job for two years then move on to the next.
A few months into my banking career out of college, one of my friends introduced me to a startup firm that was hiring someone with my background. Initially, I was already fed up from banking because I was questioning what I was doing working all the time in my early 20s.
Now let me remind you that this was right after I graduated from college. I went from having all the free time in the world in college to the complete opposite – having no control over my life or schedule in banking. It took a while to adjust to this new life, and initially I struggled and just wanted to quit my banking gig as quickly as possible. At that time, I had such a limited perspective and did not realize that it took hard work early on to be successful at anything.
Glad that I stayed in banking
Looking back, I am extremely glad I did not get that startup job. I had very little experience and who knows whether I would have liked it in the new role. If it did not work out, then my story would be that guy who couldn’t handle banking more than a few months and did not do well in the next role after. It would have been extremely hard to find another job if that is what the sequence of events turned out to be!
Funny thing is that the startup turned into a billion dollar company a few years later… Maybe it was a missed opportunity, but who knows if it was going to work out there and what kind of equity I would have received.
Anyways, my decision to stay in banking for three years was the best decision of my career thus far. It created a foundation and built my reputation going forward. I was able to develop good references and a lot of great friends during my time there. To this day, my colleagues that I worked with during my first job out of college continue to be the same references that I use when looking for other roles.
Why you should not worry about having numerous jobs on your resume
After you develop a reputation early on in your career, you can start moving around and exploring new opportunities. Nowadays, switching jobs frequently is not as taboo as it used to be. Before the common wisdom was to get a job at a big company and climb the corporate ladder for the rest of your life. It was not a good look to have multiple jobs on your resume where you worked for less than a year or two.
The environment today has completely changed. Yes, your parents may still tell you to find a job and stay there for a long time, but if you know that the job is not right for you longer term, why in the hell would you spend 50% of your life doing something that you do not want to do!
Develop reputation first, then find new roles
Now I want to be clear… You need to develop a reputation first and have some good references before you can afford to hop around from job to job. When I look at someone’s resume, I do not like seeing candidates who have no jobs that they have been at for over a year. This shows that you are either unreliable or are just not good at working with others. Of course, if you were at a startup that failed or the company you worked at had a massive layoff, then that is understandable.
Best way to quit your job
Now there are several reasons why you would want to quit your job:
- The role is not what you expected
- Did not like the type of work you are being asked to do
- You are not learning as much as you used to
- Have a manager that is horrible to work with
- You are working more hours than you initially expected
- Starting to experience signs of burnout
- Want to just try something new
Whatever the reason, once you realize that you need to move on to another role, you should start planning your exit by first planning your new job search. Figure out whether you want to find a similar role at another company or if you want to try something new going forward. Make a schedule where you will reach out to X number of companies or apply to X number of positions on a weekly basis. Stay focused on a career path and do not try to cast a wide net just to move onto another role.
If you feel lost and do not know what type of job you should go after, then I recommend you read 10 Steps to Find and Get That Job You Love. It is okay to not know exactly what you want to do next. There are so many options out there nowadays that you can simply just get overwhelmed by all the choices.
What you DO NOT want to do is quit without having another job lined up
Quitting before figuring out what you are going to do next makes you an undesirable candidate for any future roles. Interviewers start questioning your story on why you left your job and whether you were let go because you were not good at your role.
Additionally, I guarantee that if you do not find something within a few months of being unemployed, you will start losing your mind. You would think that having all the time in the world without any real responsibilities would be really fun, but in reality you start realizing that everyone works during the week and there is nothing really to do.
Yes you may have a nice nest egg saved up if you have worked in finance for the past few years and you may think that you can support yourself for some time before finding the next gig. However, the lack of structure in your life will demotivate you and make it harder to search for new opportunities. You do not want to be forced in a situation where you have to settle out of desperation because you are unemployed and just want to get back to work.
Stay in a position of power and do not quit your job before having another one lined up.
What if you burnt out and absolutely need to get out of your current role?
For those who feel physically or mentally burnt from their current roles, I suggest you first ask to take a week or two away from work and go on vacation somewhere remote. Do not make any rash / in the moment decisions that you will regret later.
I know it can be extremely hard to continue working if you have already burnt out, but you need to figure out a way to continue working while searching for new opportunities. Trust me, being unemployed and not making money is a much harder alternative than staying in your current role.
Would suggest reading the following if you are currently burnt out and trying to figure out what to do:
Now, what kind of job should you be going after?
When thinking about what kind of job you want to transition to next, you need to understand the differences between how you view that next role. Is it just another job that allows you to make a living and pay rent? Or is it a job you view as a steppingstone to further your career? Or is it a job that you are passionate about?
There are three types of people out there. Those who…
1. Work at a job to just make a living
This is where the vast majority of people fall in. They view their jobs as a means of making enough money to provide for their family.
2. Work for a career
These are the corporate ladder climbers. They are driven and want to learn and grow within their company / industry. They actively seek to build certain skillsets that can be very valuable overtime.
3. Work for passion and develop ownership stake
These are the entrepreneurs. The ones who find out what they are good at and use that skillset to create a company that they are extremely passionate about.
The type of person you are and the mentality you have about your career will determine whether or not you will be extremely successful in life. If you ever want to be rich and successful, then you need to find a job that is a career role where every day you are building a skillset that creates value over the long-run.
Ideally, once you have developed a great skillset and figure out what you are good at, then you can go out on your own and create your company. That is the ultimate goal because it puts you in the driver seat where you can make your own decisions, work on something you are passionate about and ultimately, as a result, make a ton of money doing it.
Let me say though that money should not be your ultimate goal. You need to figure out what you are good at and what you like to do first, then you can focus on making money. I quit a job where I had the potential to make $500K per year because I absolutely hated the role. So focus on your strengths and your interests first before thinking about the money.
Loved reading this article. I would suggest everyone read this with full concentration as it is the most interesting topic on the internet.