Follow these tips to decide if you should stay at your job, quit your job to accept a new position or leave your day job behind to start your own business.
- It may be time to leave your job if you’re uninspired and stagnant, but it’s important to give notice, act professionally, and have good ties with coworkers.
- If you don’t have a plan, you haven’t saved enough money, or you think the situation can be fixed, you may not be ready to resign.
- It could be time to quit your day job if your side hustle is your passion and you’re ready to start your own company full-time.
- The readers of this essay are workers and part-timers who are thinking of leaving their employment to pursue full-time entrepreneurship or other substantial career changes.
The Great Resignation, in which workers left their employment in droves, is still going strong, and as a result, you may feel motivated to quit a less-than-ideal job. Although it could appear that the grass is greener on the other side, you must carefully examine your financial situation and future goals before moving.
We’ll discuss when to leave your work and how to manage your departure, when you shouldn’t make any snap judgments, and how to determine whether you’re ready to give up your day job and launch your own company.
when to leave a job
If any of the following apply to you, it may be time to leave your job:
- You’ve been in the same place for a long time. It’s probably time to move on if you’ve been trying for years to seek a promotion, have spoken your desire for professional advancement, and asked your manager for a raise but no one is listening and you’re still in the same situation. You may be able to get all of these things from another employment.
- Your boss doesn’t care about your objectives. If your boss consistently shuts you down despite your requests for more responsibility and opportunity to further your career, it may be time to look for employment elsewhere.
- You lack motivation and interest. Any work might get monotonous after a time if you perform it consistently. Even while repetition might put you in a comfy groove, it doesn’t always equal boredom or tiredness, so you can benefit from a change if you often feel uninspired and disengaged.
- Your business or sector is having trouble. Forces outside of your control do exist sometimes. When a sector is in decline or a business is struggling to make ends meet, these are strong signs that you should take care of yourself and search for employment elsewhere.
when not to leave a job
You shouldn’t always quit your work. Even though you’re tempted, there are several situations when you shouldn’t leave your job:
- You lack a strategy. Before departing, you don’t necessarily need to have a job lined up, but you do need to have a strategy for what comes next. For instance, be sure to specify when, how, and how much effort you’ll undertake to obtain new employment. Determine how you’ll pay your bills in between employment as well.
- You have zero saves. You should remain put if leaving will leave you unemployed and broke. Quitting without a plan to cover your expenses is too hazardous.
- Simply said, they are hiccups on the path. When you work for a small or expanding company, the tides may often change quickly. A few frantic months might be followed by calmer periods. Check to see whether you’re simply going through an especially tough time or if your work is just too much for you. You could be glad you stayed if you wait it out.
- You’re just for the cash. Your emotional well-being or work-life balance may suffer if you choose a job with a greater salary. What if your new employer is a bully or you have to put in 60-hour work weeks while dealing with a lot of stress at work? Your present employment could be a better match overall, therefore it might not be worth the pay raise.
- You’re not making a wise decision. You could feel enraged enough to resign in emotionally charged situations, such as after another trying encounter with a terrible customer. But this isn’t a sensible choice. Leaving just due to a performance assessment that you feel was unfair is also not an acceptable reason. Stay where you are if you like your work most of the time and are confident in your abilities.
- Because you left, your CV will now seem worse. In virtually all cases, leaving a job before a full year has passed presents a negative impression on your CV. Additionally, great resumes don’t include years spent switching jobs. Waiting things out and looking elsewhere until your CV is more padded can be useful.
- The improvements you want are attainable. You may be able to influence required adjustments to enhance your working circumstances if your bosses routinely give you excellent marks or if you hold a high position. Inform your managers of your difficulties with the job, pay, clientele, etc. Then, inquire more about what the business can do to alleviate the problems. Making adjustments where you have influence is easier to handle than accepting a new job where you have no influence.
- You haven’t yet requested anything from your manager. Your demands could be granted by a corporation that appreciates you, but you’ll need to get in touch with the right individuals. For instance, if your commute is making you want to resign, ask for part-time remote work. Until you inquire, you won’t know what is feasible.
If you decide to leave your work, here are 14 recommendations.
You’ve considered your motivations for leaving, tried everything to change things for the better, and created a future plan. You are certain that leaving your employment is the right move. The next stage is to depart from your position in a manner that preserves your professional standing, maintains networks and connections, and ensures glowing professional recommendations.
To prevent alienating your present job, coworkers, clients, and peers, follow these 14 actions.
1. Inform your boss that you’re departing before anything else.
You want to deliver the news to your boss—not another employee in the division. Don’t vent your quit-related worries to your coworkers. You lose the ability to steer the story if your employer finds out the news from someone else first. Your manager can get false information about your reasons for leaving via staff gossip. Converse exclusively with your boss instead, and be succinct in your explanation of your departure.
2. Provide two weeks’ notice before to departure.
Standard job-exit protocol calls for two weeks’ notice, but some workers provide less, leaving their employer rushing to find a successor. Unless the business demands that you go earlier, stay for the whole two weeks.
Resigning should never be a hasty choice if you want to leave your work successfully. Inform your supervisor of your anticipated departure date while speaking with them. Respect your boss’ desire to stay in the role until a successor is appointed, if at all feasible.
3. Be humble about your next professional change.
Avoid alienating your coworkers by boasting about your fantastic new job and stellar career trajectory. By embellishing your resignation grounds, you might go on friendly terms. Never suggest you’re going on to something greater or larger. Make your coworkers and employer feel as if you have nothing personal against them or the position.
4. Avoid offending anyone or anything.
No matter how you feel, maintain etiquette before leaving the company. The key to a good work departure is to avoid putting anybody in the wrong. Don’t play the blame game, even if you’re not departing on the best of terms. By disparaging your previous coworkers or superiors, you don’t want to damage your career.
5. Keep up with your work obligations.
Keep in mind that you are responsible for your work up to the moment you leave on your final day. Make the transfer simple by finishing any accounts or tasks that management have given you—or delegating them—to others. Remember that you may need to utilize your previous superiors as references later on in your career.
6. Keep following office routine.
Give your supervisor and coworkers the idea that you worked hard to earn your professional reputation. Remain polite, and don’t forget to thank your managers for the opportunity they gave you. Describe how your position has advanced your career.
In spite of your boss’s negative reaction to your departure, have a good attitude and let any criticism pass off your back. They may display resentment about your new employment since they are aware that they are losing a valuable employee.
7. Examine the personnel manual.
Schedule a meeting to study the employee handbook with the human resources representative of your organization. Recognize your rights with relation to your employee benefits, including payment for any unused sick or vacation days. Decide how to transfer the assets if you have retirement plans via your employment, such as a 401(k) plan.
8. Sort through your files.
Make it simple for your coworkers to locate things so they can effortlessly shift your task. Make spreadsheets with a list of all active work projects and accounts. Give your coworkers and superiors access to any files they may require after you go. Being a team player all the way to the end is the only way to leave your work on good terms.
9. Give your substitute good training.
Your salary has been paid by your present employer. Leave your work in capable hands; you owe it to the business. Leave on good terms by offering to mentor your successor or giving your coworkers your contact information for after your last day.
10. Refrain from taking something that is not yours.
Remove any office materials or work products that you did not create or get yourself. On your final day at work, turn in your key fobs and ID badges and clean up your desk of any personal items. Updating your voicemail and email to ensure that any business contacts may reach the right person is another aspect of a good job leave.
11. Compliment your business with polite criticism.
Your manager and probably HR will be curious about your reasons for leaving and any criticism you may have for them. Be as kind as you can while providing constructive criticism that might assist them going forward. You may mention that there aren’t enough employee performance reviews or that the compensation range isn’t high enough. Give constructive criticism while being honest.
12. Compose a resignation letter.
It’s important to provide your employer with a proper letter of resignation when leaving a job, whether you present it in physical copy or by email. Include the final day you’ll be working and thank your employer in your letter of resignation from your employment. In order to facilitate a seamless transition, it’s also a good idea to mention that you’re prepared to train your successor or assist in any other manner.
13. Inform your clients and coworkers that you’re departing.
Ask your manager whether it’s okay to inform your customers and coworkers of your departure after you’ve sent in your letter of resignation. Next, send an email to your customers and coworkers with your contact information, including your LinkedIn profile and personal email. Inform them that you would want to stay in contact. You never know whether anything like this could be useful to you in the future.
14. Get ready for your departure meeting.
Exit interviews are not to be feared and are often a part of the offboarding procedure. If anything, they’re a wonderful chance to explain your reasons for leaving and contribute to making your soon-to-be-former coworkers’ working environment better. They’re also the perfect time to express gratitude to your boss for everything you’ve learnt from them and to work out a communication strategy. You never know when the chance to collaborate once again could come up.
When should you leave your job to work full-time on your small business?
Perhaps you’re considering quitting your work for reasons unrelated to the position. Maybe now is the right moment to expand your side company into a full-time venture. How will you know when that moment has arrived?
- Your side business consumes all of your spare time. Consider turning your side business into your full-time career if it’s your passion project and consumes all of your spare time. However, you should only do it if your small company generates a consistent stream of income. If not, you may need to continue doing it as a side job until it can support you.
- You recognize a need that is unmet by others. If your small firm has established a niche and meets certain client demands, it may be time to quit your day job. Your business should become your full-time job if no other company steps in to fill the need it now occupies.
- You are aware that you must act. You may sometimes be aware that your goal is to work for yourself, manage your own company, and do things your way. It could be time to take the plunge if you have strong feelings about starting your firm full-time, despite the hazards. You’ll gamble on everything coming together, but sometimes your desire will be more than enough to ensure that. If you don’t try, you won’t know.
