Five Reasons to Move on to Another Job

There has been quite a bit of chatter about the “great resignation “, and rightfully so. The amount of people leaving jobs certainly warrants our attention. My sense is that many of these jobs are lower wage hourly roles, and those aren’t the people I’m concerned about today.

I’m worried about the millions of you out there that are comfortable and secure in your well-paying executive jobs. Why am I worried? I’m worried that you’ve been in your current job for too long.

The Lay of the Land

During the Great Recession of 2008, a lot of companies experienced losses of business they hadn’t experienced in decades. And when business is tight you do what any smart business would do: You hold on to your cash.

At that time everyone accepted low to nonexistent merit increases. It felt like a reasonable deal versus losing your job. There’s only one problem if we fast forward to now: Those merit increases never really came back.

In today’s environment if you want anything more than a cost-of-living salary increase, you will generally need to change companies. That sounds great in theory but hard in practice. Change is hard, and if you have been with your current employer 10 years or more - it almost feels as emotional as getting a divorce.

I work on the general premise that most people don’t add more value to a role in any organization after 5-7 years. There are exceptions of course, but generally speaking you need a role change, a lateral or a company change to ensure that you continue to progress in your career.

Given the general malaise of corporate America as we struggle to get past Covid, changing companies is getting harder to do if you are an experienced executive. And yet it may be one of the most important times in your life to do an active search. Here’s why:

5 Realities that may signal you need to leave:

1. You’ve been told you’re supported for a promotion, but you’ve interviewed twice and didn’t get the job: I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the organization has already voted on you - and they said no (regardless of what your boss has told you). If you have vertical aspirations, it’s time to start updating your resume and begin the networking process.
2. You honestly can’t remember the last time you learned something new in your current role: ?I’m not implying you’re not good at your current role, but I am asking if you’ve truly added a new (marketable) skill to your portfolio in the past 9 months. And a new computer system rollout required for your current role doesn’t count.
3. You have said silently to yourself “I’ll wait until X is over and then I’ll start looking around (insert X with a new baby, Covid, finishing your MBA, etc.)”: This is a signal: you are thinking about (and desiring) something new.
4. You’re not really known for anything in your organization: This isn’t your job title. Being known for something speaks to the specialness you bring to the organization in terms of expertise and team dynamics. If you’re not known for anything, that’s a death sentence when your name comes up in an annual talent planning review.
5. You’ve noticed you’re getting cynical or angry more often, and it’s showing up at home: When you’re in a job that either bores you or contains work you don’t want to do, stress can manifest itself in the form of anger or cynicism. Have a heart to heart with those closest to you… and ask some hard questions.

This One is Personal

If any of you know my career path, it may feel a bit hypocritical that I might be suggesting you leave your current company. After all, I stayed with the same company for 32 years and retired. It probably shouldn’t have ended that way.

During the last 3 years of my corporate career, I violated my own career rule: I stayed in my role for too long. I wasn’t growing or learning, and I became cynical and difficult to work with. I said to myself “You’re so close to retirement - you can make it.” I was told by trusted mentors to take a lateral or move companies… but as I said before, change is hard.

Thankfully, I had colleagues and leadership who were gracious in providing me candid feedback and offered to help. ?I owned the feedback, put together a development plan… and started practicing new behaviors.?I enlisted feedback partners throughout the process and the help of an amazing executive coach.?Over time, I changed my attitude and behaviors (and perceptions about me) and got back on track in my job.??I'm grateful to report that my story had a happy ending.

So, if any of this triggers something in you, please consider moving on, either internally or externally.??If you choose not to decide, that actually is a decision.?And you may find that the longer you stay, others may make the decision for you… and that’s not a great place to be.

Something amazing could be waiting for you – but you have to go looking for it.