Is it the RIGHT time to quit your job? Here is my strategy to tell for sure.

Most #finance professionals take stock of their careers in March as their bonuses have been paid or are about to be.

However, even when you realize that you can't stand your job anymore, there is a little voice in your head that goes like this:

"If you quit, you will [fill out with an over-catastrophizing prophecy that sounds true]."

And yet, you are UNHAPPY with your current job.

So when is the RIGHT time to quit? Well, if 2 or more of the statements below reflect your current situation, you should consider a change.

1. Your learning curve has flattened out

2. You don't aspire to be like anyone above you

3. Most days, you feel drained and exhausted

4. You either feel super low or extremely angry about work

5. "Life should be more than this" is a recurring thought

You are not on your own! As a Career Coach for Finance pros, I hear these issues daily.

That's why I have collected the 5 most common fears financial professionals have about quitting their jobs.

Don't worry. I have paired them with 5 strategies to determine if it's the RIGHT time to quit!

1. I am not skilled in any other job

This is untrue. Look at the contributions that you have given to every job that you have done.

Put together a list with all your roles, key responsibilities, strategic projects/deals, and outcomes.

You will see that when you take a step back, you can solve MANY problems.

The problems that you can solve constitute your personal branding that will allow you to build a case to be considered for roles with different job titles.

Finally, in the post-covid era, any course, tool, or expert is literally at your fingertips. There is no magic wand to make a change. There is only hard work.

2. I will have to take a salary cut

Money is important. Period. However, more money doesn't bring more fulfillment after a certain level. We can all agree on this.

I always give my clients a spreadsheet to produce the budget they need to finance their ideal lifestyle. In this way, we know for sure how much they NEED to earn.

Anything above that is not necessary.

Then we map out roles that fit into the lifestyle they have designed. You will need less money after you get the life you want.

A lot of our spending is emotional, i.e., we over-compensate!

3. What will people think about me

As financial professionals, we fear that people will think we are losers if we lose our status.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of unwritten rules for finance careers. 2 years here, then an MBA at a tier 1 uni, to strategically move for 3 years there.

All these "rules" are hardly applicable to everybody. Nobody knows how bad you are feeling. I know because I burned out several times in my career in Finance.

The first step is to accept your OWN needs RIGHT NOW.

Your environment is crucial to your career transition.

4. What if I fail?

In the fear world. This is the QUEEN!

With my clients, we take a step-by-step approach, so I never recommend that you just jump! I call it the path of least resistance, i.e., the most straightforward role to transition to.

To ease your fears, consider the following questions:

• What do you need from your next job?
• What are plans A, B, and C?

Taking a well-planned and calculated risk will give you the confidence to say, "I did the best that I could to get what I wanted in my life."

Are you sure that failing means not making it in a new career? Failure is accepting to be unfulfilled without even trying to make a change.

5. What if I succeed?

It sounds weird, I know. Most of my clients, though, fear that when they succeed, they will be out of their comfort zone, i.e., different bosses/colleagues, different offices, new tasks, etc.

Not knowing what their life will be like scares them so much that they prefer a certain pain to an uncertain gain.

This is why having a clear career plan will help ease into your job search and your new job!

If you need some proof, check out Juan Andres Martin Valdés. He's a client who made a career pivot into risk management in London at a FTSE 5 pharmaceutical company in his 40s!!

Let me know in the comments below which topics you would like more career advice on:

• Job search - Optimize your CV, Cover Letter & LinkedIn profile
• Interview questions - How to win over the hiring manager
• Career clarity - How to figure out the best role for you in Finance
• Career pivots in Finance - How to transition to new positions in Finance
• Career changes - How to find a more fulfilling career
• Burnout, work-life balance, and much more!

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Do you need a bespoke strategy? Book a call with me here!

Claudio Antonini, PCC

Finance Career Coach