Switching from a permanent employment relationship. When is the right time?

You are in a permanent employment relationship, but are looking for a new challenge. In this article, you will learn what criteria to consider.

About half of all employees are considering looking for a new employer and job. The reasons are manifold. The interesting question is always: When is the right time to change jobs?

Reasons for changing jobs

The temporary employment agency Manpower has launched a survey among employees and determined the rate of 50% willing to change jobs. The most important reason for the desired change is the desire for higher salary, this was stated by 22% of all respondents. Lack of recognition of one's own performance in the current job is the second most common motive, followed by loss of motivation due to the content of the work, a poor working atmosphere and private changes. However, despite a very strong desire for change, experts warn against spontaneous action. Rather, any job change should be well thought out and considered. Spontaneous actions rarely happen out of frustration over a too low income or the tiring work tasks. These conditions have been known for some time. Conflicts or bitter failures in everyday working life can, however, cloud the mood so abruptly that an employee thinks: "Just get out of here! At this moment, it is necessary to give oneself time to think things over and to sleep the famous night over the process. Without this reflection period, during which emotions cool down, some employees quit even before they have a new job. A temporary conflict, if it remains an isolated incident, is rarely a real reason for quitting anyway. Only longer-lasting, highly unsatisfactory conditions provide sufficient reason for the change. If one's own development only stagnates, no improvement is in sight and then, in addition, unpleasant conflicts arise, the employee no longer has any business in the company.

When is the right time to change jobs?

This time has come when the conditions in the current company are as bad as described and at the same time a new job offers the chance for a really positive change. This must fit with the employee's own wishes, which an employee who is willing to change jobs should therefore question well. Mere dissatisfaction with the current situation is not a sufficient motive for accepting all the consequences of a change. A new job offer must be tailored to the employee and also offer more or at least as much money as before (+ promotion prospects). Three questions help to question the situation:

??What fundamentally drives me? - (motivation)

??What can I really do? - (Skills and inclinations)

??What do I want to achieve in the short, medium and long term? - (Formulation of goals)

In terms of career opportunities, employees should consider whether they might aspire to a management position. If this could never be achieved in the current company, a change of employer is appropriate. Those willing to switch should put their career goals in writing. Then they can begin their structured job search. On the basis of their own position assessment, they first define preferred industries, functional areas, regions and positions. This gives them a much more precise picture of where they want to go and what they want. This significantly improves job selection results. Job changers who haven't applied for a new position in a while should determine their current market value. Specific qualifications, the region, the industry, the current market situation and the economy all play a role in this.

The question of income

Online salary comparisons can be used to assess the current job market from a financial perspective. A salary increase is almost always sought. Realistically, 10 to 15 percent more than the current salary. To achieve this, one's qualifications and work experience must be a good fit for the new position.

What is the right way to assess one's own position on the job market?

Many employees who are currently dissatisfied and are looking for a new start nevertheless doubt their market value for another employer. These doubts are understandable; psychologists blame them on the general process of change. These fears must not lead to paralysis, otherwise the change will never succeed. Looking back on your own professional development can be very helpful: Those who have always managed strong changes despite all their reservations will manage to do it again. This creates self-confidence and confidence, as well as the optimistic view that you will definitely learn something and prove your flexibility and ambition to yourself. A career only succeeds anyway if a professional actively strives for it and therefore consciously initiates the job change instead of being driven to it by changes in his company or even the frustration caused by an unsatisfactory working environment. The best way to assess one's own position on the job market is for professionals to evaluate themselves as objectively as possible - with all their strengths and weaknesses - and match this profile with job requirements. They should take the view from the outside: This is how the personnel manager of another company views them.

What are the advantages of applying from a permanent position?

Applying from an "untenured position," as the saying goes, is an excellent basis because the employee appears to be in solid professional circumstances, which makes him or her desirable to another company. Unemployed applicants or employees with ongoing job changes who also show frustration with their current position, on the other hand, are considered rather insecure candidates. They may have made themselves unpopular and may have already received a warning, which is why they want to avoid the threat of termination by taking a new job. Such a thing can be suspected, it is not exactly considered a reference. Applicants should make it clear that they are attracted by a better position, more money and perhaps a different area of responsibility.