You need to think a million times before leaving your current "Good Job"

It’s been a roller-coaster season apparently.

The purpose of this article is not to tell you “Stay stuck, stay in your comfort zone, and don't consider leaving your current good job” — even if you have a better offer. It's none of anyone's business to tell you so. Rather, this article will tackle some definitions and facts that lots of people aren't aware of in the middle of these tough economic times, along with discussing the following points further:

• Navigating the market
• Some facts and numbers that would urge you to think very wisely before leaving your current "Good Job"
• What's the definition of a good job?

NB: An essential part of my role as a People Partner is hiring the top-notch calibers in the market, and an essential part of hiring is headhunting. So yes, this article might sound contradictory "Come and join us VS Why do you need to consider this move a million times before actually leaving"

So, let's figure this out together.

Without much further ado:

Double-clicking on our local market in parallel with the global market too, apparently:

• The competition is on fire
• Companies want to be trending in any shape or form
• Having a good job isn't even tempting anymore since there are lots of better jobs out there
• The definition of loyalty has vanished for both companies and employees
• Lots of VCs and investors around the world invest massively in startups, scale-ups, and even corporates that get acquired by other giants
• Companies in an early stage, yet to have a customer base, and yet to have anything in revenue, raise millions of dollars
• Unnecessary employment and hiring
• Companies growing from 50 to 500 people in the span of no time, looking good for another round of funding, etc
• Stability isn't there anymore. Startups, scale-ups, and corporates lay off their employees. You can't tell which is more stable. You will never simply know!

Consequently, we have been witnessing:

• Mass hiring almost everywhere
• Demanded employees
• Attractive perks and benefits
• Unbelievable salaries sometimes
• Cool employer branding that reflects why an employer is an employer of choice
• Massive layoffs
• Inflated valuations
• Inflated titles
• False promises
• Disappointments

And yes, when you receive that better offer and leave your current good job bearing in mind only the tempting points, you here feel like:?

• It's a dream come true!
• I'm advancing my career path!
• I got a better title!
• A much higher salary!
• I'll be able to get that new car!
• A bigger house!
• An upgraded standard of living!

So why not!? Why are you overcomplicating it!? Why don't we simply leave that good job and fly!?

Milton Berle once said:

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.

The ironic thing today is that the possibility of knocking is way higher, and that's a double-edged sword. Good for freshers and unemployed folks, and confusing for making a talented employee always distracted and always feeling like he/she is missing out!

If we used to work on ourselves so hard, invest in learning and development, and hustle to get that fairly good job, now it's way much easier! The supply is really high, and the demand is everywhere!

That fear of missing out on things makes you sometimes miss out on everything!

Here are some cold unavoidable facts in the Tech Space that we all need to face:

According to Quartz at work and as Uchitelle explains in?The?Disposable American, from the 1890s through the 1970s, mass layoffs were rare, and perceived as “a sign of corporate failure and a violation of acceptable business behavior.” This was the era of the company man, in which workers could reasonably expect to remain employed by the same organization for the bulk of their careers. (Copied)

Yet, the term "Layoffs" has become a phenomenon that has affected millions of workers since the?late 1980s. It was well known as "Downsizing" back then.

So the term/action itself isn't new. However, it's been recently trending, it's been normal, easy, smooth, and it's been happening very frequently throughout the past couple of years. Moreover, it's unfortunately expected to keep on happening until... no one really knows.

Now, let me walk you through some facts:

• Do you know that more than 725?companies have laid off?more than 125,736?employees since 3/11/2020? According to Layoffs.fyi
• Do you know that a company's stocks usually rise on news of layoffs (Keeping costs down, and profit margins high)?
• Do you know that if you're a new joiner in a company that needs to do a layoff, you (as a new joiner) will most probably be the first person in line?
• Do you know that the majority of any affected people from a layoff have compromised on their next step (job)? Do you know that many of them are working in a place that they don't like?
• Do you know that some of the affected people during COVID-19 layoffs are yet to even find another good job since then?
• Do you know that due to what's happening in that bubble, you get to experience lots of false promises, higher expectations, compromises, unempathetic decisions, disappointments, etc?
• Do you know that when you accept a better offer in terms of an odd extremely high pay and an inflated title, you might get cornered! If anything happens, it will be so hard for you to go back to normal, your bills will be way much higher, your title will not be as demanded as it used to be (especially if it's not making sense), and Accordingly, you're negatively impacted without actually realizing, you won't be able to sustain the same financial standard of living. If anything happens, you will have to downgrade a lot of stuff (Even though if you think about it, you're normalizing, not downgrading. Which is still tough for many people after being on the top of the ladder from their point of view)
• Last but not least, it's the Capitalism unfair world, my friend. We (employees) always pay the price of a wrong strategy, wrong direction, wrong decision, or any sort of circumstance. Especially, if you are still a new employee who is yet to prove himself/herself in that role.

The talents of any company fall under the umbrella of the 10-80-10 principle (10% top-notch calibers/top performers, 80% average performers, and 10% below-average performers) Companies usually avoid the top 10 percentile as much as they can, reaching that level certainly takes time and effort, during those circumstances, companies let go of the other 10% along with most of the folks who stand at the 80%, which makes it riskier for any new joiner in the middle of these unstable times.

Demanding more and being ambitious is absolutely great! But the thing is that due to the tremendous numbers of funds, fake valuations, mass hiring, competition along with the rest of the other points as written above... some disguised faulty opportunities would make you feel like, it's not worth maintaining my current good job since there is a better one somewhere else and then you feel disappointed when you do so and figure out the opposite.

So How can I know that my current job is good enough?

The answer to this question could be very subjective, but from my very humble perspective, the below 10 points are must-haves and not nice-to-haves:

1. You have an empathetic fair direct line manager who's genuinely setting you to succeed! (People leave managers, not companies)
2. A truly healthy culture and environment. (That doesn't mean a ping-pong table and a fun room)
3. You're not in your comfort zone. (You're not missing out on important stuff in your career, you're not outdated and left behind in terms of technology, tools, best practices, etc.. You're being challenged, and you're continuously learning)
4. Autonomy and Flexibility (You're not a machine)
5. The career ladder is clear and fair. (You know what's the next step/milestone and how to reach there)
6. Your work is meaningful. (If you don't believe in what you do, you will do it averagely)
7. You feel appreciated, recognized, and valued. (If you work hard but you don't feel emotionally and financially rewarded in one way or another, it's flagging)
8. Work/Life Balance. (It's never 100% balanced, but if you're always burning out, it's flagging)
9. Perks and Benefits (You have some perks and benefits that help you sustain your quality of living, at least the minimal stuff)
10. You're highly and fairly compensated already. (The higher it could be, the better indeed. There is always a higher salary somewhere else but isn't it a full package?)

The above-mentioned points could actually be "too good to be true" for many folks, but believe it or not, many employees have such points and don't feel blessed, maybe because they feel like they're missing out? Maybe because they haven't experienced working in different companies? Maybe because they're influenced by what's happening around in the market? Maybe because offer letters recently have been very tempting? Maybe...

This could still be very subjective as stated earlier so regardless of my definition of what a good job looks like... it's your call, you define whether your current job is fitting or you need to seek another better one. Risk-averse people, risk-neutral people, and risk-seekers have different thoughts and different perspectives. Eventually, nothing is entirely perfect!

Having a good job is a blessing, the grass isn't necessarily always greener on the other side!

Long story short:

There are no rules, my friend! People were meant to be different, our mentalities are different, and our prioritizations are totally different. An individual who doesn't have many responsibilities and bills VS a person who's having a family running in his/her blood! A fresh graduate who's still figuring things out VS someone who's in a management or senior role, incomparable. So ultimately, that doesn't make anyone any less valuable! Any less wise! Or any less intelligent! You get to read the scene and play your cards accordingly.

At the end of the day, we move, we leave companies, we join other companies, and we keep on evolving. Upgrading our lives and advancing our career paths is absolutely an undeniable right for everyone. So again, I'm not asking you to be an average employee with average pay, having an average job. I'm not telling you "Stay in your comfort zone" "Don't take any risks" nor "Stay put at your current company for ages even if it's good enough". The article is just touching base on the fact of us being wise, us reading the market, us defining a truly better opportunity, us not always feeling overwhelmed, us not being influenced by the exponential growth of companies, exponential growth isn't always healthy, take the career ladder gradually, and don't be in a hurry. Sooner or later, we will reach there!