Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Are you debating if you should leave a job you are no longer satisfied in, or stay and make it work? We have some advice.

If you’ve been in the same job for years, are feeling drained and demotivated and are considering leaving, there are some important things to bear in mind.

First, it’s important to think about your values – both personal and career-wise.

Think about what motivates you. What excites you each day? What gets you out of bed in the morning? Think about your answers and reflect on these things.

When to Leave

If you're considering leaving your job and the reasons aren't likely to change, it may simply be a matter of when.

Do some research into the number of vacancies in your sector – there will be aspects of the role that you can compare like for like (e.g. hours, salary, job content etc), but what’s hard to glean from a job description is the culture of the organisation and leadership/management styles. What will help is attending various interviews as you’ll start to pick this up and, of course, learn more about your potential manager and the way they work and whether that’s in alignment with you and your values.

Updating Your CV

If you’ve worked in your current role for a number of years, think about updating your CV – make sure it’s achievement-led, focussing on what you’ve achieved over the last years; this will show a sense of progression and that you’ve grown. A strong CV will get you an interview so it’s worth spending time on this.

Leaving Now, Or Later

If you don’t see any sign that things can get better where you are, you essentially have two options – to stay (and resign later) or to resign now. I’d recommend you write a list of the pros and cons of each option and weigh them up. How many months can you survive without working? You may find a new job within a month, but equally it could take up to a year to find your next role.

If your job is really getting you down and if you have some savings, work out how many months you can manage if you resign now. Resigning straight away means that you can 100% focus on your job search which will increase your motivation as you plan for the future and ‘what next?’. Life is too short to feel miserable and stressed.

If, however, you’re not enjoying your role and you lack motivation, but it’s not getting you down too much, you might prefer to job search whilst in your current role and then resign when you land your next opportunity.

*Liz Sebag-Montefiore is a career coach and Director of 10Eighty, a strengths-based HR consultancy.