Before you quit your job…
The Great Resignation. The Extraordinary exodus. The mass number of Americans who’ve quit their job over the last year is astounding. But not shocking. We saw that industries like food & hospitality had been shaken to their core by the pandemic impacts. But COVID has brought “final straw” moments for executives, professionals and entrepreneurs alike.
The data is clear: One year into the pandemic and everyone was clinging to their jobs for dear life (58% less c-suite postings than February 2020). But another year after that? They’re running for dear lives away from those jobs (54% more c-suite postings than February 2020). 100’s of CEOs are resigning the top post each month. Of those that are left, 40% report considering quitting.
Why? The familiar thread is “it just wasn’t “worth” it anymore”. The research show that nearly half of us are feeling constant burnout. For some, walking away from an environment that made them miserable was absolutely the right choice at the right time. For others, there are a few things that they wish they had considered before walking out on a career that they spent years (or decades!) building:
Why are you REALLY leaving? Not the surface responses of “I’m tired” or “I just need a break”. You really need to think deeply about why you are leaving before you make a decision that significantly alters your life. My favorite way to get to the bottom of this is the “Five Whys” method. Ask yourself why you’re leaving. Ask yourself why. Ask yourself why again. Keep asking why until you’ve asked 5 times. If you get stuck - leave it and come back a day or two later.
What are you saying “Yes” to? When you make the decision to say “no more” to your job, you are making a choice to say “yes” to some other aspect of your life. What is it that you deeply desire out of the core aspects of your career? Not only does this help understanding the direction you’ll take when you leave your job, but it helps to reduce the backlash that you might experience after making such a major life shift. Remember, there is a difference between walking towards something and running away from something.
What are you saying “No” to? When you say “no” to your job, make sure you understand all that you’ll be required to leave behind. You know the basics: the income, the salary, the benefits, the perks. But what about the status, the access, the networks. What about an opportunity to spend time away from your family? What about a space where you get to feel innovative and confident, at least sometimes? Don’t pretend like these aspects of your career don’t exist or that they don’t matter. We are socialized to desire these things and to expect them from our careers, so reflect on how you feel about the things you’ll say no to when leaving your job. And then reflect on how you feel about those feelings.
Who are you REALLY? One of the issues that several of my clients have not expected to grapple with is struggling with post-career identity adjustment. For many of us, the longer we’ve worked in a job, industry, business, organization [etc… labels], the more deeply we begin to internalize that experience as a core part of our identity. Particularly for professionals (accountants, doctors, attorneys, etc…), they can struggle with extricating aspects of themselves from their career, leaving them wondering who they “are” without the CPA or JD behind their names. Spend some time reminding yourself that (1) you can always carry with you and use the skills that you’ve learned, and (2) that it is not the label of your profession that makes you smart, talented, effective, efficient, accomplished and acclaimed - that’s all you and the HARD WORK that you do. Look, even the C med students get to call themselves “doctor”. You’re successful because you’re a person who knows how to become successful - not just because you’re a [INSERT PROFESSION]. When you anchor your identity in YOU and not just the reflection of you that you see in your career, you’ll be better able to avoid the post-career identity adjustment struggle.
When I work with a client who is considering a drastic change in their career, the questions above are our first exercise. For some, leaving is a no-brainer. But there are also many stories of pandemic-created opportunities for upward mobility and to reinvent, reorganize and reinvigorate your business. Often we are so overwhelmed that we can’t recognize the power we have to reduce our career unhappiness. Making adjustments where you have influence and control can exponentially improve your career experience, even in the same role that you thought you needed to quit.
Leaving your career is one of the many ways in which you can transform it, so as with all career decisions, make it intentionally and with authenticity. You’ve worked too hard to leave with regrets, so take the time to flush out all of the major sources of quitters’ remorse first.
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