We all love a bit of stability in our lives. That’s why when it comes to our careers, the desire for job security often makes the thought of changing jobs a little unnerving.
And unless you well and truly hate your job, it can be difficult to pinpoint the best time to leave when you’re negotiating with issues like job stability or the promise of a promotion down the track.
But according to Catherine Cunningham, the founder of The Career Consultancy, there are ways to ensure that you move at the right time in your career and avoid getting stuck in a dead-end job that makes you unhappy.
“There is a bell curve of satisfaction and dissatisfaction of a job. The left side is when you’re keen and you have lots of energy. Then you get to the top of the curve when you’re still happy but everything is very easy. The theory is that you leave then,” she says.
“What most people do, however, is they leave when they’re on the downward side of the bell curve, and spend a lot of time in dissatisfaction mode.”
Most of us have, at some point, spent some time in dissatisfaction mode and know too well the lack of enthusiasm, energy and focus that goes with it. If you’re no longer learning or feeling challenged, Cunningham says it’s time to consider making a move.
The first step is to investigate why you’re starting to lack focus and enthusiasm. Cunningham says if it relates to your current role or employer, you need to make some changes. And if those changes can’t be made, she suggests making plans to leave the role or organisation within 12 months.
“In my opinion, you shouldn’t stay in a job that you’re not happy in for any longer than 12 months. It starts to damage you as a human being,” she says.
Claire Hall, life coach and founder of Authentic Empowerment, adds that for many people it’s the fear of change that keeps us in the same job for too long.
“There’s this fear, ‘What if I don’t like my new job? What if I’m just running from this job into exactly the same format but just a different desk?'” she says.
“People get too nervous that they’re not actually moving to something that they actually want and that’s because they don’t have clarity of what that is.”
Make a timeline
To avoid spending too much time in dissatisfaction mode and getting stuck in a job that’s going nowhere, you need to have a plan. A plan that outlines what you want in your career, when you want it and how you’re going to get it.
There are plenty of bosses out there who promise the world to their employees, especially when they start to sense they’re not happy. But the promise of a promotion or pay rise may never eventuate and before you know it, you’ve been in the same position for two years with nowhere to go.
That’s where a plan comes in handy, as well as specific timeframes. Having clarity around what you want will make it easier to know whether you’re current job is going to make you happy in the short term and in the long term.
“The current theory is to be self-aware and to take advantage of opportunities that come up, but a five-year plan can have its place. Sit down with your partner and examine all the parameters of your life and ask: ‘What do we want our lives to look like in five years’ time?'” says Cunningham.
“A five-year plan has two advantages. You can use visualisation, which is a very powerful tool, and secondly, a five-year plan allows you to work backwards. If you can see an exit strategy you can put up with your current job without it damaging your life because of the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.”
While having a clear idea of your “current reality” and your “desired reality” is imperative, Hall emphasises the importance of establishing clear timeframes as well.
“Once you’ve got that plan you need to put a timeframe around it and really know exactly what mini goals have to be achieved and at what stages throughout the year. Check in with yourself every month and take [your plan] to trusted sources, such as a mentor, who can assist you,” she says.
By involving an executive coach, mentor or manager in your plan, adds Cunningham, you will have a better understanding of whether or not you deserved that promotion or pay rise you might have missed out on.
“A lot of people I have worked with are lacking in self-awareness. Their view is, ‘I should have got this or got that’, but I can pick up on clues from their interactions with me to perhaps understand why they didn’t get the promotion,” she says. “If you haven’t achieved that promotion and you’re without a coach, you’ll never know why you didn’t get it.”
To assess whether you’re in with a chance for that promotion or pay rise, Cunningham recommends the use of gap analysis to help you understand the role you want and how you can get it.
“Gap analysis is a wonderful tool. Sit down with your employer and identify the gap between your current performance and the performance you believe is required for the role you want,” she says. “By identifying where the gaps are gives you a plan.”