It's OK to Quit (Your Job)

It's OK to Quit (Your Job)

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Signs it's time for you to quit your job

Many professionals have a strong resistance to leaving a job that's not working out. Quitting is hard because it carries an implication that you gave up, did not try hard enough, or were not good enough to make it work.  The reality, as Seth Godin so aptly puts it, is that the motivational quotes that tell you “Quitters never win and 

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Signs it's time for you to quit your job

winners never quit” are wrong. Winners quit all the time — they just quit the right stuff at the right time. That can be surprisingly difficult to do. How do you make sure you quit for the right reasons? How do you find a new job while employed? Here are questions to ask yourself that can help you think through your complicated relationship with your job and make the best decision.

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Signs it's time for you to quit your job

– Are you unhappy with how your employer treated you during the pandemic? – Is it the people you work with? The culture? – Are you sitting at a desk for too many hours of the day? – Would a different group, manager, or position be better for you at the same company? – Is your current work environment just not for you anymore?

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Signs it's time for you to quit your job

– Do you dread going in (or logging in) on Monday mornings? It might be a sign that its time to find a new job. – Is the discomfort you feel short-lived and brief, or constant and permanent? – What is your "point of no return?" What is your deal-breaker? – Does the mission of your company not align with your values?

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Signs it's time for you to quit your job

Where is the problem really coming from? Before you plan your next career move, your first step should be to honestly look at the current situation and figure out what's happening. Sometimes, the issue has little to do with the job and everything to do with your personal life. Dissatisfaction or missing pieces in one part of 

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Signs it's time for you to quit your job

your life can certainly spill elsewhere, so check your basics before you give up on a career. Health, sleep deprivation, relationships — figure out where exactly the problem is before you make any dramatic changes at work.

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Signs it's time for you to quit your job

Is your discomfort temporary or permanent? Professional growth does not come pain-free. If the discomfort you are experiencing is a temporary side effect of learning new things or stretching into new challenges, quitting your job will rob you of an opportunity to grow and advance professionally.

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Signs it's time for you to quit your job

If the discomfort is permanent or damaging, however, staying in the situation will cost you time from your career and not contribute much by not thinking outside the box at work.

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Signs it's time for you to quit your job

What is your personal “point of no return?” Everyone has a personal set of factors that are firm nonstarters. What are yours? An abusive boss or manager, a job that has offered no opportunities for growth and career development, a commute to the new office that consumes two hours in one direction — you decide what would spell an absolute “no” for you.

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Signs it's time for you to quit your job

What needs to change for you to feel great about staying? This is the reverse of question three: Instead of thinking about what would make the decision to quit a no-brainer, consider what it would take to stay. Most situations can be salvaged, even if just in theory. Perhaps it might take reporting to a different person, finding a trusted mentor, or taking on a 

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Signs it's time for you to quit your job

good career development opportunity or interesting side project.

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Signs it's time for you to quit your job

Have you exhausted your options for making it better? This may be the most challenging because it forces you to face the fact that the complicated and painful situation you are in was co-created with your active participation. Be brutally honest and ask yourself if you have really done everything you could to make this better. Own 

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Signs it's time for you to quit your job

your part in the mess so that you can begin to dig your way out.

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Reasons not to quit your job

You're receiving criticism from your boss While no one likes to be criticized, those comments can help you become a better employee. It's human nature to think that we're doing everything right, but often, this is not the case. Newsflash: When someone is paying you to perform a job, they have the right to decide if you're meeting 

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Reasons not to quit your job

their expectations or not. Even if you don't agree, try to find a grain of truth in the criticism. If you get offended and quit every time your behavior or your work is criticized, you'll be changing jobs quite frequently.

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Reasons not to quit your job

You were passed over for promotions Let's be honest: No one who's been passed over for promotion ever thinks the person eventually selected was a better choice. Each one of us wants to believe that we are the best choice. However, there are a lot of factors that contribute to this type of decision. For example, some companies 

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Reasons not to quit your job

promote employees based on seniority, while others are concerned with looking for candidates who can not only motivate employees but also hold them accountable. If you're the type of person who avoids confrontation at any cost, you might not be considered for a team lead or a management position.

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Reasons not to quit your job

You want more money Obviously, everyone wants to earn more money. But, sometimes those dollar signs can cloud your vision. If you currently have a job that you love — or at least really like — you need to weigh the pros and cons of quitting. For example, your current job may be quite flexible, while the new workplace might not be as 

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Reasons not to quit your job

accommodating. You may be accustomed to coming in late, leaving early, or even working from home when the kids have events at school or medical appointments. How would your lifestyle change if the new company had a more rigid schedule and required employees to request time off months in advance?

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Reasons not to quit your job

You want to start your own business There's a big difference between quitting your job to start a new business, and leaving because your new business has been up and running for a while. According to Entrepreneur, while 75 percent of small business owners are supremely confident that their company 

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Reasons not to quit your job

will be profitable, 50 percent fail in the fifth year, and at the 10-year mark, 70 percent of small businesses have gone belly-up. The vast majority of these failures are a result of cash flow problems.

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Reasons not to quit your job

What do the signs tell you? If your answers to these questions only increase your desire to quit, that's OK! If you have that little voice in your head — you know, the one that's telling you something's off and that you should be doing something else with your life — give yourself permission and the space to listen to it. Explore your options, daydream, see 

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Reasons not to quit your job

what ideas come to you, and make a game plan to make the right changes in your life.

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How to quit your job

Know it's OK to disappoint others You're in the driver's seat of your life. No one else knows what's best for you but you — not your parents, your grandparents, your spouse, your best friend, or your mentor. If you make a career choice to please others before you please yourself, you may grow to resent those people in the long run.

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How to quit your job

Also, you're the one who has to get through each day, and no one else can or will do it for you. If you know that quitting your job is the best choice for you and your family, trust that others will see it too.

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How to quit your job

Have a game plan After you do some soul searching and make the decision to quit, you need to create a game plan so you're not stressing about money and paying your bills in the foreseeable future. Whether it's … – looking for a part-time job that offers more flexibility, – saving up to start your own company,

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How to quit your job

– or landing a consulting gig so you can be your own boss and make your own hours

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How to quit your job

Give notice Two weeks' notice is the business norm and common courtesy to your employer. Even though you may not be technically required to give more notice than that (check your contract), in some situations you may consider doing so anyway. If your position is specialized, complex, or mission-critical to 

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How to quit your job

the company, you may think about staying longer to give your employer time to find your successor. If your industry has a busy season, you may time your departure in a way that does not leave your team in a lurch.

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How to quit your job

Update your resume Once you have your game plan squared away, it's time to focus on your resume. Make sure you've gathered all the information you'll need to properly update your resume and sell yourself in an interview before you quit, in case your company decides they don't want you to give two weeks and has you leave immediately — 

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How to quit your job

which is something they are allowed to do.

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How to quit your job

Communicate clearly This may be difficult for some of you, particularly if you did not enjoy a smooth relationship with your boss or co-workers. If you would rather resign by text and never see the office again, resist the temptation to do so. Instead, make sure you write a resignation letter and (if possible), tell your supervisor in person. If you are currently 

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How to quit your job

working from home, you can email or video chat with your supervisor, but make sure to have an official resignation letter on top of that.

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How to quit your job

Leave with grace If and when you do decide to leave your job and send a goodbye email, do so as gracefully as possible; don't burn bridges if you can help it. It can be a small world, and people remember those who handle things in a respectful and appreciative manner. If you quit your job without notice, in a rude manner, or

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How to quit your job

in a way that can harm your professional reputation, that could follow you around to your new job, your job search, or even a new industry. Trust us, you never want to ruin your professional relationships this way — you never know when you might need to call on these connections later in your career.

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