But only if you have something else lined up!
Deciding to quit the job that I’ve held for the past two and a half years was really difficult. I was working in a family business, so the emotional ties were strong. That said, I knew within a year of being there that it wasn’t the “forever job” I was looking for. It took another year before I was willing to accept that fact. That job had been part of My Ideal Life, if it didn’t work out, what next?
Some people have peculiar habits when it comes to problem solving. Some people eat, some people exercise, some people talk it out. I research. This problem was like no other, and as the blog posts about “how to know it’s time to quit your job” kept rolling through my news feed, and I kept nodding my head at the things they were saying, I knew that I probably should keep an eye out for other opportunities. Here are some of the reasons that helped me decide to quit my job:
I Wasn’t Learning Anything New
I learned a lot at my job. I came to it directly from university, having no real skills to speak of besides a really good track record of getting A’s. The first year and a bit was all learning, and I acquired a ton of really useful skills. But then that curve kind of levelled out, and I found myself doing repetitive tasks.
There Was No Room to Advance
It was a small company, and there wasn’t much room to advance my role. The plan had been that I would gradually take on more of the responsibilities of my boss, but I realized about a year into working there that I really didn’t want his job. His job involved a lot of dealing with clients, accounting, and management. I loved my role as a marketer, and wanted to do more of that. Any advancement in my career there meant I would’ve moved further away from the things I wanted, which was the exact opposite direction I wanted to go in.
I Was Pouring My Heart Into My Hobbies
A clear indicator that I wasn’t engaged at work? This blog! Not that you can love your job and blog too, but when I woke up in the morning, it wasn’t my job I was excited to work on, it was my blog! At first, I tried really hard to get satisfaction from my full time job. I learned new skills, implemented new protocols, and established new routines, all aimed at providing value to the company, and improving my own satisfaction. Most of those efforts didn’t pan out the way I was hoping they would. I wasn’t getting a lot of satisfaction from my full time job, so I turned my attention to developing my social media and writing skills online. I started this blog, and have since grown it to what it is today.
Although it’s hard to see more than even a few years into my future, I knew that I didn’t want to work at that company for the next ten years.
I finally accepted the hard truth that my current job wasn’t where I wanted to be forever, but so what? I live in the middle of nowhere, pickings are a little on the slim side for job prospects. While I kept my ear to the ground for news of openings, I was resigned to the fact that I would likely be working there for a long time. Fortunately, it was my blog that got me noticed, and the network of friends that I’ve developed here for the past nearly two years that ended up landing me my new job.
Quitting was very hard, but I knew it was the right thing to do. All of the key indicators were practically screaming that I needed to quit. Once I had my new job lined up, I did what I’d always been afraid to do, I quit. I knew it was the right thing to do, and this past week at my new job has completely proven me right.
So, I want to hear your stories. Have you ever had the niggling idea that your job wasn’t the right fit? What did you do about it?