When to Quit Your Job

It’s graduation season!  Thousands of bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, 20-somethings will be starting new jobs this summer.

Only 1 in 5 will stay.

Gone are the days when people stayed at a company for 25+ years.  The next generation of talent will job-hop as new opportunities arise if it means they’ll be one step closer to their dream career. 

CEB Sales Members, a differentiated, sales-specific EVP helps organizations not just attract high caliber talent, but also increases the engagement and retention of current sales employees. See how the best companies build an effective sales employee value proposition .

Some people scoff at this and call them naive.  Others view it as an unstable way of living and question their corporate loyalty. But there’s something to learn from this millennial mentality.  When should you tough it out and when should you pursue other opportunities?  Is your bad day really just a bad day or is it an excuse?  Do you even know the difference anymore?  Below are signs you should quit your job:

Your job won’t help you fulfill your personal mission.  Think about who you are.  Are you a family-guy but you’ve missed your kid’s clarinet concert for the third year in a row due to work travel?  Are you really ambitious but upward mobility is impossible?  Are your skills even being tapped?  You know what’s important to you and what isn’t; if your job is standing in the way of the principles that define your character then consider other options.
You’ve stopped learning.  When your development stalls, then you’ve hit a dead end.  Your career shouldn’t be completely one-sided: the amount of time and energy you put in should be given back in ways other than monetary compensation.  You’re never too old to learn something new.
You can’t picture yourself there in a year.  This one is difficult to spot correctly.  This doesn’t mean you got a bad assignment and you’re so miserable you need to get out.  Everyone is going to get a bad assignment, a boring project or a huge crisis.  This is inertia.  If you picture the future and you’re not excited about it, then get out.
The fit is all wrong.  You don’t like the work.  You don’t fit in with your co-workers.  You hate your boss.  The stress and environment is affecting your home life or your health.  These are all reasons to leave.
Your company is a sinking ship.  That doesn’t mean you need to go down with it.  If your company is experiencing some tough financial problems or a merger is about to happen that can affect the existence of your department, don’t wait to find out what happens.and finally…
Your responsibilities have increased but your pay hasn’t.  If it’s not due to downsizing, then upper management is taking advantage of you.  Don’t let them.

Note: This post was originally written by Nicole Barbuto for the CEB Marketing Leadership Council, our sister program for marketing professionals. Visit the original here .

Related Blog Posts:

The Top Reason Why People Quit
Your Best Reps Are Leaving
When High Performers Stop Performing

Related Resources:

The Voice of the Sales Force: Engagement and Retention Trends
Steps for Building an Effective Sales Employee Value Proposition
FLSM Center: Employee Engagement