There are some perfectly valid reasons to leave your current company.

• An entrenched bullying culture, where management pay lip service but nothing ever changes.
• Serious mismanagement where you know that any moment auditors will be walking in the door and closing things down
• You are fighting an uphill battle against a family-owned and operated company, knowing that the chances of you being promoted on merit over the owner’s children are laughable to even contemplate.
• You are a whistleblower, who despite doing the right thing, have become a pariah in the company.
• You will be in the same job, doing the same thing until the next ice age.
• The company is relocating to another state and you are not prepared to go with them.

Clearly these are serious situations; serious enough for you to submit a resignation and leave without looking back.

Assuming your situation is not so dire, then think about your motivations for leaving. Times clearly aren’t too brilliant right now. Lots of competition, too few jobs. The wait for a job that fits your particular brand of talents could be months away. Even if that job does come along, you will not be the only candidate and you may not be successful.

So let’s look at your situation pragmatically. What are the good things about where you work?

• People know you and you’ve made friends. Perhaps some people don’t like you too, but that’s ok. The next job you’ll have to start from scratch and prove yourself again. Do you think there will be no troublemakers or agitators at the new place? Is there a possibility of jumping from the frying pan into the fire?
• Assuming you are a competent worker, you have earned the respect of those above you. Respect is earned over time and it will not be automatic at your new place of employment.
• If you’ve accrued benefits, annual leave, share options, sick leave and superannuation, are you aware of the cost to you if you leave the employer and go elsewhere?
• You know the routine. You know what you can do, achieve. You know where things are, you know the way things work. With a new employer you’ll need to learn all this from scratch.

Clearly it’s easier to stay where you are, but what is making you want to make that move? How can you make your current situation work for you?

• Do you want to move up to the next level? If so, what have you done to communicate that to decision makers? Have you taken on high-profile assignments? Have you been visible in joining task forces and committees? What do you have to do to move forward? Could it be further education or training? Why not create a plan right now? Where do you want to be, when do you want to get there, and what do you have to do to achieve it? Work out the person with influence that you can voice your aspirations to and enlist his or her help.
• Is there something missing in your work? Would you like to learn something new so you don’t get stale? How would this be achieved? Could you sit in on another department’s operations or is it something that you could learn in a training course? If you would like to enrich your skills, build a case for why and how it would help your employer. Would it save them money by having to hire an external consultant? Would it allow you to share your learning with others and thereby increase the knowledge base of the team to provide better or quicker service? Once you have worked that out, who can you see who would support you in your endeavours?
• Perhaps you get along great except for one person who makes your life, and possibly everyone else’s life miserable. If you leave, then that person has had quite a bit of power over your choices and your future career. Do you really want him or her to have that power? Consider what can be done. Who do you know in the company who can help you mediate a successful win/win?
• You want more pay. How do the payscales work? Are they based on productivity? Achievements? What can you do to proactively put yourself in a position of greater visibility to score some high profile wins?

I’m not saying stay at your company forever. What I’m saying is if you decide to make the switch to a new employer, do it for the right reasons: greater opportunities, a genuine step up, or in an area that you have dreamed about. If your whole motivation for leaving is a knee-jerk reaction, you will be bound to be disappointed as the grass is very rarely greener on the other side.

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