Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Posted by in Career Advice


That uncomfortable feeling … A self assessment of when to consider a job change. I spoke to a friend yesterday, who asked for some advice. It seems her sales job wasn’t going as well as she had hoped. She wasn’t making enough money to cover her expenses, and she was “starting to feel uncomfortable”. Feeling uncomfortable is our internal warning system. Remember the Robot from “Lost in Space”, who would announce “Danger, Will Robinson!” We all have that Robot inside us, that internal gauge that tells us if everything is good, or not. But how do we tell if this bad feeling is temporary, or something that we can overcome? My friend has a dilemma that many people see in their career. She had moved 4 months ago to a sales role, after 3 months of training. On one hand, she’s getting negative feelings from her boss….On the other hand, she’s only been in her new role for 4 months. New and heavily commissioned salespeople often struggle and feel this way at the 90 day mark, and don’t start seeing results for 6-12 months, depending on the company/product/service. Veteran salespeople know that the start-up phase of a new job is challenging. Should I Stay or should I go? If you’re in this situation, should you stick it out? Or should you listen to your feelings and get out? The answer depends on the kind of person you are, and your specific situation. Ask yourself these tough questions: YOU: 1. How uncomfortable are you (scale of 1-10)? 2. How concerned that you are about to get terminated? 3. Do you perform you best under pressure, or do you perform best when comfortable & confident? 4. How is the stress affecting your health? Your sleep? Are you getting sick more often? 5. How is the stress affecting your relationships? Family? 6. Are there insurance or benefits reasons (Ex: education, pension, vesting, stock plans, etc) that are overriding reasons to stay at your current company? 7. Are there other reasons that leaving would be difficult? (Ex: Flexibility, lack of relevant jobs in your area, commute, daycare/school proximity) 8. How much financial cushion do you have? YOUR BOSS & COMPANY: 9. Is your company profitable? Hitting its revenue and profit numbers? 10. Is your company hiring, holding headcount steady, or expanding? 11. Are you hearing company messages about growing sales, or managing costs? 12. Is your company seeking to be purchased, to purchase/merge with other companies, or stable? 13. Is your boss’ job stable? Is your boss under pressure, or considered a key player? 14. If your boss makes you feel uncomfortable, does he/she do this to others on the team? Or is it just you? 15. Has your boss taken away some of your responsibilities (or accounts)? Are you still in the loop for communications or meetings, or do you feel left out? Has this changed recently? 16. What have others in your company done in your situation? 17. What have you seen when others were terminated within your company? How long had the problems been going on before termination? How far in advance were formal warnings given? 18. How likely will your boss get promoted or leave? Can you outlast your boss? 19. Would you want to get transferred to another department within your company? How likely & how quickly can you get transferred? 20. Large company vs. Small? Liability and regulatory concerns faced by large companies often make it a longer and harder process to fire employees. If you’re in a small company, especially if your boss is the owner, termination decisions are typically driven more by emotion than policy/procedure. JOB MARKET: 21. What’s the job market like? Do you think it will be better, or worse, 6 months from now? 22. How transferrable are your skills? What’s your realistic estimate of how long your search will take? 23. Do you want to stay in your current field/industry? Or do you want to change? 24. How prepared are you for a job search? When was the last time you updated your resume? 25. How much time do you have to search for a job while continuing work in a pressured environment? Some overall thoughts: Reasons to stay: If you haven’t had any two year job tenures in a while, consider toughing it out. It is even more difficult if you were at your current employer less than a year and leave without a couple of success stories. Employers discount “bouncy” resumes, and judge job hopping candidates as having less adaptability to tough situations. If you feel you’re handcuffed to the company due to benefits, you likely have a challenging decision. Reasons to go: You usually have a job search advantage if you make the decision to leave, before possible termination (Exceptions: Long severance packages, really bad job market conditions, no relevant jobs in area). It is more difficult to confidently explain why things didn’t work out, in a way that makes you look good. Even if your company had layoffs due to losses, employers often view this as poor judgment on your part, especially in management roles. If the job market is good now, strike while it’s hot (it won’t be hot forever). If you are being asked to do things that are unethical or illegal – go. Period. Either Way: Get your resume ready, and start networking, just in case. You never know what kinds of great opportunities are out there until you open yourself up to the possibilities. And it’s good to be prepared.
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  • James
    James
    Having been in many management positions throughout my career, I have found that most often you will find the same problems in many different companies. Some take longer to find than others.
  • GEOVONNA PARKER
    GEOVONNA PARKER
    This was a very good article.  It gave me enough information to make a decision that has been weighing me down.  Sometimes it can be like pulling teeth t oget to the root of major imporant job decisions.  
  • kimberly
    kimberly
    I have more than 5 to 8 reasons in the area of YOUR BOSS & COMPANY area.  I feel scared, sad, hopeless and angry in this company.  I want job security, a feeling of wantonness, but get none of that from the company I am with.  I'm a very hard worker.   This only lets us know we are wanted when they are under pressure and need to generate more revenue.  I'm in school to get a degree in organizational leadership and have learned this company I'm currently with is a mess.  I will graduate in may of 2011.  I've been there for about 22 months and there have been 2 big lay offs and here and there fires on top of that for a really unnecessary pts system that gets rid of good workers.  I really have to take advantage of your website.  Thanks.
  • Betty
    Betty
    I really need a better paid job, but isn't easy to find it or maybe I haven't look in the correct places, anyway, I can't afford to quit my job without having a better paid one...So, for now I'll continue looking...
  • Sameh Zeid
    Sameh Zeid
    Joined large organization in Nov. 2007. I found all my colleagues who are peers to me are taking more than me, in the same time they have less qualifications. In fact they all try to pursue my qualification to get promoted. When I joined it was my first job in Canada after more than 20 years of experience  oversees. I was approaching a respectful recruiter for coaching and advice, she suggested that my employer abused the situation of being a new comer to make me under-paid. Any way I am looking for job else anywhere. However, the compelling question in all interviews while you want to leave your current job? Also, how much you are currently being paid?
  • mary boven
    mary boven
    I have been a nurse for 35 years. In the last 2 years I have lost jobs because of what the company sees as poor performance. I feel the need to do something else, but the something else I am trying is 3 am, 4 am and every weekend. I need to figure something out help Mary
  • Roger Powell
    Roger Powell
    I've been at my position for 2 1/2 years. It started out being a Drafting position with a nationwide company. I had gained some experience in the same field with a smaller, more local company very near where I live. The current job is a commute some 87 miles away, but the pay more than made up that cost. The medical benifits are paid and there is a bonus program based, in part, by longevity with the company. That bonus is now becoming substantial.Problem is that early on I chose to carpool with a Senior Drafter who lives in my residential area. He still hangs with a crowd of heavy drinkers and partiers that I no longer hang with. I am a recovering alcoholic with some 10 years of sobriety. The Senior Drafter that I was carpooling with started pulling over at convenient stores and getting "tallboys" 2 or 3 times on the commute home every day. He stretched out a return home trip from a normal hour and a half to over two and a half hours. I stood it for as long as I could, which was about 4 months, then I asked to get out of the carpool. He became very angry with me because he was counting on the money savings from our carpooling. I remember him threatening to put my job in jeopardy. I still got out of the carpool.About 3 weeks after, another co-worker approached me and told me that the Senior Drafter was saying bad things about me and my work. I chose not to confront him hoping that "This, too... Shall pass". He, started sending me E-Mails asking me not to be breathing so heavily because it was interferring with his concentration at work. I do have local allergy/sinus problems. We were in adjacent cubicles at that time. Soon, then next thing I know is that the Project Manager decided to separate us by moving me into the company's new Reprographics Department. The company had been wanting their own in-house Reprograhics Department and since I also had an Associate Degree in Commercial Art & Advertising, in addition to my Associate Degree in Drafting & Design, I was picked to head it up. I agreed, but with the stipulation that I be able to return to the Drafting Department at some later date. I am still included in Autocad update seminars and I still draw smaller drawing tasks such as Hardware Details, Connection Details, and still perform some checking duties, as time allows. They've given me 2 raises and have incresed my annual bonuses substantially. It's been over 2 years, now and I'm still primarily heading up their in-house Reprographics Department. I truly miss being a full-time Drafter & Detailer.Should I try to return to my former employer who is more local and who still has me on their "hire-back" list? The former employer would offer less money and would not fully pay for medical benefits and they, so far as I know, still do not offer an annual bonus. But the $600.00 per month gasoline cost of commuting some 87 miles would go away. Should I stay or should I go?
  • Kelly
    Kelly
    I worked at a company for 9 years and received 3 different promotions during that time and had 8 different managers, yes, 8 different managers.  The last manager I had was for only 4 months and she decided early on that everything that I had been doing for 9 years wasn't good enough.  I was constantly finding myself in her office being 'coached'.  I had received various awards and continuous praise internally and externally during those 9 years.  What's even worse is that our new President eliminated our HR Dept.  I finally decided that I could no longer work for someone like that so I resigned.  I feel that all the hard work and dedication all those years was a waste and that my reputation has been tarnished.  I have been actively looking for another opportunity now for 2 months.  I have had several interviews, even turned down a few sales positions, but it seems that there are now more candidates to choose from for 1 position so the competition is extremely tough.      
  • Linda
    Linda
    I left a positon that I had for over 11 years. It took a couple of years of knowing that I was being discriminated against before I jumped ship. I feel like HR is only there to protect the company not the employees. I reported numerous situations but it only got worse. When the company brought in outside management they didn't have a clue on who to trust. They put their trust in the wrong person. The company lost some excellent dedicated people due to this persons lies and deceit. I have recently  taken a job that is much lower in salary but hopefully the bonus part will take up the rest. It doesn't matter where, who, how old, what color--if someone in management wants you out your out.
  • sheila
    sheila
    I've worked for Fortune 500 companies for 20 years and just recently went back to school to get my MBA.  I left my last sales job because our industry was failing and I saw everyone whom I started with was let-go or getting out before they had to leave.  I had my resume professionally done, have excellent references and more education than most in my area; yet all I'm offered is commission only positions with fancy VP titles.  I think it's the economy right now and nothing can change that overnight.  Thoughts anyone....
  • Patricia
    Patricia
    I was discharged from my job on April 11, 2008. I was hired May 14, 2001. I went back to school and received my MBA December 1, 2007. My Director stated to me a couple of times, "that some people around here feel intimidated by you." I responded the last time he stated that. I asked him, "Why?" Is it because I do an exceptional job? I think outside the box? I do research on my own, so that, I do not have to ask questions? What are you trying to say to me? I found out who he was talking about. It was himself. He always tried to intimidate our team. My team members would be so upset. I ignored him. At one time it had gotten so bad, I went to HR and reported him. Nothing came out of it. I had outgrew the organization long before I went back to school. I am out of work and the job market is really bad. This is the first time in my 23 years of working, I have been discharged from an employer. This was my second job of 23 years. I have been attending job fair after job fair. Yes, I continously updated my resume. I cannot continue to live off my savings, so what should I do now?
  • James McWhorter
    James McWhorter
    I've been thinking of moving on from my current position after realizing that the job was not a good fit for me.  I think that this is important to realize because I think that in the end everyone will be happier.  While serving in the military I had no choice in whether or not I wanted to stay or go.  Now I enjoy my new found freedom.  :)
  • Jim
    Jim
    I've witnessed or have been asked to do things -  or say things in meetings - that I would certainly consider unethical.  (lying, for example)  But I did not have the option to just 'go'.  I had to go through the HR department, which in itself can be a painful process.Understand that there is a price that must be paid, in today's world of corporate greed and government-pro-business, in order to tow the ethical line. It becomes clearer and clearer, as you advance into management and above, that the understanding of ethics becomes grayer and grayer. (And the higher up the ladder you get, the more you find yourself doing a cost benefit analysis:  ethical actions vs. keep-quiet-and-advance-the career....)Frankly, how are professionals, with families and bills to pay and numerous obligations, supposed to be ethical in a business-driven society, aspects of which are intrinsically unethical?  The sacrifice for being ethical can be  utterly noble, justifiable, and self-destructive.  
  • lau-lon
    lau-lon
    I guess i could survive if I had a better paying job.....

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