You have a job that pays decently well and you have great colleagues. It might not be your dream job, but it´s good for now. Are you happy with that situation or is it maybe time to move on? Many people need to take ok-jobs for various reasons during their lives, but sticking too long in a job that is actually not good enough for you is not good for your career or your personal development. Here are 7 signs you might have to start thinking about finding a new job:
- No feedback
Your manager is not giving you any feedback about your performance no matter how often you ask for it. Or, feedback seems to be very generic and therefore could be applicable to anyone in the team. Or, your manager just gives you positive points but nothing you can work with to develop yourself more. This lack of feedback is not helpful and therefore makes it difficult to know what you need to do progress in your career. Good managers should be involved with their employee´s career development.
- No opportunity for advancement
No matter how much you exceed the expectations there seems to be no room for advancement in your career. This might be because the situation your employer is in has put a hold on promotions and simply no positions are available. Or because there seems to be no culture of promoting from within. Whatever the reason, your work should be valued and if you´re stretching your job description, you should be rewarded for it.
- You´re bored
You´re not being challenged in your job and you´re just bored. Everything you have to deliver at work you can accomplish easily during your work day and you´re not learning anything new. Of course, it is not realistic to expect that in our jobs we will be learning something new every day, however, you need to be learning new skills in your job in order to keep developing yourself.
- Everybody seems to be leaving
You seem to be having a goodbye party every other Friday, a lot of your colleagues are leaving. This is usually not a good sign and probably means there are better places to work or that something is going on within your company and the employees are anticipating this by leaving.
- Headhunters keep calling
Although they can be quite annoying, the fact that many headhunters keep calling or emailing you should also be a sign. This may indicate that your industry is “hot” and that there are many opportunities for profiles like yours. You can use this type of calls and emails as your own market research to figure out which companies are hiring, for what kind of positions and the packages they are offering.
- You dread going to work on Monday morning
Everybody has some Mondays that they are not looking forward to go to the office, however, if you are dreading every single Monday, alarm bells should be going off in your head. It might be time to move on.
- Your company seems to be restructuring constantly
It feels like your company is restructuring every couple of months resulting in people being shuffled around or leaving the company. “Simplification” seems to be the daily business nowadays. This probably means that there are better jobs out there for you.
How do you score against these 7 warning signs? If one or more factors apply to you, it might be time to start looking for a new job. What other warning signs should trigger you to start thinking about changing jobs?
