5 Ways to Know It's Time for a New Job

Changing jobs is never easy. You have to deal with insurance, retirement, a new commute, and meeting new colleagues, many of whom you may not get along with as well as you did your old co-workers. Still, there are times when getting a new job is the only way to advance your career, and the trouble you’ll go through in changing jobs will be outweighed by the benefits of making a change. Are you ready to make that move, though? Depending on circumstances, you may not be as ready as you think. Here are five signs that it may be time for you to brush up on the old resume.

1. A changed management appears to no longer value your opinion.  Workplace satisfaction is a tricky thing. Some people do say that pay equates to satisfaction, but studies done over the past few decades suggest that that simply isn’t the case. While it may be to the detriment of your paycheck, it’s far more important for most employees to feel valued in other ways- that managers seek out your opinion and value your contribution of knowledge. If that’s no longer the case, your job satisfaction will have likely fallen. If you see no way to regain prominence, then it may be time to take your experience where it will be appreciated.
2. You catch yourself daydreaming, bored, and are prevented from taking on additional responsibilities - Boredom is one of the biggest problems that you’ll run into as a professional. Sometimes, when you’re really good at one thing, you’ll end up doing that same thing all the time. If you’re never allowed to spread your wings and take on new challenges, you’re being “pigeonholed.” It’s a terrible thing for employers to do, but corporations seldom think in the “small picture” anymore. It is a great reason to move on. After all, what will happen to you if you should excel to the point of never being able to do anything else, and your job becomes obsolete? Exactly! You’ll be the first one out the door if you can’t demonstrate that you can do other tasks as well!
3. You can’t meet financial obligations at the company’s pay level. If, due to a company’s efforts at cost savings, you have been passed over for a promotion or a raise, in spite of taking on additional responsibilities, or excelling in your department, and you cannot meet your financial obligations, it’s time to take a look at what other companies may be offering. Although businesses and management often bemoan the lack of company loyalty in employees these days, citing employees’ willingness to change jobs for seemingly peanuts, it’s hard to dismiss the rampant outsourcing and layoffs that leave even the most loyal employees jobless at the whim of management. If the loyalty isn’t a two-way street, then why be loyal? If you can’t pay your bills on what they’re paying, then as Conservative businesspeople are quick to say, it’s essentially “Economics 101.”
4. You can’t learn anything new - It isn’t always easy to talk your employer into letting you learn new things- particularly if it’s outside your usual job description. Often, any education you do receive is for the benefit of the company alone, with no thought given to your professional advancement. While it is up to you to seek out that advancement, as well as the learning necessary for it, your company should not actively block you from learning new skills and abilities. Find a company that isn’t afraid of its employees’ knowledge.
5. The workplace has become hostile, and there is no legal recourse - You might be able to sue in some cases to correct a hostile work environment, you do have to ask yourself, “how positive is the environment going to be when I get back?” Was co-worker sentiment for or against you during the course of the trouble? How do your work friends act toward you now? Although you may have been in the right to take action and bring forth your concern, it may have changed the workplace dynamic to such a degree that returning may simply not be worth the stress for you. This depends entirely on how comfortable you are with your co-workers.

It isn’t easy to leave a job, but at the same time, it is occasionally necessary. Don’t be afraid to make a move if necessary, and you may find yourself taking a job far better than the one you held previously. Rather than seeing it as a setback, see it for the opportunity that it is!