Time for a Job change?

 There is a lot of material around the fact that people leave bosses and not companies or jobs. Though it is true in many situations, it need not be in many others. Sometimes, some of the key indicators for the right time for a job change could be more from within than outside, be it the company, boss or role itself.

The best indicator, I think, to identify the right time for a job change is when our success rate far exceeds our failure rate.  This typically means we either are not trying anything new, or we are not taking up new challenges, both of which are fatal, especially when we are working for a paycheck. It could be that the organization itself does not support a fundamentally new challenge. If it is indeed the case, then it’s time to start working on the resume.

But this is the just the start. When we are not sure about the opportunities available, then I think its best we ask our supervisor and get clarity around it. If the CEO is in such a dilemma, then it’s time to have a relook at the business direction. And the best boss the CEO can ask is the customer.

A job change need not necessarily mean quitting and moving to another organization. If the current organization has opportunities, then I think it’s best to explore them before looking out. A growth rate of 3-4 levels across 4-5 years in the same organization is more impressive, I think, than in 3 different companies across the same time span. Not only does it talk about our performance in the organization, it also talks about our loyalty quotient, which is back in reckoning after being out of fashion for a quite a while.

So the bottom line that I wanted to convey was this, the best time to leave an organization is when we are confident we can do well in roles scaled atleast one level up from our current role(s). Otherwise, get that role or expertise before thinking about moving on. After all, that’s also the least we can do to our employer (I mean the organization) that has backed us in good, and more importantly, bad times.

What do you think?