When is it Time to Apply for a New Job?

I recently made the decision to change jobs (and states). Interestingly enough, at age 34, this is the first time the decision was mine to make. This post reflects on that experience, and I hope it will help you see that sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself (and the world you’re trying to impact) is to make the scary decision to move on.

Making career-related changes brings so many different aspects of our lives into consideration that it can be overwhelming to even think about. We wonder about loyalty to an organization that took a chance on us. We have to decide if we’re willing to relocate and face the risks that come with leaving a place we’re familiar with. We struggle with the impact that this decision could have on our family and friends. We face the challenge of not really knowing if we made a good decision until it’s too late.

Career changes rate in the top 5 on every list of high-stress life events that I’ve seen. Let’s take a little time together to rethink how we think about making this decision.

First, the easy answer

If you’re asking “how do I know when it’s time to make a change?” then it is probably time to make a change. Continue reading for some ways to organize your thinking, but realize that you’re probably asking this question for a reason.

Often we’re forced to look for a new job. This isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes people see the writing on the wall before we can see it for ourselves. Sometimes there are natural steps that our careers take that force us to move on. Internships end. People graduate. People get laid off. I’ve been through each of these experiences. In the moment, these events felt like the cause of turmoil in my life. Now I see that they were opportunities to move on to something much bigger.

If you find yourself forced into the job market, view it as a chance to get yourself a big promotion.

Loyalty Revisited

The hardest part of my recent decision to move on was that I wrestled with feeling disloyal. After all, my current employer had given me my start: my first full-time job actually doing the thing I wanted to do. I also struggled with feeling disloyal to my clients (students). Many careers rely on both the technical work of getting the job done, and the relational work of maintaining clients. These relationships are real. You end up genuinely connected to people both in and out of the workplace. How do you leave without sending a message that people don’t matter as much as you led them to believe?

For me, the answer is to ask what it is that I am actually trying to be loyal to. I have a very simple view of why someone gets paid to go to work: they make an impact. Daniel Lappan says that if you make an impact in someone’s life, they’ll give you certificates of appreciation printed on green paper with presidents’ faces on them. If you feel connected to your employer and your clients, then congratulations! You’re making an impact.

Stay loyal to the impact, and you’ll know if it’s time to move on. Eventually, you reach a ceiling on the impact that you can make in your current position. How can I guarantee this? Simple: every job has another that you could be promoted to. A promotion is a change in position that expands the impact you can have. When you reach the “impact ceiling” of your current position, it is time to move on. This is the best way to honor the organization and the clients that brought you to where you are – by taking what you’ve done and finding a way to build on it.

Relocating

Moving is another “top 5 most-stressful experience.” I’ve moved a lot. In my life I moved from Pennsylvania to Florida, Florida to Virginia, Virginia to Florida, Florida to Pennsylvania, and (this week) Pennsylvania to Nevada (that’s not counting the two summers I spent in Ohio working an internship). I’ve lived in 13 homes because I also moved around those states and the towns themselves. For me, the idea of being “rooted” is a dream I haven’t landed on yet. My family (and my wife’s family) is spread across the country, and “home” doesn’t really exist in the sense of having a home town to go back to.

Others have lived in the same area their entire lives. Their family is there. Their friends are there. They see these people weekly. They’re used to the way things are. That’s a great way to live!

In both cases, voluntarily deciding to move is a scary proposition. Can you really know if you’ll like a new location until you’ve lived there for a while? Perhaps my nomadic existence can help: I’ve found things to love and dislike about every place I’ve lived. There is no perfect place. I’ve managed to maintain deep connection with my family and friends despite the distance. You can too.

If you’re struggling with the idea of leaving a place you’re comfortable, remember that you could always go back. Maybe it’s time to try something else and see how it goes.

Buyer’s Remorse

There are a number of decisions we make that we can’t actually evaluate until it’s too late. There’s no guarantee that the restaurant you picked for dinner is going to serve you delicious food. You take a risk, hoping for the best. When shopping for a house, there’s no guarantee that you’ll get along with your neighbors. You take a risk, hoping for the best. The same is true with a job change. If you get to the point of being made an offer, then this organization is trying to convince you to come. They want you (or at least they think they do, they don’t get a guarantee either). They’re trying to sell you on coming just like the restaurant is.

So how can you know if you’re about to make a good decision? I teach people to view themselves as self-employed. You’re the owner of a small business called “You, Inc.” If you have an employer, view them as your client. Realize that you’re going to have multiple clients, and that each one is going to give you an opportunity to add some experience to your resume which will help you land the next. Ask two questions:

1. Is this a promotion, in the sense that I can make a bigger impact?
2. What are the three bullets I want to add to my resume, and can I do that here?

Conclusion

Deciding to apply for a new job is scary. The multitude of unknowns is overwhelming. The worst part is the way our brains make everything absolute. We trick ourselves into believing that our current position is a guaranteed safe place (it isn’t, people get laid off all the time). We trick ourselves into believing that we’re so rooted that starting fresh in a new place would be unbearable (it isn’t, the opportunity to reinvent yourself can be thrilling). We trick ourselves into trying to be loyal to the wrong thing (employers and clients rather than impact).

So, simply put: chase impact. The world needs your unique contribution. Don’t let it be stifled by insecurities. When you feel that you’ve reached the maximum impact at your current position, it’s time to start exploring. There’s only one guarantee: you will come and go on this earth. It’s up to you if it’ll be any different because you were here.