Sometimes you can wait too long to make a change. If your job isn’t a good fit, you need to recognize the signs and get ready to make a move. It might be a hard decision, especially if you like your team and are good at your job, but when it’s time to go, you need to know it. Staying isn’t always the right decision.
When’s the best time to leave and how do you know when to start looking for a new job? Here are some signs it might be time to dust off your resume:
1. Waiting too long can cause serious stress and take a toll on your health and your relationships. If you’re angry all the time, can’t sleep, and are feeling ill when you have to go to work, it’s time to go.
2. If you’ve been thinking about a new job for quite a while now, chances are your subconscious mind is trying to tell you something.
3. You keep dreaming about retiring, even if that’s decades away. You don’t want to spend your working years wishing it was over. It’s time to find something more fulfilling, that you can enjoy.
4. You’re sick all the time. You have headaches, lots of colds, and your stomach hurts. Feeling unwell all the time is an indicator that your job could be making you sick.
5. You’re self-medicating. Are you drinking every night or taking drugs to escape the problems at work? Take some time to think about how this is affecting your physical and mental health.
6. You find yourself complaining constantly to whoever will listen. If your friends and family are telling you that work is all you talk about (and not in a good way) is work, you may want to re-think this job and consider moving on.
7. You can’t sleep. If work is robbing you of rest because of stress and/or difficulties getting along with the team, you may find that things go from bad to worse. Being exhausted makes it hard to do anything well.
8. You dread going to work. You find that you can barely get ready in time and are thinking about ditching work before every shift. The anxiety is killing you and you can hardly get going.
9. Your eating habits have changed significantly. Either you’re not eating at all, or you’re over-eating. This can really wreak havoc on your health. Take some time to think about what’s going on and if you can find a way to manage your appetite as you make plans to move on.
10. You are unproductive. You used to be good at your job and enjoy the work. Now, it’s next to impossible to get the simplest things done. You’re bored and find ways to procrastinate every task.
11. You don’t fit in with the team and you feel like a cultural misfit. Do you feel like you’re the last to know anything and can’t shake the feeling that it’s intentional?
12. The company is struggling and you think layoffs are coming. It might be best to start looking now before the whole team is on the market.
Don’t stay in an “OK” job and just make do. Even if it’s been ages since you’ve interviewed, you don’t want to get complacent and just muddle through. Have the courage to update your resume, polish your social media profiles and take the first steps to apply for a better job. If you’re no longer learning or feeling challenged and there’s nowhere to go in your current company, it’s time to move on.