Have you ever had days where you dragged yourself to work? Or have you looked at your pay slip and felt like you鈥檙e just not earning what you deserve? If you have, then it鈥檚 time to pay close attention to your work life: These are just some of the many reasons for leaving a company.
Once the workplace honeymoon is over, it鈥檚 tempting to draft and file your resignation letter as soon as your shift ends. But leaving a company isn鈥檛 a single decision. It鈥檚 a process — one that requires much introspection and consultation.
Losing one鈥檚 spark
When you first joined the company, you might have signed on because the opportunity matched your expectations for responsibilities, work arrangements, or professional growth. At some point, however, you might have found that those expectations weren鈥檛 being met. For most, that鈥檚 due in large part to less than savory co-workers.
In her first job, Vivian* dreaded going to work because of one of her bosses. 鈥淚 felt like we just didn鈥檛 work well [together]. Instead of getting inspired, I was more afraid of her which was affecting my work,鈥 she said.
Over time, these issues could affect you so negatively that you become apathetic. Absences and tardiness cases pile up; tasks are done with mediocrity. Once an employee reaches this state of 鈥渂rownout鈥, it becomes difficult for them to find joy in their jobs. No reason is enough for them to stay, always canceled out by justifications for quitting.
Every employee reaches the point where they want to move on to new prospects. While this may be a ubiquitous occurrence, it鈥檚 still something that must be approached with rationality and patience.
鈥淩esigning is a big career decision,鈥 said Gina Jusay, managing director at SFI Career Center. 鈥淪o make sure that it鈥檚 really a wise decision, and make sure that it will benefit you.鈥
Make time to find some clarity.
鈥淏rownout鈥 is reason enough for most employees to leave. But some still teeter on the decision because they鈥檙e afraid of change. Career Coach Malou Tre帽as-Del Castillo says this fear can be overcome by a good action plan.
鈥淗ave information that makes it clear to you that you should resign鈥 based on what is important to you, what you enjoy doing, and what you want long-term,鈥 she said. After this process of discernment, you can start identifying which of these needs you would be willing to compromise (after all, no workplace is 100 percent perfect).
Danielle Cruz, career coach and counselor at SFI Career Center, says reaching out to friends and family could help in that introspection process. 鈥淸They can help] in giving not only moral support but also different perspectives,鈥 Cruz said. 鈥淭here might be things that you don鈥檛 see that others can.鈥
The end goal of this process isn鈥檛 to find peace with your current situation, but to arrive at some clarity as to why exactly you鈥檙e professionally dissatisfied. At the end of it, you may find that the reasons for leaving stay, but the anxieties around quitting go away.
Live in the present.
Once you鈥檝e formalized your resignation, your last 30 days could go in a blink of an eye. To keep a happy and proactive mindset, try using :
- Positive emotion – Stay optimistic about your future and remind yourself constantly of everything that you鈥檙e grateful for. This is good not only for your mental well-being but also for your .
- Engagement – Maintaining a state of keeps a person satisfied and motivated, something that may have been lost due to busyness with work. Recover your flow by doing activities that you鈥檝e long wanted to do or that make you happy.
- Relationships – You may have missed out on some reunions because you were too busy with work. Use this time to genuinely reconnect with friends and family.
- Meaning – Instead of dwelling too much on the negativity that drove you to resign, focus on the good things that you got out of them. For example, if your boss wasn鈥檛 a very good mentor, acknowledge that this may have helped you to become more independent.
- Accomplishments – It takes guts to quit a job, so be proud of your bravery and celebrate it. A gesture as simple as treating yourself to your favorite food not only makes you feel good about yourself but also helps you look forward to the next chapter of your career.
Of course, anticipating the future doesn鈥檛 mean that you should forget the present. Ensure that you turnover properly in your last days as an employee of the organization. Fulfill last requests from your supervisor, organize necessary documents, and fill out the necessary paperwork for a smooth transition.
The relationships that you鈥檝e formed are just as important. Maintain your close friendships, promise to keep in touch with stakeholders, and keep things civil even with colleagues that you may have clashed with in the past. 鈥淲e think that we move in a big world, but when it comes to the professional world鈥 it鈥檚 really small. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 not good to burn bridges because in the future, we might get to work with those people again,鈥 said Cruz.
Find the next thing.
The work doesn鈥檛 stop after you鈥檝e cleared your desk– at least when it comes to your career. No doubt you鈥檝e already been casually searching the job market well before you left. But now it鈥檚 time to hunt in earnest.
Check multiple job-finding platforms to ensure a wide selection of options; not all employers are present on every website. You can also ask across the professional connections that you鈥檝e formed through the years.
Use this time as well to learn more about your craft. Accomplishing certified online courses, for instance, can boost both your skillset and your CV.
鈥淚f you perceive your vacant period would be much longer, employers will ask what you did during that time,鈥 said Richard Monteverde, career coach and counselor at SFI Career Center. 鈥淚t would be good to justify that you accomplished something. It shows your initiative and dedication to the profession.鈥
Leaving a job may seem daunting. You may be frozen by the fear of uncertainty, or guilted by the workload you鈥檙e leaving behind. But at the end of the day, an ill fit hurts everyone in the workplace, not just you. Find clarity by taking inventory of your priorities. Cut cleanly and amicably. And let your passions move you forward and upward to the next thing.
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Editor鈥檚 Note: Some names changed for privacy.
