16 Jul Think before you quit your job. Practical tips for the frustrated employees.

Think before you quit you job.

Why? Because being unemployed does bring lots of pain with it.

If you have secured another desired job, there is no problem in quitting but without another job things do become painful quickly for many(most).

In this post, I talk about people who quit because they are not able to manage their current job stress. I’m not talking about the once who has left because they are planning to explore green pastures.

There are lots and lots of reasons why people quit but below is a list of few of them:

• Unhealthy relationships with Boss or Colleagues
• Not happy with the work tasks
• Extreme pressure or Burnout
• Not happy with salary

People are resilient by birth, they do fight or accommodate the situation for a while but eventually quit because they can’t handle stress. Due to (mainly) two emotions Anger or Frustration people make sudden decision of quitting. It brings relief from facing the challenging experience everyday but the reality of being unemployed starts hurting quickly.

I’ve lots of examples of people like this, who would quit their jobs without planning.

One of my client quit his job after 8 months working for one of the MNC. The reason being ‘salary discrimination’ between employees and contractors. He struggled to find a job for almost 2 years after quitting. He eventually contacted me to help him out.

Another client, left job when a new Manager started micro managing him. And the new manager was only there for 2 weeks. In anger he walked out one day.

When we are in state of anger or frustration, we think getting a new job is easy. It will be easier than staying in the current job and suffer. But after a week or two we start realising things are not as easy as it was thought to be.

Few reasons why things do become difficult:

Not aware of the current job market

Between 1994 and 2008 roughly half of all unemployed found jobs within five weeks. Only 10% were looking beyond year.After 2008 financial crisis up to 30% are unemployed beyond a year.

According to recent study by Pure-jobs.com 44% are spending one to three months, 16% are taking 3 to 6 months, and 18% are taking six to twelve months.

I’ve written about the trends in jobs and how they are changing due to globalization and technology before at Will I have job? See what data says. In 1940’s US Job growth for 37% since 2000’s it is -1% (minus one)

Statistics are not in job hunters favour lately but with proper planning and research you are able to reduce the time of your job hunt.

There are seasons when different industries go on hiring. For example in Australia the Telcos and energy sector goes on hiring after July as new budgets are approved. The banks go hiring in October. February and March are also good months to see new jobs.

Not have professional connections

Most of the jobs are filled internally or via references of existing employees. Having good professional network does help you land a job quickly but you’ve to inform them in advance. Not every of your professional connection can recommend you for a job when you quit.

Not have enough money to survive

Jobs pays regularly unlike business. If you have not planned your finances correctly, you will be in for a big surprise. The dent in savings will start hurting quickly. When the finances are low people choose wrong jobs in rush, again to find them frustrated and angry.

Not seeking professional help

Seeking help from a career counsellor or a coach before quitting is wise as they can help you re-evaluate the situation. When we are controlled by our emotions we don’t think logically. Thus planning becomes difficult. If you don’t seek support from a professional go and ask someone who you trust before making a sudden decision of quitting.

So here are some practical tips you can follow to get a plan in place before you quit:

1. Think what is bothering you at workplace. Discuss if the issue can be eliminated or reduce the impact on you.
2. Seek help from a professional, most of the companies provide professional HR support. If you think the company HR might be biased seek external help.
3. Research the current job market specific to the jobs you are skilled for. Ask recruiters and other employees about openings and trends.
4. Inform your professional network well in advance to look out for suitable opportunities.
5. Have your finances in place, if not do not quit.
6. While all the challenges are going on start working on techniques to reduce your stress.

Good luck and provide any other tips in comments which would be useful.