9 Signs It’s Time to Start Looking For A New Employer

It can be hard to make the big choice to move to a new recruitment company. You might wonder whether things will improve on their own, or if you should just stick it out to reach a certain milestone that will make your CV even more attractive.

Here are some of the key signs it’s time to find a new job. You’ll notice we haven’t included verbal abuse or harassment at work, as those of you who are in this situation already know in your heart that it’s time to move on!

1. The culture fit isn’t right. This might be a team culture that has you feeling constantly on the outer, an uncomfortably strict office hierarchy, or it could be that it could be that the company’s goals or ethic don’t align with your own. These things are unlikely to change to suit you, so it’s a good reason to start looking for a new job.

2. There’s no career advancement in sight. It might be that you didn’t get the promotion you expected, or that there are no promotions to be had at all in the foreseeable future. Even if there are many things you like about your job, being stuck in a career rut is dangerous to your long-term prospects.

3. Your skills are under-utilised. You joined the company thinking that your skills would be put to good use, yet you’re finding yourself stagnating on dull or easy tasks. If your requests for more challenges or training aren’t met, then you’re probably wasting good career years there that you could better spend elsewhere.

4. You’re not paid what you’re worth. Money is not necessarily the ultimate motivator, but a feeling that you’re underpaid is definitely one of the ultimate de-motivators. If you have tried to renegotiate and your salary remains stubbornly low against industry benchmarks, then it’s time to move on. With a talent shortage developing across many industries, you hold significant power over salary in the current market.

5. You don’t have support from management. Your manager is the distant type, who offers nothing in the way of support or coaching and development. It’s the responsibility of management to develop you, challenge you, and coach you- so if they’re not doing this, it might be time to find someone who will! It’s always worth chatting with your current manager to request further support from them before making a decision—they might not even know that you’re keen for development, and it’s common for the more hands-off managers to be taken by complete surprise when they find out their employees were unhappy!

6. You dread going to work. Often this feeling stems from having a bad boss or one of the other factors already listed here. More than anything, however, it’s linked to a lack of passion for what you’re doing. It’s hard to drag yourself out of bed to go to work for eight or more hours in a job that bores you rigid. If you’ve already requested new challenges to no avail, then you need to be the one that forces the change with a new job. However, be very careful not just to switch companies and keep the same job description, otherwise you’ll hit the same wall of boredom as soon as you’ve memorised your new colleagues’ names.

7. You’re being left out of key projects and meetings that you were previously involved in. This can be one of the main signs that you are not considered integral to the team- and while it may not mean you’re going to get fired, it’s a good time to reassess other opportunities.

8. Your job is making you sick, stressed, and negative. You’re becoming that person who goes home from work and complains for an hour, or you struggle to sleep at night because of your workload or boss’ expectations. You can’t see anything positive about your role anymore, and your unhappiness is starting to reflect in your health. Unless you’re able to radically adjust your thinking process about your job, there’s little to be done but find a new job- one which won’t trap you in the same negative cycle.

9. Your ideas are never acted upon and praise is rare. We all look for signs at work that our ideas are valued and acknowledgement that we are doing a good job. If you find yourself regularly putting forward ideas that are ignored, then that’s a very strong sign that your input is not valued. Meanwhile, a lack of praise may simply be that billing manager’s style, but if others receive praise and you don’t then it’s definitely time to start hitting the job boards.

There are more reasons of course, and only you know what’s making you unhappy at work. Whatever is driving your career discontent, here’s some fresh encouragement for you to kick that bad job to the curb: The skills shortage is kicking in, salaries are rising in response to demand, and if you’re not getting what you need from your current recruiter role, then it’s time to find a job that will allow you to fulfil your potential.
Until next time

Cheryl