This post is about the 10 undeniable signs you need a new job.
At some point in your professional career, you may find yourself wondering if the job you currently have is really the best fit for you.
We've all heard the phrase, "The grass is greener [on the other side]." And when it comes to your job, this is so, so true.
No job is perfect. No one is 100% satisfied with their job 100% of the time. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.
Especially in these moments where we're feeling the dissatisfaction of work, it's really easy to daydream of running off to a new job opportunity.
But if you're really thinking about finding a new job (and not just experiencing temporary job dissatisfaction), there are clear and glaringly-obvious signs that it's time to go.
(Take it from me: After a decade working in public schools, I completely left education last March.)
So let's take a look at some of the signs that are just absolutely screaming that it's time to pack up your cube and take your talents elsewhere.
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This post is about the 10 undeniable signs you need a new job.
#1. Work dominates your life.
I wrote about this a recent post about improving your work-life balance, and I'll write it again now.
If fulfilling your job responsibilities requires you have zero personal life, it's time to find something new. Point-blank. No further elaboration needed.
No job is so important that you should need to dedicate 100% of your life to it.
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#2. Your job physically and mentally drains you.
Even if your job doesn't eat up 100% of your time, it also should not eat up 100% of your physical and/or mental energy.
Personal time is no good, after all, if you don't have enough physical and/or mental energy to actually do anything when you're not working.
No one's entire identity is or should be their job. If your job leaves you with time but no energy to exert during that time, it is time to leave.
#3. You look for any excuse to take off.
Wanting a day off here or there is normal. After all, no one wants to work every single Monday through Friday for the rest of their working life.
But if you've reached the point where you're happy, willing, and eager to miss a day for any and all reasons, it's may be time to look elsewhere.
Left unchecked, you may even find yourself actively creating excuses to miss work. (For example: a friend needs a ride to the doctor, and you volunteer to take them just so you can miss work that day.)
If this sounds like you, your time to go has come.
#4. Nothing makes work more engaging.
Even if you love your job, work isn't going to be fun all the time. That's the nature of "work."
You'll need to do boring, mindless, mentally-disengaging tasks every once in a while.
But if you find yourself unable to mentally re-engage in your position, no matter what you do, this is a sign that your current role has become stale and your interested in it may be dead.
No one wants a stale job. So if your job feels stale, it may be time to seek out something more engaging.
#5. You find zero challenge in your work.
Every job comes with its challenges.
Some of these challenges are negative and headache-inducing. Other challenges are positive, in that they help you grow professionally and (honestly) help you become more marketable.
If your current position doesn't challenge you in positive ways, you aren't improving your working skillset, so this position is no longer benefiting you.
If this is the case, it may be time to find something new.
#6. You no longer care about being punctual.
Punctuality is actually a sign of respect.
Think about it. When you're on time for a date -- or you're on time for an appointment -- you're really showing the other person that you respect them and their time.
Everyone is late to work on occasion. It happens.
But if you're consistently rolling into the office on your own timeline, or showing up late to meetings, this is a clear sign you're losing respect for the position.
An even more obvious sign is when you're well aware of your chronic tardiness, but you don't even care.
If you no longer care about being punctual, it may be time to leave.
#7. You are cynical about everything all the time.
Like I said in the very beginning, you will never feel job-satisfied 100% of the time. However, if you're feeling job-satisfied 0% of the time, this a clear sign that something is wrong here.
If every aspect of your job irritates and/or frustrates you, it's time to look for employment elsewhere.
Surely, you can find something out there that doesn't drive you nuts for 40+ hours a week.
#8. Your first inclination toward most things is to say, "Whatever."
Any time you feel apathetic toward something (or someone), this is a pretty obvious indicator of incompatibility.
When we feel apathetic toward something, we give the bare minimum and meet bare expectations.
Feeling apathetic toward your job day in and day out is a miserable experience.
If you've reached the point of complete apathy, take that as a tell-tale sign that it's time to look for new options.
#9. You're actively considering leaving, though you might not have started the process yet.
Maybe you've updated your resume, but you haven't submitted it anywhere.
Or maybe you've switched your LinkedIn profile to "Open to Work," but you haven't reached out to anyone yet.
Or maybe you've done nothing but Google things like, "Other jobs for ______" or, "What can I do with ____________ degree/experience," but the overwhelming curiosity is there.
Just because you haven't initiated the application and interview process yet, doesn't mean you haven't mentally committed to the idea.
If you're actively considering (or committed to!) leaving your current position, this is a pretty clear sign it's time to move onto something new.
(After all, you've already convinced yourself to find a new job -- so get moving!)
#10. You're reading this post (and others like it).
This one speaks for itself. If you're already in the "research" phase, you're ready to go.
So now, my friends, I'm wondering: Have you left a job before? What signs did you see that it was time to find a new job? Let me know in the comments.
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