Stay n rot or leave
Hello, its been on my mind for sometime. Im in a job which doesn’t seem to be going in any direction (gate walled, no clarity, team politics) and getting fed up over last few months. Want to quit & take a break, but considering the job scene here, it might be a sometime before I get another job. So should I leave or rot for few more months? 😭 Hows the job hunting scene right now? Any advise would be really appreciated.. 🙏
Hey @Dsgnrgirl, I answered a similar query a while back, so just posting it here again. Hope it helps you.
Having taken 3 such career breaks in my 10 years of work experience, with the most recent one being 6 months back, I feel it has worked out for me every time. Each break was for a different reason, but i ended up relaxing, unwinding, upskilling and making better jumps in career. I don't regret any of the breaks I took.
But as advised by others, keep a few things in mind.
- Have a good runway ( 1 year min) so that you don't get pressured into taking the next available offer. Have the leverage to walk away from an offer if it doesn't match your expectations.
- There is an oversupply in the market currently so you might not get lot of good inbound offers in the near future. But referrals are still decent. So having a good network will make it easier.
- Don't tie your self worth to your occupation. You should be okay to not have any income, and comments from family/friends/mohalla uncles and aunty's shouldn't bother you or make you feel worthless. Have absolute clarity on why you are taking a break.
- Make sure you have a plan for the break. You don't need to plan out every single day, but broadly you need to have clarity on how long will you take time to unwind, travel, chill out? By when approx you will start any upskilling program? What kind of upskilling you would want to do? If you don't do this, there is a high chance that you will end up not utilising your break properly, which will bother you towards the end of your break ( was guilty of this in my first break of 9 months)
Modern day jobs are mentally exhausting. We deserve to take breaks to recharge ourselves. Career is a marathon not a sprint.
Thank you! Yeah I have similar yoe. I had taken a sabbatical few yrs back and it did work well. Past 3 yrs (pandemic, losing close friends to covid, wfh in isolation, now this layoffs) has really hit me and I feel extremely burned out more from everything else. I’m working on getting what I can get from the break so its not wasted, but even that is becoming a burden.. Perhaps will take a few days just to unwind and reflect. Then make a plan.
I fully agree with your PoV that career is a marathon.
I'm in the same boat and have asked around plenty, before you leave you need to be set on 4 things
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Runway: If you have any expenses, how long would your savings last paying them. Generally 6 months but if you're with parents, it's fine to be less if you can depend on them.
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Potential Companies: The list of openings you are ready to apply to or have already applied too, sky is the limit, 50 is minimum afaik.
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Offers/Cleared Interviews: If you have none in the recent times, you should get one, because in the worst case scenario you don't get a job and the morale keeps spiralling down, having an offer or atleast the confidence that you cleared one helps greatly in building momentum.
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Preparedness: This is my own point because I'm upskilling and unless I'm atleast past the basic level of preparedness, it'd only add to the risk of incurring the worst case.
This is all from my perspective, I'm just 1 yoe so there may be wildly different points that'd be applicable in your case if you are much experienced than I.
Thank you!
Depends on your experience. If the job is in demand you will get it. Try to find out from your mentors how’s the market for your profile and then take any decision. I know it takes a huge toll when things are not happening as per your wish. I suggest stay in current job and look for a change. Also you need to see about dependents as well
Thank you
Don’t rot your life for the sake of a company. Get out if you’ve decent savings.
If you could share your domain/profile that will help respond better.
I work as a Product designer. Design background, generalist & highly adaptable. Due to nature of the work, I have worked across domains - Healthcare, Startups & now hardcore IaaS. Probably one of the reasons of my burnout 😂
Thanks. I can help get you in touch with 1-2 startups, nice team, smallish thus nil politics. Ping me at 4sushant@gmail.com.
We can speak on the break part as well. Burnout sucks.