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"Most who avoid quitting their jobs entertain the thought that their course will improve with time or increases in income. This seems valid and is a tempting hallucination when a job is boring or uninspiring instead of pure hell. Pure hell forces action, but anything less can be endured with enough clever rationalization."
ā Tim Ferriss
Iām seeing the ādeath by a thousand cutsā happening with several people in their jobs lately. They arenāt living in āpure hellā at work, so they tolerate the unpleasantness and keep hoping things will get better.
For example:
The endless promise of a promotion next year, and next year, and the next (but it never materializes).
Being forced to return to the office so they can ācollaborate better,ā only to sit on Zoom meetings all day, anyway.
Being asked to ātemporarilyā take on more work because the employer laid off too many people (hint: it wonāt be temporary).
Eternally blocking a move into management because you donāt demonstrate enough āexecutive presence.ā
Working under a terrible manager but hoping theyāll quit someday or a re-org will put you under a better one.
I will not recommend you quit your job before you have something better lined up. This economy is too unpredictable to take that risk right now.
However, you should always be looking, networking, and interviewing.
Always!
While youāre waiting for things to improve at work, you can see whatās out there. While you still have a job is the best time to interview and negotiate a new job offer.
They have to make it interesting enough for you to accept the offer and quit your job. If it isnāt, itās pretty easy to say:
āI enjoyed meeting the team, and I appreciate the offer. Unfortunately, itās not compelling enough for me to leave my current role. Sorry.ā
Now the ball is in their court. They can level up the role, offer you more money, etc. If they donāt, they lose you.
But what if the offer is amazing?
What if you could get a promotion, a nice raise, and a better role? Why wouldnāt you want to know about that?
Why wouldnāt you want to take that instead of waiting and hoping for years that your employer is going to make things right (which they rarely ever do)?
I faced a similar situation many years ago. I received a meager raise and was told the company was struggling. My manager said they couldnāt do better, even though I was also told I was performing well and exceeding expectations.
Well, guess what? I started looking around to see what might be out there.
Another employer was happy to give me a promotion and a huge raise as part of the package. Instead of waiting for another year, I got my promotion and a fat raise the very next week with my new employer.
Donāt wait too long. The best years in your career are limited. If youāre not progressing as quickly as you want, keep your eyes open for a better opportunity.
Hope is not a strategy.
Hi, Iām Larry Cornett, aĀ Personal Coach who can work with you to optimize your career, life, or business. My mission is to help you take complete control of your work and life so you can become a more āInvincible You.ā I live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and Great Dane.