Lorena's Epiphany

The 3-Month Rule

October 26, 2008 at 9:25 pm Leave a comment

To all of you frustrated with your jobs, feeling like it’s going nowhere, want to try something new – be sure to leave with the right expectations (especially if you really mean it). A lot of people complain about their jobs endlessly but never end up doing something to fix their situation. This post is not for those people.

I’m all for getting out of a rut and working at a job you not only like, but LOVE. A job that you can look forward to in the morning and one that you feel is helping you get better as a professional as well as a person. Character-building emerges on the job as one learns to overcome different obstacles and difficult people.

On the flip side, some people end up losing that spark. A friend of mine recently gave in her one-month notice. She’d been stuck in a role she thought would be temporary and it just got to the point (one year later) where she hated her job. She stopped learning anything new months ago and couldn’t see her managers promoting her any higher since she did her job so well. I know this sounds like an oxymoron, but let me clarify. Her job as administrator had no promotional positions and since she was such a terrific administrator, they wanted to keep her there. Thankfully, she didn’t want to be stuck filing papers and answering phones all day. The day she told me about her decision to leave, I felt so proud of her. I wish more people who felt this unsatisfied at their jobs did something about it!

The only word of caution I’d give anyone about to do this is make sure you have a back-up plan and some moula ($) for the 3-months prior to leaving. It’s the “3-Month Rule” as I like to call it. That’s how long it took me to find my first job and that’s how long it took me to find the job I currently hold. Even other friends of mine have had similar experiences. It may be less time if you’re super-lucky and super-unpicky – but who wants to settle, right? Prepare for the worst and let the job hunt play out naturally. Your schedule is going to be so full of interviews and secondary interviews and networking sessions – that before you know it, you’ll have that offer to consider right in your hands.

Most people won’t leave a job before securing another one – and that’s the healthiest approach to take. No one wants to be stranded without a job or money. Looking for another job while already working tends to take longer for some reason since rather than focusing solely on job-hunting, you have other priorities to tend to. However, sometimes you’re suddenly offered another job which is wonderful and easier to deal with.

For us younger people with no families to feed and with some support from our parents, leaving isn’t as scary if the job really sucks and you want out. Just be prepared and do the right soul-searching in between job to avoid hating your next job. Hey, travel in between! That’s the time! Before you know it, you’ll be back to salvaging any vacation day you can get. Good luck to anyone who’s about to change jobs!

Entry filed under: Floating. Tags: Career, character, job hunt, personal experience, quitting, tips.