Are You Sure You Want to Change Jobs?

Patience and some better questions have the potential to make your job search more successful, fulfilling, and even fun!

As the new year begins, people get that “new year, new job” jolt. If you’re feeling it this year, you’re not alone. The U.S. is still in the midst of the “Great Resignation”—with more than 12 million people quitting their jobs in the fourth quarter of 2021.

But before you dust off your résumé and set up online job search alerts, pause and consider why you want a new job. Ask yourself: What am I trying to fix? And is a new job really the solution or is there something else I should be changing?

Are you feeling underappreciated, underpaid, or like your skills are underutilized? Or maybe you’re overwhelmed, overworked, or just over it with your current employer? Depending on the answers, having an open and honest conversation with your manager may make more sense than changing jobs. The answers will also give you a glimpse into your “why” and help you start to formulate your goals.

What’s Your Why?

It’s been our experience that job searches are often very outcome focused and rarely embed the deeper, harder work around the “why” that could lead to more satisfying, long-term outcomes. 

Instead, we have seen many an impatient job seeker focused on:

Who’s hiring?

What kind of job title, responsibilities, and benefits are being offered?

Where are companies hiring? (This is becoming increasingly less important as remote and hybrid working increases.)

And of course, how much are they willing to pay?

Those factors are important. But we know that if you want to make a move that will position you in the right place on your long-term career path—or, just as importantly, decide not to make a move—the most essential question to ask yourself is why? Why don’t you like the work you’re doing now or have done? Why would a move make sense right now?

Get Clear on Your Goals

We see a lot of people focus on getting that next job instead of digging a little deeper, slowing down a bit, and focusing on their own story. That is, instead of updating your résumé and blanketing businesses with applications, we advise updating your understanding of where you are on your professional path, what makes you happy and productive, and how those answers can inform your career goals so you feel more confident, in control, and clear on what’s next.

 This is why we have created the Career Blueprint for our alumni and working professionals to assess where they are now and set a course for their future. 

Read More Here

By W. P. Carey Career Services Center
W. P. Carey Career Services Center