10 good reasons to leave a job
By: Dorian Playe
Tags: Quitting, Job Hunting, Jobs, Job Search, Job Interview

If today you are looking to understand if quitting your job is the right thing to do. Here we would like to share with you the 10 most important reasons why people quit their job.

It is much easier today to operate this change in your career rather than in the field you are applying to or in the company.

Not all reasons to quit your job seem to be negative, there are also positive reasons why you should quit your current job.

Quitting your job requires a bit of anticipation especially if you have family engagement or responsibilities to take care of.

Here are 10 good reasons to leave your job

1. Search to progress in your career

The first reason why people quit their current jobs is that they are looking for learning new skills, developing their ability in another field, or acquiring additional challenges. If you are looking for a professional move in order to gain additional experience and skills, this will be an easy reason to explain to your family and friends but also to your current employer and future one.

Our tip:

When looking for a career move for that purpose, ensure that you know what you need or want. You can do so by understanding what you like in your current position and what you dislike, what you miss and what you would like to stop doing in the future.

2. The Company Restructured or the Dynamics Changed

When a company is restructured or a dynamic changes, some jobs are threatened, as the change is happening, you will feel as if your job is. In that case, the smart move would be to express soon enough your need or will to go and have different responsibilities.

Our tip:

If you see that the change is not going in your favor, start as early as possible to update your application material and search for a job on the market. Don’t wait for the company to place you at a spot that you would not like to be.

3. You Weren’t Enjoying the Work

When you calculate the number of hours invested in your work, and you realize that the job you are doing is not enjoyable, this is the most reasonable reason for quitting your job. Even within the same company, 2 jobs in 2 different departments could feel completely different. Sometimes it is only the team that could make your job difficult to enjoy.

Our tip:

Understand what it is that you don’t enjoy, what is the part that holds you back from totally enjoying your job. It is important that you don’t only reflect on your situation but that you also set the boundaries for your future job. Set criteria about the job you would like to have and stick to it.

Enjoying your job is not only crucial because you spend most of your time in it, but also because your mood will rely on it and so will your family and friends.

4. Personal Reasons

A few personal reasons could enter into your decision to change your job. For instance, your job requires you to travel often, and you don’t see your family. Your job requires you to do a lot of overtime and you come back late every night at home. Your job is too far away from home or it does not have a good location and you need to commute for more than 1 hour per day.

All those reasons may seem insignificant at first but when they are present every day, they can have a big impact on your personal life.

Our Tip:

Before searching for another job, try to discuss first with your boss if you could have a change in the number of hours you travel or an additional day at home for instance. Sometimes, your boss would rather put in place some change to ease your life than seeing you leave.

5. You Decided to Pursue Other Goals

You may never have thought about it when you started your career, but now that you have gained a strong set of knowledge and skills in your field, you feel like starting up your own business. You could also want to travel the world and spend a year off work enjoying different cultures.

Our Tip:

In both cases, ensure you have a plan before you quit your job. Starting your own business is costly and requires a huge number of working hours. Going for a world tour is also costly and is not suitable for everyone. Ensure that you are financially secured enough to operate those other goals, that you have a plan. Speak with other people who have made similar choices.

6. You’re Self-Employed or a Part-Timer Looking for Full-Time Employment

You may need to work part-time before for different reasons (childbirth, side-business, family care etc.) , you want to have more money or simply want to work more.

Our Tip:

Here as well, before leaving your current position, talk with your manager about quitting your job and understand if there is any possibility to switch your contract for more hours.

7. You Want More Flexibility

Some companies are already highly prepared to offer their employees flexibility in their working hours, Some other companies are not, those companies are suffering from frustrated employees who are willing to quit their job even if they are enjoying gaining more flexibility.

Our Tip:

If this is your case, make it clear to your future employers at some point in your interview process that this is something you are looking for, research on glassdoor if the company is on it, what are the other employees saying about it, connect with people on LinkedIn who could tell you about it. It will be hard to change a job you like for another company that is having the same issue with remote work as your previous employer. Ensure you understand their working from home policy.

8. You Were Offered a Better Opportunity

If you have an optimized LinkedIn profile, the right experience, or simply an interesting profile for head hunters, there’s a big chance you will be proposed a new job.

Our Tip:

When offered a new opportunity, ensure that you are not leaving your current employer only for the perks, it is important that you understand what you like and dislike in your current company and check up on your future company, what will be your environment and team spirit. Too many employees quit their job for a better salary but end up being unhappy in their job because it does not match their needs.

9. You don’t have a good relationship with your boss

Having a bad relationship with your boss can make your life very difficult. Your boss can micromanage you or do not have trust in you, ask you to work at night, and always request more for you. Those could make your relationship with your boss very difficult.

Our Tip:

Before quitting your job because of your boss, first try to understand if the bad relationship does not come from you, understand if there is anything that you could improve, speak with your boss and try to make clear the reason why you feel the relationship is difficult. Sometimes this is just a lack of communication, sometimes not.

10. You Were Laid off or Fired

The most difficult part of having to quit your job when you don’t want is when you would be fired or laid off, in that case, most employees go through the same phase and lose confidence, and have difficulty moving on.

Our tip:

Unfortunately, a company has to make those types of decisions, and sometimes this is completely out of their control, regardless of your great work or how many years you have been there. Try not to spend too much time on it, and get another job as fast as possible. This would be the best way to stop thinking and doubting yourself.

In many cases, if you decide to quit your job make sure you respect the notice period, in general, it is a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice, for some other companies it can go up to a few months. Ensure you leave in a good way, so people keep a good picture of you and would help you in case you need recommendations.

It is never an easy decision to make and you never know what is waiting for you.

Hopefully, The Ambitious is here to help, in case you need help in your Job Search or Preparing for an Interview, we invite you to check out our Online Services.

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