Reader Jenny is having a miserable time at work, but she can’t bring herself to hand in her notice, given the current state of the jobs market. Our Jobs Guru James Innes is here with some advice
I’ve been unhappy in my job for quite a while now. The atmosphere has become really miserable and I dread Monday mornings. I spend most of Sunday thinking about what is waiting for me. The Sunday Scaries, they call it, right?
The obvious answer is to leave, but every time I consider it I lose my nerve. With the job market as uncertain as it is, walking away feels reckless. Then another dreadful week goes by and I wonder how much longer I can keep doing this.
How do you know when leaving a job is the right decision rather than just a panic attack?
Jenny, Brighton
Well, Jenny, I definitely wouldn’t march in tomorrow, fling your pass at the receptionist and announce that they have seen the last of you. And I did actually see someone do that once! It may be satisfying for ten minutes but it’s less enjoyable when the mortgage payment arrives.
But nor should you dismiss what you are feeling simply because the salary turns up each month. Dreading work is a clear indicator that something is very wrong.
I think the sensible response is to separate leaving from resigning. They’re not the same thing. You can decide that the job has run its course without immediately handing in your notice.
Start looking properly. Find out what jobs are available, what they pay and whether your experience matches. Update your CV, speak to recruiters – and apply for a few roles.
And take an honest look at your current job. Is the whole place rotten, or is it just one manager, or one change or maybe it’s an impossible workload causing most of the trouble. Some of these problems can potentially be tackled.
So don’t stay indefinitely because leaving frightens you – but if you are going to leave then do so with a plan, not as a reflex.
Top Tip:
Don’t ever resign without a plan in place. Begin the search whilst you’re still employed, test the job market – and leave when you have somewhere sensible to go.
Spotlight On: ‘I Hate My Job’
There’s a peculiar sort of misery in being well paid to do a job you can no longer stand. Other people see the salary, the pension and the apparent security – and they tell you not to be foolish.
And you begin telling yourself the same thing. Before long, you just feel trapped. Money matters, of course. So do children, mortgages and the price of everything. Nobody sensible suggests ignoring them.
But security isn’t the same as being trapped. Work out what you actually need each month, what savings you have and how long you could manage if a move went wrong.
The figures may tell you to wait. Fair enough. But at least then you are staying because you have made a considered calculation, rather than because you were just too frightened to do anything else.
Get a head start in your job hunt with James’ new book, The Job You’ve Always Wanted – out now from Pearson at £16.99.
Our Jobs Guru, James Innes, is a best-selling careers author and founder of the world’s leading group of professional CV and resume writers .