Running From is Not an Effective Career Strategy

For the past three years about half of all workers have been open to changing jobs. You’ll find most of the usual reasons for leaving prevail in 2025: I need a higher income; I’m bored with my current job; I hate my boss; I feel stuck in a dead-end job; I’m no longer growing; my employer is in financial trouble… the list goes on and on.

When the moment comes that you begin considering whether or not you want to make a change, you must first determine if you are running to the right opportunity or running from your current situation.

And beware the old adage: the grass is seldom greener on the other side of the fence.

The Downside: Running From

If your primary motivation is to run from your current job, then almost everything out there will look good to you.  You’ll be in such a hurry to leave that – almost guaranteed – you’ll overlook some significant aspect about that new job that will turn sour once you are there for a little while.  And then you’ll start thinking about running from that job.

Have you taken the time to determine specifically (and unemotionally) what it is that is frustrating you in your current role?  Begin by creating a clear list and identifying as precisely as you can what it is that causes you to dislike what you do.  In the process of building the list, identify each entry as either one you can control, one you can influence, or one you can neither control nor influence. 

For the reasons you can control or influence, you may find there are actions you can take to alleviate your frustration by addressing some of the concerns directly.  This might necessitate a mindset shift on your part.  Or perhaps a specific action plan you can implement. This might even prompt you to have a conversation with your boss and HR about your concerns to seek their input about what you can do to move forward. 

Now re-evaluate if the remaining reasons are sufficient to warrant you making a change.

At the very least, you’ll have a clearer idea of areas to investigate in any new opportunity, to ensure that it will not be present there.

The Upside: Running To

Begin by developing a list of ten to twenty clear and measurable criteria that are things you strongly desire to have in a job, such as compensation, culture, commute, benefits, your potential boss, and the like.  You may want to do some additional research, so you have a more complete picture of the ideal job as possible.  Your list becomes your standard against which you’ll measure specific opportunities. 

Now, compare each opportunity against your criteria.  This will mean a thorough investigation of each new opportunity, in order to objectively compare each new opportunity point-by-point to your list.  Include your current job and situation as another point of comparison.  Now you’re ready to answer some specific questions about each new opportunity, such as:

• How does the new opportunity compare to both your criteria and your current position?
• What specifically will you be giving up (such as having a track record of a certain period of time) to take the new opportunity?
• What specifically will you gain by moving to a new opportunity?

Only when you see that the new opportunity offers clear advantages, should you consider making the change.  If the comparison is equal, then tough it out and continue looking, while figuring out what you can do differently to make your current situation more enjoyable for you, and more productive for your employer.

You know it is the right move when the new opportunity is one that is measurably better than your current situation, where you can easily envision yourself remaining enthusiastic about being there five years from now, and when your “running to” side of your brain tells you it is time to move.

If You Decide to Leave, Leave Well

One final piece of advice: always leave well.  That means giving proper notice, then working out your notice period at the highest levels of diligence and quality you can muster.  It means leaving things in better shape than when you inherited them, with notes about your files and systems.  Why? Because you never know when you will need the future support of your former employer and supervisors.

Bottom Line

Don’t be that person who is ever searching for that next job, always changing, but never being satisfied at the new job. If you develop a history of job-hopping, you’ll severely limit any opportunity you might have to be considered for the really good jobs that could be the best places to work.