In recent years, many people have left their jobs in search of new opportunities, in what has been dubbed ‘the Great Resignation’. The arrival of remote and hybrid work, too, has opened up a wider variety of career choices for ambitious professionals.
Perhaps you’ve been in your current job for a while and you’re considering a change of scene, or even a change of career altogether. If you feel that your existing role doesn’t make full use of your talents, or you simply think you could make more of a difference elsewhere, it’s only natural to want to explore other options.
But before you commit yourself one way or the other, there’s a lot you need to think about.
Here, we’ll discuss some of the major quandaries and questions you must consider prior to taking on a new role.
- Be clear about why you want to change roles
- Employee value proposition
- Brace yourself for a counter-offer
- Is your heart in it?
Be clear about why you want to change roles
Switching between jobs is a big commitment, particularly when you’re in an executive-level position or moving into one for the first time. You therefore need to be clear in your own mind about your motivation, and why you want to switch to a new job and potentially a new industry.
Switching jobs can be a momentous decision, so it’s not something you should do at the drop of a hat. Don’t decide to find a new role while a particular grievance is clouding your judgment, or you’ve simply had a bad day – if you’re going to start a new job search, you need to be as certain as possible that it’s genuinely the right career move for you.
Think about issues such as career progression – is there a clear career path in place? – as well as pay, workplace culture, organisational values and if the work itself is fulfilling. This can help you develop a much clearer picture of whether or not it’s best to move on to pastures new.
Employee value proposition
Increasingly, both employees and employers are coming to fully appreciate the importance of culture fit. Employees who share key values and fit in well with the culture of an organisation are much more likely to stick around for the long term and to succeed in what they do.
This kind of buy-in is particularly important at leadership level. Executives are, after all, responsible for translating an organisation’s ethos and values into concrete everyday practice; employers must ensure that they have a strong and well-defined employee value proposition (EVP) in order to attract and retain top talent.
When deciding your next career move, then, you need to think about your employer’s EVP and whether it really chimes with your own values and aspirations. Ask yourself whether you really want to continue working for your existing employer, or whether you’d be better off finding another one with an ethos that’s more closely in accordance with yours.
Brace yourself for a counter-offer
If you are offered a new role, don’t be surprised if your current employer comes back to you with a counter-offer of its own. You therefore need to think in advance about what you would do if your existing employer tried to tempt you with a counter-offer.
You might even be tempted to accept a counter-offer, but many of those who do live to regret it. For one thing, your initial reasons for leaving – for example, you may be unhappy with the work, the lack of opportunities for career progression or the general atmosphere at your workplace – may not be offset by higher pay or even a more senior job title.
By the same token, if you have to threaten to leave in order to get a promotion, it suggests your employer doesn’t truly value you – otherwise, it would have already promoted you. These are just some of the reasons why accepting a counter-offer might not be the best option for you.
Is your heart in it?
All that said, if you are going to take the plunge and start looking for a new role, you need to ensure that your heart is truly in it. It’s no good moving from one role to another for the sake of it – rather, you have to be fully committed.
The last thing you want is to find yourself in another role that doesn’t match up to your expectations, or working for an organisation that doesn’t hold compatible values – because the chances are that you’d soon find yourself moving on again.
By fully committing yourself to finding a job that’s worthy of your talents and effort, you’ll be in a much better position to make your career aspirations a reality. Think about what you want to achieve in your career both in the short term and the long term, and how the next step you take will enable you to get there.
At Intuitive, we’ve been connecting innovative, forward-thinking employers in the transport sector and talented, diverse leadership candidates since 2013. If you think you’d be a great fit for an executive role in transport, contact us today to find out more about how we can help.
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