Should I stay or should I go?: Jobs bulletin

By Candide McDonald | 7 August 2015
 

Your bestie just landed a bigger, better job in a company Australia is talking about. The bloke in a role under you just landed a bigger, better job (than yours) in a company Australia is talking about. Or, you’re just feeling miserable.

What are the eight telltale signs that it’s time to explore what else is out there?

1. Time to move on

The traditional work in one place model is called 8, 18, 48, 72. Under 8 months: Leave at your own peril. 18 months: Acceptable job length kicks in. 48 months: Consider yourself ripe fruit. 72 months: If you’re still in the same role, get the hell out now.

2. Time to move on, adjusted for age

Millenials have developed their own timetable. More than 25% think you should stay in a role for less than a year. For these career newbies, job hopping is seen as the fast lane to where they’d rather be (sorry Corona, opting out is not in the game plan).

3. Have you stopped learning?

If your job has become so mundane that you’re just doing what you’ve always done without thinking, you’ll be seen as a plodder. Plodders don’t get promotions.

4. You can’t afford what you used to pay for

This is not about wanting to trade in your Golf for a Ferrari. Nor about being disappointed that your era of being paid “above your weight” is coming to an end for rational reasons. This is about your being turned down for a raise more than once and/or you’re lagging behind the industry average for your role.

5. All the shit work

Either your company can’t get quality work for you to do, or you are never being given the cream of the crop work that comes in. Work out, or ask, why. If the answer suggests that you are to stay stuck in a ‘salt mine’, get out before your resume looks like you have been.

6. You’re stuck in the C grade

If your company aims for mediocrity, what the hell is someone like you doing in a place like that.

7. You’re all work

Nothing…repeat, nothing…beats the adrenalin buzz of pulling an all-nighter with the team to nail the following day’s pitch or production. But an every now and then hyperwork high is nothing like the relentless pressure of working 20 x 7. Set your boundaries before you start the job you’re about to find.

8. Bring your own laptop, ok?

If there’s no money to provide the tools you need – from software to a big enough team – something is fundamentally wrong with the way your company’s business is going. Find out what it is, what it means to you and whether there’s a place with a better toolbox that won’t cramp your skills.

Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au

Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.

comments powered by Disqus