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When is the right time to quit your job? Our last Newsletter was about the importance of timing in career management. In this Newsletter, we want to share some thoughts that will help you to decide it it’s time to go. Too many people just drift for years and years in comfortable jobs until circumstances; a layoff, plant closing, etc, force them into the market. It may seem counter-intuitive, but one of the worst things you can do is to have 10+ years in one job, in one industry, in one company.
Last month I got a call from someone’s wife. Her husband had worked for 20 years at a local chemical company in a lab job supporting one type of product. He was going to lose his job and she wanted to know what opportunities would be available for him locally. I didn’t have good news for her. With a background that narrowed his options each year, I knew of no other firms in similar products locally and his experience was very product specific. Twenty years in one industry can sometimes make it awfully tough to switch industries. My advice was to consider relocating to an area where his product line was better represented.
Well, after she decided to kill the messenger, me, I got a lecture on the lack of loyalty in Corporate America today. Things calmed down when I reminded her that I wasn’t the person laying off her husband. Other than teaching me a lesson about wasting my time giving advice, even solicited advice, it got me thinking about loyalty. I hear the phrase "company loyalty" a few times a year. Sitting here, in 2006, it is frightening to think that people believe it exists. Maybe it’s like Santa, sometimes you’ve just got to believe in something. However, it’s a little hypocritical when a programmer laid off by a bank complains about the lack of loyalty in Corporate America when he has designed software that eliminated 100’s of customer service jobs. Not a lot of empathy there.
The first thing that a professional must realize is one phrase - WE ARE ALL LABOR. I don’t care what your title, education or past history has been. It doesn’t matter whether you work on the loading dock or are a VP. Basically, you have had a business relation with your employer for a certain number of years. You have gotten x number of dollars per hour/week/month for a certain job performed. Please note the verbs are in past tense. It’s a clean slate each day/week/month/year.
There’s a phrase in economics - the inelasticity of labor. It means that employment relationships don’t change for marginal incentives. If you found out that you could make $.25/hour more across the street you might not take advantage. If your employer could save $.25/hour by firing you and hiring someone they just heard about they probably won’t do it. It’s not worth the trouble. To economists, it’s always been a mystery why people and companies don’t try and maximize their situations whenever possible, even marginally. There have been doctoral papers written on the issue.
Well, that’s why they are PhD’s and I am just a recruiter. The reason for the inelasticity of labor is that the employment relationship is not exclusively economic. It’s also personal. People and employers just get comfortable with each other. That comfort acts as a kind of glue that binds the parties together beyond their economic best interest.
Unfortunately, that glue tends to benefit the employer more than the employee. The loyalty you think you are getting from an employer can end in a second. It can end in a bad quarter. It can end with a new boss. It can end because someone in India can do your job for less - not just $.25/hour less, but $10/hour less. And guess what, when they don’t need your department, they don’t need your boss either. A Manager’s title doesn’t protect you. We are all labor.
This is the danger in kidding yourself that loyalty is a two way street. The woman who called about her husband thought there was a side agreement made between him and his employer that traded eternal security for loyalty along with his labor/professional expertise for money. While some loyalty exists in the form of comfort, it was nowhere near as strong a bond as she thought.
Comfort, masquerading as loyalty, is the true enemy of the employee. Comfort, over time, leads to complacency. Looking for a job is tough work. It means putting yourself on the line and possibly getting rejected. Why go through that hassle if you don’t need to? Hey, things aren’t so bad here, are they? I’ll stick it out for a while longer.
In an earlier newsletter we mentioned how quickly you can become pigeonholed in your career, either in job type or industry. In our last Newsletter we talked about how key timing is to your career, especially timing as it relates to changing jobs in a good market when there are more options for you. Today’s step is how to evaluate whether you should look for a job, even if you are not miserable.
As we’ve said before, the biggest boost to your career can be working for a growing company. A rising tide lifts all boats, so to speak. The highly ambitious people are always looking to move up and they are intuitively aware of this. However, not everyone has that level of ambition. Nothing wrong with that. Some people just want a good job, nice people to work with and a short commute. Those are the people who have to be careful. Those are the people who get comfortable.
It’s easy to say, hey, my company is doing OK. We are not growing but my job is stable. At least we aren’t laying off. I should look for a new job but - I am comfortable. Well, before getting too relaxed you need to analyze your situation and your employer. Here are some danger signs.
First, from a personal perspective, have you been in the same job in your company for over 5 years with no hope of advancement or transfer to another function? If so, start worrying. Even with 2% reviews, continued employment in the same job will eventually make you replaceable by a more junior person because they are more cost effective. The math is obvious. If you started 10 years ago at 60k and have been getting 2%-3% raises, you are getting almost 80k FOR THE SAME JOB. If you haven’t been promoted for that money you are in danger of someone realizing that they can replace you at 70k with someone a little more junior. Sure, they will lose a few years of experience but, to the VP Finance who sets your boss’s budget, it might be worth it. As we mentioned in an earlier Newsletter, it’s not age discrimination. It’s salary discrimination. If you’ve been in the same job for 5+ years, you need to wonder why. Maybe you need to be more aggressive in your attempt to get a promotion within your current company. If none exists, ask yourself whether the problem is you (lack of skills, education, communications, politics, etc) or is your employer not growing enough to open up opportunities. If the latter is your answer it leads us to the second thing you need to evaluate, your company.
Remember the comment a few paragraphs ago - hey, at least we are not laying off. Well, you need to put that into context. It’s one thing to be in a stable but static situation in 2001-2002 when the economy was shrinking. Compared to everyone else, you and your employer were in good shape That’s the past. It’s 2006. In the last year the US economy has created 2,000,000+ jobs. If not one of them has been at your employer, or in your group, buddy, that’s not good.
If your industry and/or company are not growing in a strong economy, one of two things will happen. You’ll get new management tasked with growing the company and cutting costs. New management may associate you, rightly or wrongly, with the problem and not include you in the solution. But it might actually be worse if you don’t get new management. Picture your company drifting along and just getting by when everyone else is growing. It doesn’t take much imagination to guess what will happen when the economy inevitably hiccups again. Canoeing down the Niagara is a pleasant and comfortable experience until the very end. Comfort in a marginally acceptable situation lead to the complacency that gets you laid off when things get bad in a lousy market. I know looking for a job can be stressful. Taking time off, updating your resume, going to the trouble of interviewing and being rejected occasionally. Very painful. But sometimes necessary. Risk is a tough thing. Risk/Reward can be a difficult personal equation. Some time’s you’ve got to remember that without any risk there is a 99% guarantee of absolutely no reward.
The best advice I can give you is to stick your head up out of your cubicle once in awhile. How is your company doing in relation to other companies? How is your industry doing in relation to other industries? Is there any chance that your company will grow? Ever?
The good news is that keeping your eyes open for new opportunities is not difficult. This is where the gratuitous plug for Right Recruiting is inserted. But, if you’ve looked at our web site you know that our relationships are long term. A resume today can result in a timely email about a job next week, month or year. The key is to be visible to the market. Sometimes, that’s all you have to do.
The husband of the woman I mentioned earlier worked for a company that has been moving jobs both overseas and to Texas for the last 10 years. They even stated their policy of moving all but key jobs out of the area in their Annual Report . Denial is not a good skill in analyzing your career. Realism is required. Have a nice day! Jeff
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