Is there a right time to jump from your career?
When is the right time to step away from an unhappy or unfulfilling career? And is there actually a ‘right’ time? Here’s what you need to consider. By Jacqui Ooi.
When it comes to making a career change, the question of timing often comes up for people. And while it will always be an individual decision, there are some important things to keep in mind.
Too often, the decision comes when our health and wellbeing hits a low. For some, the weight of a toxic work culture pushes us beyond our limits. For others, our desperation to shake off a role or industry that no longer fits becomes too unbearable to stay.
But ideally, you don’t want to reach breaking point before finally making the leap.
If you’re feeling that niggle of needing a change, planning ahead and being strategic about when you go, so that it’s a decision you feel ready for and in control of, can make the move far more successful (and empowering!).
Here are some ‘walkaway points’ to consider that you can start planning for now.
1. Hitting a financial goal
Having a financial buffer will take a lot of the stress out of the transition period. It can allow you to take some time out from work – to study, rest or explore different interests. It can take the pressure off having to find a new job quickly or provide space to start your own business. If you’ll be on a reduced income temporarily, for example, while you’re getting started in a new career or building up a client base, it can give you that extra top-up each month so you don’t feel the pinch.
How much of a buffer you need – or want – is an individual decision (we go through this in more detail in the Money Matters module of the Career Change Kickstarter course). But once you have a plan in place and start working towards your financial goal, it can feel more bearable to stay in your current career a little longer – because you’re taking tangible steps towards a new chapter and that feels good!
Evie Farrell had $30,000 set aside for a kitchen renovation, which she decided to put towards a year of travel with her daughter instead, stepping away from her corporate PR job in the process. “It seems counterintuitive to take a step back,” says Evie. “But in taking a step back, things just happened for me or somehow I managed to get onto the right path. Just letting go of the things that we think we should be doing that may not necessarily be the right things… that kind of led me to a place that was very different to where I was headed [but] way more rewarding.”
2. Reaching a milestone
Are you soon to hit your 10, 20 or 30-year milestone at work? Or maybe there’s another big moment coming up – the end of a project, a career goal achieved or some other opportunity to leave on a high?
A moment like this can feel like a ‘natural’ end to a chapter and enable you to leave on a positive note. Knowing this moment is coming up can also help you enjoy your final months in the role and start to plan for the steps beyond.
Jane Hutcheon decided to leave her illustrious career at the ABC after hitting the 25-year mark, saying, “Once I hit 25 years, I just felt, that's it. I don't need to please anyone, I don't need to live up to anyone's expectations… I started to tell friends and I thought, well, if I'm starting to actually tell people that I'm going to leave next year, it'll be more real.”
3. Making the leap after leave
Do you have a period of leave available to you, such as parental leave, long service leave or a sabbatical? Making a break from your career can feel a whole lot easier when you’ve had a chance to step out of the daily churn and experience how different life could be.
Whether it’s a few weeks, months or a year, that gift of time can be a glorious window of opportunity to reconnect with who you are outside of work and explore new interests and opportunities, while still having the safety net of a job to go back to (if you want to!).
Emma McMillan decided to step away from her teaching career after a year of parental leave, saying, “What I had in that time was space to think for the first time because what I realised is, I was so busy in the day to day, as so many of us are, you don't actually have that time to think about ‘where to next?’ You're so busy just going through the motions and changing career is such a big decision. I felt like I had some space to just explore what else I could do.”
Of course, these are just some examples of what to consider in setting your timeline for a career change. There may be other big life events coming up that provide a window of opportunity for you or perhaps a reason to hold off for now. It’s not about finding the ‘perfect’ time but a time that makes sense for you and enables you to feel more prepared for, and even excited about, your next chapter.
Jacqui Ooi is the founder of What She Did Next and creator of the Career Change Kickstarter course, teaching proven strategies to help women navigate change and build careers they love.
