I’ve coached hundreds of people through career transformations, and I regularly offer three pieces of advice when switching jobs:
• Life is too short to spend time hating your career.
• Earning more won’t fix your money problems. Mastering the art of budgeting and saving will. The earlier you prioritize financial security, the more satisfied you will be in your career.
• You can change your work at any age and at any stage.
If you’re tipping back an egg nog and pondering a change in jobs for the new year, consider these factors:
Here are the signs that maybe it’s time to change jobs?
If you answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions, it’s time to look at changing jobs:
• Are you burnt out? This often comes not from doing too much, but from doing too little of the things you love.
• Are you overwhelmed at work? It can feel like you’re not accomplishing anything or that your work isn’t appreciated.
• Have you been passed up for a raise or a promotion that you feel you’ve earned? Is this possibly discrimination?
• Are you working ‘more’ and making less, including pay, benefits, vacation time or sick days, top-ups and bonuses?
• Is your pay 20 per cent lower than the market rate for an equivalent job?
• Is your work arrangement (in-person, hybrid, remote) messing with your sense of work-life-balance?
• Do you have a terrible boss? A toxic team? An emotionally harmful work environment (gaslighting, throwing people under the bus, taking credit for other people’s work, put downs)?
• Has your doctor or therapist suggested you take a leave of absence?
• Have you recently returned from a leave of absence (including parental leave) and your new job is garbage, and/or could be considered a demotion?
• Are there zero opportunities for you?
Sometimes the signs are strong, and sometimes you might just know that it’s time for a change. Listen to your gut.
We’ve all had to do horrible jobs at one point or another, but ideally, we don’t get stuck in them. Be brave if it appears you need to move on.
Money needs to be near the top of your new job wish list
When you earn more, you can save more, pay off debt more aggressively, and enjoy your money. It’s an expensive world — every dollar counts.
The better the salary you negotiate (use market data in your negotiations), the more enriched your benefit plan, the option to participate in a retirement savings program (hopefully it’s matched by the employer); these factors greatly impact your financial security. They can make all the difference between retiring “on time” or years past your dream retirement date.
Before you rule out taking a job for more money because you’re concerned it will disrupt your work-life balance, gather facts (not assumptions) through their website, via interviews (informational conversations included), about how things work at the workplaces you’re interested in. They may actually have greater flexibility than you have today — and offer better pay.
But beware of lifestyle inflation. It’s tempting to amplify spending when you get a big pay bump.
But, this can actually make you worse off with higher expenses, greater debt loads and an unhappier you. Sometimes it’s helpful to use a budget template that is based on percentages so that even as you earn more, the percentage for saving and debt reduction and other categories stays the same.
Job role, title and stability — all of this can change if you want it to
I have retired seniors in my network who’ve started lucrative side-hustles at 70+ years old. I’ve seen a lawyer become a chef.
I’ve watched a very senior executive become a stay-at-home parent and open a day home.
I’ve watched a young man in his late twenties triple his income simply by changing industries (same job, better paying industry). You can reinvent yourself.
If you switch positions, it’s not just about the now, it’s about how it’s going to affect future roles you apply for. Is your new company a start-up? Will your job be secure? Is the corporate culture you’re walking into a healthy one? Are their values aligned with your own? Is the new title or duties lesser than you have today?
Will you have to double back and reclimb the ladder in rank and seniority? Or, maybe you want to pivot careers completely and need to go back to school (look into the RRSP Lifelong Learning Plan if you do). You are the only one who can say if this change truly works for you and for this moment in your life.
A good money coach or financial planner can run scenarios for you on how a job change will impact your taxes and your retirement savings.
I recommend setting up a meeting with them in the new year to talk through your exciting career transformation.
