Time to make a pivot…
And I’m Out…How to know it’s time to make a pivot
While sitting in my office working on a project that was due in a few days, my supervisor walked in, leaned against the door, and asked one of those annoying questions they always asked.
By this point I had grown so irritated with the question that before the question was finished, I remarked, “the intern is doing it today” and went on about my business.
Once my manager left my office, I shutdown what I was working on and opened my resume – I was done with this job!
A Gallup study reported that managers are about 70 percent of the reason that an employee will leave a job.
You are someone that is talented, wants to be happy in their career, and do work that you love, how do you know when it is time to make that pivot in your career – finally overcoming doubt, frustration, and low self-confidence from meaningless work and a micro-managing boss?
Do you feel stagnant in you job or career? If yes, then that is a good indicator that the time to pivot is now. Your career might have likely slowed over the last few months or years but happened in a way that you were so entrenched that you did not have time to see it winding down.
In addition to poor management and low pay, feeling stuck is one of the top three reasons people change jobs. On average, employees change jobs 12 times over the course of their career and stay with an organization between three and five years.
Um, yeah…my boss is the worst! We have likely had at least one micro-managing, overbearing, pain in the (watch your mouth) boss in our career. Such (poor) management is the second indicator that it is time to make that pivot.
It is rare to have a supportive boss that encourages your career growth, but they do exist. For the most part, you will have managers that underperform as coaches or are par with the Bill Lundberg (Movie: Office Space) type of managers.
Not having the support, coaching, or encouragement from your supervisor to grow your career is a sign to leave.
Fed up? The instant switch from showing up to do your job to in the moment quitting, like in my example, is the third indicator it is time to leave.
Before your performance and complete lack of care for anything deepens, start taking steps to leave your role for something more fulfilling is crucial. Seek out working with a career coach (Hi!), or updating your resume, start networking with friends or colleagues in human resources, and begin to reframe your mindset towards your next opportunity.
Not feeling valued at work sucks! I have been there. If you know it is time to look for something else, do not wait until it feels too late. Schedule time with me to start planning your exit strategy. You deserve better, and now is the time.
You’ve got this!