Think twice before making a job switch

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Think twice before making a job switch

Job switch is never easy. Though, in most of the cases, it leads to better compensation or perhaps, a great feeling to enter into a new environment, yet, on the other hand, adjusting in a new environment, facing new bosses could dampen your spirits. You also had to contend with the fact that finding jobs has become more difficult, and; therefore, the question of job switch is not a pleasant idea in itself.

Image credit: tang90246 / 123RF Stock Photo

I opted out for a change in my job, at different stages of my career, and I found that though, it kept me on the edge, ready to face the challenge, it entirely depends on what stage of the career you are sitting on. 


What, if you are established in the higher echelons with a family to feed

My friend works in a multinational fortune 500 company as a mid level executive. He earns a hefty pay Cheque every month. He looks at other opportunities that come along his way with excitement, yet he is not willing to opt for better pay. The reason is he has become too lazy to want to try and receive better income with another company. 

The company he is with now has made him so. No firm would like his employees to leave, after, they had spent few years with them, and especially if you are a top or a mid level honcho. The company has spent a lot of money to help you get where you are now, and, therefore, to ensure that you don’t jump elsewhere, they try and keep you occupied with perks. They ensure that you have enough to satisfy with, and some firms are now so engrossed in providing official trips that have the option to become a social outing as well, and you feel attracted to those, and fear losing those amenities.

And in that case, if you decide to leave your current job, you will find hard to accept the harsh realities and comfort level in the changed set-up. 

The insecurities that will cramp your neck

I have done that enough to understand the consequences of a job switch. There are two ways of looking at it. If you are early in your career and decides to start your new career, then it kind of becomes a challenge, and I would encourage you to go for an interview and search for a change in the job because it will make you more experienced, and help you to cope with different challenges associated with each job with added finesse. 

However, it’s never easier doing the same when you have crossed the early stages, and fairly settled. It’s that period when you start taking decisions with an extra measure of caution. You are vigilant because a wrong move can set you backwards by many years financially, and even career wise. Secondly, it is also extremely difficult to adjust to a different culture. 

I had worked in a company, where the boss never mingled with his subordinates unnecessarily, and suddenly I changed my job and went to a new one, I was surprised to see my boss smoking cigarettes with his subordinates, and even drinking at the evening bash. It was a cultural shock for me, but I was happy and it made me excited to work in the new set-up because it suited my way of working. Not everyone will find it exciting. That’s something you may have to deal with. 

You may not have the habit of tolerating nuisances that your new boss commits

Sometimes, the bosses could be an enigma. Some of the bosses live with the idea of being a boss, and it affects them so much that they even wear the mask of a boss, when they are in a party. Such bosses can make your life hell if you somehow crept into their bad books. 

At the end of it all, it’s you who will take a call. If you are pissed off with your old job, and want to look ahead, then you have every right to look for a new opening, no matter what the new job has to offer.

By Rajiv Sighamony

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