Is It Time To Quit Your Job? 5 Signs It’s Time To Move On

You’ve been at your job 2 years now, and while nothing catastrophic has happened (e.g. your boss hasn’t fired you), you’re not sure if you should stay where you are.

A few obvious signs could be:

• You google “When to quit my job” at least once a week
• You have about 100 job applications filled out each day
• Your favorite form of passing time at work is browsing Monster.com or Indeed.com (instead of FB like a normal person)
• Your friends and family all know how much you hate your job

Apart from these, it can be difficult to decide if you’re actually ready to move on. Here are the not-so-subtle signs you’re displaying that say it might be time to move on. If you find yourself agreeing to all 5, it might be time to get serious about leaving.

1. Your input is appreciated but unnecessary

Although you have ideas and you share them, they’re never taken up. It’s clear from the amount of times you’ve been shot down on projects and new ideas that you’re supposed to stay strictly within the lines of your job description.

2. You have no sick days left

When your job is so upsetting that you lose sleep over it and finding yourself calling in often just to avoid being in a place where you don’t feel happy, there’s a huge red flag frantically being waved in your face.

Not everyone wants to be at work 100% of the time, but if your first thought every morning is wondering if you can just call in again, it’s pretty obvious you shouldn’t be where you are.

3. Your boss doesn’t care about your career path after years of working

Nothing is more frustrating than staying in the same position for too long without a pay raise or a change in responsibilities. If you’ve brought these things up with your boss but he/she didn’t seem to care much about helping you grow in your career, then chances are you’ll probably be in the position with the same job roles until you leave or scream to get your point across that you need change.

4. You spend most of your time staring at the clock so you can go home

Being bored is very different from procrastinating or taking breaks from work to browse Facebook.

When you’re bored, you literally don’t care about what’s going on. You don’t care about any deadlines coming up. You don’t care if your boss catches you playing Farmville. You sit at your desk hunched over and clearly defeated. Being bored at work is one of the worst feelings because the seconds tick by so slowly.

5. You’ve stopped learning

When employees stop learning, their growth halts. It’s hard to keep learning when you can’t seem to shake up your job roles, though, isn’t it?

If you have very strict roles at work that you’ve already mastered, chances are that’s where the learning stops – which leads to boredom and everything else on this list. This is one of the biggest reasons people leave their jobs.

So, what should you do if you’re realizing it is time to leave?

• Have an honest conversation with your boss
• See if there are any positions in a different role with your company
• Make sure your resume and LinkedIn account are up to date
• Network!
• Ask friends, family, and even acquaintances if they know of any opportunities (having one foot in the door is always the easiest way to get a new job)

Above all, stay optimistic and levelheaded. If you know that it’s time for a change, make one that’s beneficial to you and is going to make you happy.