5 Signs it May Be Time to Search For a New Job

Sage Anderson
·6 min read

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Feeling like your current job position isn’t give you the salary or benefits you need to adapt to the times, or that the day-to-day responsibilities of your position are more draining than fulfilling? There are plenty of factors that might play into trying to decide if it’s time to jump ship for a new job, especially in today’s turbulent labor market. Even if you feel secure in your position, how do you know when it’s time to leave for the sake of your own professional development (or your own mental health?).

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You won’t find a lack of career advice about searching for a new position, but it’s still a big decision that can’t be taken lightly. You might have changing work-life balance needs (like childcare or healthcare) that necessitate switching to a hybrid or fully-remote position. It might be that freelance or contract work is too inconsistent, and it’s time for a steadier income, or you’re looking for a higher-paid position with your years of experience. Feeling completely unfulfilled might lead you to consider taking up work in a completely different industry entirely.

If you’re considering sending in your resignation, don’t be intimidated by how the labor market has shifted in the past year — if you’re looking to change jobs and step into a new career, there’s never been a better time. According to survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, you’re in luck, because there are 4 million more job openings than unemployed people right now, and thousands of listings on sites like ZipRecruiter.

Not sure if you have a “good enough” reason to start your search, though? Whatever the case may be, here are a few signs that you might really want to quit your job and launch into a new job search.

1. There’s Little Flexibility In Your Schedule or Work Format

You may be feeling like your work-life balance has started to suffer a little, especially if you had previously adjusted to working completely remotely and are now being required to be in the office every day of the week. If you’re dreading your commute, search for the freedom and flexibility to earn money remotely — sites like FlexJobs and Remote.co are specifically for finding vetted remote and flexible positions, but if you want to cast a wider net, you have a few other options as well.

We like ZipRecruiter because they’re the #1 rated job site online, and for a larger job board with a database of traditional full-time positions, they also feature a section specifically for remote work. You’ll be able to find administrative, contract, part-time listed work, all that you can do from home. Their remote jobs database has over 295,000 positions as of late last year, including virtual teaching and bookkeeping.

2. You Feel Burnt Out In Your Current Position

When you’ve been working the same position for so long, you may feel like you’ve outgrown your job role, since you’re not being challenged or learning any new procedures or working on new projects. To avoid burnout, you might want to consider not just searching for a new job, but enhancing your professional skills to keep your mind fresh.

If there’s a clear lack of career advancement in your current company, or you just don’t feel like you’re getting the opportunities to succeed, do your research on sites like Glassdoor to find companies that are known to promote from within or offer training programs. There are also several career development courses you can take online if you need to learn something new for a specific industry. Either way, there’s nothing wrong with asking your boss for new or different responsibilities first, but if that doesn’t work, it might be time to find somewhere else where you can spread your wings.

3. The Thought of a New Career Excites You

Feeling like you’re in a rut? If there’s a career path that has always been exciting to you, there are great ways to dip your toes in the water without immediately launching into a new career field. Aren’t entirely sure if this new field is right for you without any practical, hands-on experience? Consider looking into freelance or volunteer opportunities.

This way, you can obtain work experience you can add to your resume in your chosen field, without committing to a full-time position. While this won’t work for every industry, and you may not have the free time to test the waters when switching careers, it’s especially useful for creative industries that lend themselves to freelancing, positions that are already looking for short-term contracts. Looking to try part-time work? Consider searching on sites like ZipRecruiter for entry-level positions that are willing to train you off the bat, or pay for any additional education required.

4. Layoffs Seem Imminent

You may have heard that tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, Google, IBM, and Salesforce have announced massive job cuts across the board — although it’s not strictly tech companies, smaller industrial firms and financial companies are also laying off employees amidst fears of a further economic downturn and stagnating sales.

If your workload has slow down significantly, it feels like you’re no longer hearing from upper management, or clients are dropping like flies, that may be a sign that layoffs are coming. This would be the time to be proactive and cast a wide net on job boards like ZipRecruiter or Indeed, where listings can be send out to thousands of potential applicants and be aggregated across multiple job sites.

5. The Pay Has Stagnated

While the job market has changed considerably over the last few years, if you’ve asked for a raise a few times and keep getting put off, or told that a promotion isn’t in the cards anytime soon, that’s a pretty clear sign you should be searching for a new job. Hitting a paywall (literally) can happen at any point in anyone’s career, but whatever the reason, if you’re looking for how to find the highest paying jobs on the market, you’d be surprised to find that you don’t have to be a part of some exclusive networking association or try to navigate rising within the ranks of your own company.

There are several job boards online that share a number of positions with higher-than-average salaries. Some of these jobs are already in high-paying industries (thinking medicine, science, and engineering), but others don’t necessarily require higher education or having had previous experience in the industry, such as with sales. For example, ZipRecruiter’s salary search tool also gives you transparency on what employees in similar positions are making based on location and title. Best part: you sign up and create a ZipRecruiter account for free.

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