Switching jobs is part of a professional’s life who wants to evolve and gain fulfillment. Several studies show that more than 70% of Portuguese and Europeans are willing to change jobs in 2024, a trend that has been growing in recent years. The reasons behind it include the search for a better salary, opportunities for progression, and new challenges. But it doesn’t stop there. Searching for less tangible aspects, such as work/life balance and flexibility, has become increasingly important.

All this makes perfect sense. I’m the first to encourage this change. But my experience has shown me that changing jobs doesn’t always lead us to better destinations. I want to share with you the main aspects that can influence us to change for the worse and how you can prevent this from happening to you.

1. Change on the run

We often want to switch jobs to stop feeling sad or uncomfortable due to stagnation, a bad relationship with the manager, or a loss of alignment with the organisation, among other issues. When this happens, we often feel an urge to leave, and this is when the danger begins. We tend to be hasty in the choices we make. I’ve been in that situation myself. A few years ago, I had an argument with my boss. I wanted to leave at all costs. Suddenly, I received an invitation, and I accepted. I identified with the manager, but everything else had nothing to do with me, and the result was disastrous. I was sacked !

I want to show you that when we feel uncomfortable, we tend to escape. We are under stress and become emotional in our decisions. It is crucial to have an approach that helps us to be more objective and to distinguish the wheat from the chaff when it comes to change. We must resist the temptation to choose according to one or two organisational factors and be more demanding. In the working method I have developed, I invite each professional to build their own short-list of five aspects of a professional relationship. It can include salary, work format, management style, organisational culture, etc.

2. Believing you can’t choose

After what I’ve described above, I imagine you’re thinking you don’t have the luxury of choice. You think you should take the first opportunity with a higher salary, progression, or flexibility. That’s what you’re looking for. But by thinking this way, you’re in a mindset of scarcity. In other words, you assume you have to do with what comes along. It is precisely part of the problem that makes your professional relationships unsustainable. After a while, you have to change again.

In reality, this limiting belief happens because you don’t have your self-confidence levels properly strengthened or because you have the idea that the labor market isn’t permeable to profiles like yours. In my experience, we are experts at imagining worst-case scenarios. But we’re not very proactive in gathering factual information to understand how you can respond to the needs of the market, your interests, and how to position yourself. You look at the vacancies and assess whether you fit in or not. It makes you feel more out of place in the market and that you can’t leave where you are and want something better.

Any life-changing experience requires us to work on our mentality and psychological blocks. That’s why change makes us grow and become better versions of ourselves.

I recommend writing down all your fears and talking to people who have already changed or are doing what you want. Gather information from them to learn how you can achieve what you want.

3. Looking only at external factors and not considering the person you are.

Let me give you a concrete example. Monica changed jobs in search of better pay and remote working. She succeeded. But after one year, she felt apathetic and struggling with what she was doing. Her change only focused on external aspects that suit her lifestyle. She is a digital nomad and enjoys living in different countries. At the same time, she  needed to be part of a team and connect with her peers. However, she felt deeply unhappy in her job because she was collaborating with a company whose purpose had nothing to do with her. In other words, we often think that the conditions offered by organisations will meet all our needs, and we actually forget who we are and what we need. When that’s the case, no matter how amazing the package they offer, it most likely won’t work for you.

Another example is José. He agreed to collaborate with a highly regarded company in the market. The company offered him fantastic conditions. But José felt no enthusiasm for what he was doing and became deeply sad as soon as the novelty wore off.

I recommend that when it comes to making a change, in addition to what the organisation can give you, you should analyse the main aspects that bring you energy. It helps to list the following:

  • The type of activities you do that excite you most,
  • Whether you want to work more in a team or more on your own,
  • Your main interests and look for companies that allow you to act on them.

To summarise,

Changing jobs is healthy and is a trend at the moment. In order to do so and achieve what you want, I recommend three key precautions that will make all the difference when it comes to your decision:

  1. Define the five main requirements you want the future organisation to guarantee,
  2. List your biggest fears about the change and gather factual information to answer them,
  3. Identify what you need as a person, namely the activities you enjoy doing, the main interests you want to fulfill, and whether you work best in a team or on your own.

1)Sources:

https://www.hays.pt/guia-laboral/home

https://www.michaelpage.pt/not%C3%ADcias-estudos/estudos/talent-trends