When Sunday evening rolls around, how are you feeling about work the next day? Are you excited, indifferent, or does the idea of heading into the office or setting up your at-home work station fill you with dread?
Depending on what the answer to that question is, it may be time for you to consider moving on to your next role in financial services.
How to know when it's time to move jobs in financial services.
While you know that some weeks on the job are easier than others, you may find yourself wondering whether what you’re doing is right or if it’s time to find something else to do. You may be feeling less valued for your contributions than you once were, or you may have found yourself complaining regularly to co-workers or friends about job frustrations? You may also feel as though you are no longer moving in the career direction you want any more, or just that you want a fresh challenge.
Your interests and goals naturally change over time, but how do you know if you’re ready for a job change?
Here are our top five indicators that may mean that it’s time for you to make your move.
- You often feel stressed and tired
- Your priorities have changed
- You want more of a stretch in your role
- Your interests don’t match your company’s
- You feel as though you have no more to learn
You often feel stressed and tired.
If you find yourself dreading the start of the working day, struggling to sleep or becoming more irritable and low spirited, you could be beginning to feel rising stress levels. Stress can not only affect your mental state, but also your physical state - it can make you more prone to colds and low moods, impairing your performance. Although the financial services sector is challenging, it shouldn’t be so tough that it makes you unwell.
So if you're getting the feeling that your body is trying to tell you that it’s time to make a change, it’s worth taking a moment to listen and consider what your next role should be.
Added to this, if you find yourself complaining, feeling negative or most often focused on what's not working, then it's a sure sign it's time to consider a change. Here's why: If you stay, feel underappreciated, underpaid and undervalued, those negative feelings will expand and impact your performance, relationships and reputation. Get clear on your next move, take steps towards it and focus on your future.
Your priorities have changed.
It’s natural that as time goes on, your values and priorities will change. For example, when you began your job, you may have been focused on climbing the career ladder quickly and be willing to work long hours. However, you may now be in a position where you want more flexibility. If your current position doesn’t offer what you need or fit with your current priorities, it is likely that you won’t be in a position to thrive in your role.
You want more of a stretch in your role.
Similarly, if you are looking for progression and your current job or company isn’t able to offer you this, it’s time to look elsewhere. Even if you like the role, the company and your colleagues, if you are not getting what you need, it’s not worth staying and could become demotivating.
You’ve developed skills and experience over time, and you’re ready for new challenges. Sometimes an employer may simply not have the resources or business case to be able to develop you adequately, and sometimes what your career needs is the sort of step change that only a job switch can really provide.
Your interests don’t match your company’s.
A lack of shared values can be a powerful motivator. If this sounds like you, it might be time to start looking around for a new company that you can really believe in. Perhaps the company has taken some commercial or strategic decisions that don’t sit well with you. Perhaps a management reshuffle has not been a change for the better. Or perhaps it’s just that your own thinking has evolved, and you’re starting to feel that the company’s values don’t align closely enough with your own anymore.
You feel as though you have no more to learn.
It's time to move on if you find yourself feeling that you are not operating at your fullest potential and that your life is passing you by. It’s key to feel as though you are learning, growing and improving yourself whilst at work, and sometimes you need a change to help you continue to learn.
If that sounds like you, don’t be afraid to start exploring your options!
You can click here to reach out to our financial services recruiters for a confidential discussion, or you can browse new opportunities here.
