Thinking about making a career move? Changing your job can feel overwhelming, especially when fear, shame, or guilt hold you back. But how do you know when it’s the right time to take the plunge? In this article, we have made a list of 5 signs that it is time to start looking into other professional opportunities.

1) Is internal promotion impossible? Change company!

Have you been in the same position for more than 3 years? Despite your requests, no internal promotion is possible because the positions are already filled? Maybe it’s time to look elsewhere and change company. In fact, this is the reason that pushes 21% of employees to resign (BVA survey for Club Média RH in April 2022).

And there’s good reason; an upward professional trajectory is one way to meet the need for self-actualisation, one of the seven in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. It is a challenging experience that motivates people and gives meaning to the work. 

2) Your last pay rise dates back to Methuselah 

At your last annual interview, did you ask for a salary increase that wasn’t granted? And yet, you had a good year: you met your targets, you achieved results? Applying for another job elsewhere begins to look like an interesting alternative.

This is common practice among people who want to bump up their salary quickly. Changing companies often makes it possible to renegotiate upwards, as several studies reveal. For example, the survey by Robert Walters shows that the salary of executives who are already in position was expected to increase by 4% in 2023, while those who changed companies could expect to command a 17% salary increase. Pretty convincing, right?

3) A sense of meaning at work has evaporated

Do you spend time writing reports no one reads? You attend countless team meetings, but there is no progress? Do you feel your work has no purpose? We can deduce that you no longer find meaning in your work and at your workplace. Meaningful work is an essential point for professional development and motivation. In fact, 49% of young graduates look into whether the position being offered is meaningful to them (iCIMS study June 2023). Whether companies like it or not, Generation Z is not alone. Finding meaning in their work is a priority for 43% of employees ( JLL survey 2022).

To rekindle the fire and find the desire and motivation of the past, perhaps it is time to make a change. Sometimes it doesn’t take much, like joining a new company that offers a service or product you believe in, or a more flexible organisation, with fewer unnecessary tasks. In other situations, a complete professional change of direction may be necessary. 

4) Your workplace relationships have deteriorated

Getting along well with work colleagues, working successfully as a team and feeling like part of a group is a source of well-being. Almost 7 out of 10 employees (69%) even believe that getting on with their colleagues is more important than the work itself. Friendship at work is such an essential component of work that 82% of employees believe that good relationships can help them “forget” about how tedious the work can be. 

If your relationships with your colleagues have deteriorated over time and there is a knot in your stomach on your way to work, there’s no shame in looking elsewhere!

5) Work equals boredom

Do you know your job inside out? The tasks you perform no longer excite you? You don’t have enough work to do and the hours drag by? If the answer is “yes”, it’s time to pull the emergency brake. Whether you realise it or not,chronic boredom at work has an impact on your health: well-being, stress, insomnia, self-worth…

Boredom can also lead to the question: should I change jobs? Change industry? What career should I have? If I change companies, will I end up getting bored all over again? What is the labour market like? Remember to take the support and guidance of a professional or organisation to take stock of your motivations and make a skills assessment. 

6) You do not share the company values

Another sign that it is the right time to change jobs is when you are not aligned with the company’s values. Let’s imagine that what is important for you is mutual aid and that you work for a life insurance company where the management practice promotes internal competition. Even if you like your core business, you will feel out of step with your own values.

In your future job searches, learn about the company’s values and feel free to say which ones are important to you on your candidate profile.

Did you recognise yourself in one or more of these situations? Well, now you know that it’s time to change jobs. On our Wiggli platform, you will find hundreds of job offers in different areas of activity (tech, finance, engineering…)! Click here to discover them.