Either during a dinner conversation with your family or at some point while grabbing a drink with some friends, I'll bet that someone will tell you they're looking for a new job before the year ends. 

They'll mention their frustrations. They'll mention their aspirations. They'll for sure mention their desired compensation.

But at some point in the conversation, they're going to stop talking.

How will you respond?

Will you be able to share the love of the work you're doing and the clear impact it's having on you and the people you work with? Or will you spend the evening swapping horror stories and trashing your teammates?

If you're in the first group of people that really dig the work they're doing or are so fresh in their jobs that moving on isn't on your radar, let me save you some time by saying this post isn't for you.

Nothin' personal. 🤘😎🤘

If, however, you're in the other group of people that are considering a job or career change, keep reading for a few insights on the job market going into 2023 and a few questions to ask yourself before clicking "Apply."

End-of-Year Job Insights

A few minutes with a search engine will help you see the hiring process has been as short as a few weeks in some industries and as long as several months in others.

January and February are typically the heaviest when it comes to new job creation and promotion, with the early spring months becoming a focal point for screening and hiring.

The info coming out of your searches could be wildly different depending on your industry so do your own digging to get a good eye on what lies ahead for you specifically.

Check your rearview mirror to see that in the last few months, Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce, Vimeo, and a ton of other companies have already laid off or announced plans to lay off large percentages of their workforce to combat the current economic climate.

What does that tell us?

On one hand, we're about to hit the busiest time of the year for new job creation. Now could be as good a time as ever to blow the dust off our resumes and start checking the color of the grass around us.

On the other hand, as the job market gets more competitive, the decision to leave your job is just as important as the way in which you leave it. 

So take time to really consider your options and your mindset before making any decisions.

Reflection Before Resignation 

First and foremost, I genuinely hope that if you've come to the decision to leave your company, you can still zoom out and look at the connections you've made, the work you've done, and the things you've built with pride.

For a lot of us, we're so busy doing the damn thing that we don't slow down to look back at the damn things we've done.

Below are a handful of questions to help get your juices flowing.

Softer Reflection Questions: 

Of course, if we're going to reflect on the positive side, we've got to take an honest look at the rough patches too.

Harder Reflection Questions: 

Take time to get in your own brain for a bit and try to write down some of your takeaways. Don't pull your punches at any point.

To Pass or Keep the Baton
 
Step one is reflection.

Step two is going through your reflection points, looking at your notes, and making a decision on what to do next.

Do you stay and fight for this job or do you cut ties and walk?

If you want to fight for it, you'll have a fantastic baseline to work from after digging into those reflection questions.

Look at your notes and really try to determine what your role was in the success or failure of it. If we're really going to own this stuff, we've got to own everything, not just the stuff that makes us look better.

Plus, if we are part of the problem, we are the best positioned to be part of the solution!

Keep in mind that the company that hired you most likely did so knowing they weren't 100% sure what they were getting themselves into with a full-time videographer. As much as this might have been painful for you, I can guarantee you there was ample pain felt by your supervisors and leadership team as well.

If you decide to cut ties and walk, then it's absolutely vital that we set up the next person to come in and take that vision into the future, with our guidance and help.

To just walk away from a company without building a proper onboarding plan for them is disrespectful to both the work that you did while you were there and the organization you did it for. It also drastically diminishes your ability to stand out in the job market.

What type of stories would you rather share with a future employer? That you got pissed and bailed when the chips were down or that you realized you'd met your growth potential, but refused to leave without ensuring the legacy you've left behind was set up to succeed, or hell, to thrive without you?

While I acknowledge that not everybody that leaves their job will be willing to put this kind of time and effort into the process, it is 100% something I couldn't recommend more. 

Later this week, I'll drop a post on the steps you can take to leave a world-class They Ask, You Answer Legacy behind you but this is a great starting point for us to work from. 

Have a great week!