Brain Dump
Brain Dump
Should I get a new job?
Brain Dump
Brain Dump
Should I get a new job?
Brain Dump
Brain Dump
Should I get a new job?
No matter if you're a freelancer or work as an employee. There will be phases where you love your job and phases where you won't. And once you feel unhappy at work, it's "easy" to make the change.
Don't get me wrong, depending on the industry and the current economy there will be times where it's a bit harder to find a new role. But if you look at your life and all the problems you could have overall : If your current job is your main worry, it's the easiest thing to change unlike your income or relationship status. Although your income can change drastically when you start a new job, but more about this below.
Having worked as both an employee and freelancer, there are 6 areas that I review to see if it's time for me to move on or worthwhile staying.
Those 6 areas are
• Work tasks
• Colleagues
• Commute
• Salary
• Reputation
• Flexibility
If you tick at least 4 of those, you're at a good place. But of course, you have to decide for yourself which of those areas are the most important to you at your current stage in life.
So let's dig deeper into each of those areas and why they are important:
Work tasks
This area covers the actual tasks you do at work. If you're a UX Designer like me, this would entail creating user flows, wire framing, user research but also replying to emails, joining stand ups etc.
If the tasks themselves satisfy you, if you feel like there's a learning curve and you don't get bored of doing those things, then you can tick off this area. But if you're getting bored quickly, the work doesn't challenge you and you'd rather be doing something else, then maybe it's time to move on.
Colleagues
This is an important area for me. Being a freelancer, I have new colleagues on a regular basis. On average, I work on a project for 3–6 months, so the people I work with aren't always the same.
I also work fully remote, so I barely meet my colleagues in real life, and if I do, it's often just for a lunch or quick coffee.
Some colleagues might be a bit more difficult to work with whereas with others, you could even develop a friendship.
Overall, if you're going into a meeting looking forward to seeing that person again or if you're dreading even sending an email to someone, this will affect your overall happiness at work.
There'll be people you won't like, just like there'll be people that won't get along with you - I know, what's wrong with those people? - but that's okay. You don't have to make everyone at work a bestie, but as long as you can stand seeing their faces on a regular basis and might have the one or the other joke, that's great. Bonus if you have a work wife/husband that makes your life in the office/on zoom meetings that much easier. Having someone to look forward to when going to the office/entering that zoom call can make a massive difference.
Commute
Are you still commuting? Most companies have adapted to the remote lifestyle and even if they didn't go fully remote, there might be a hybrid where you're spending 2–3 days a week in an office and the other days you're working from home.
Maybe you're one of those people that moved outside of the city during the pandemic and then got annoyed that you have to commute into the office 1–2 days a week and spend 1.5hours a day as a sardine next to other people's armpits.
Maybe you're working fully remote but never leave the house anymore and actually miss showering and leaving the house before the weekend.
Either way, if the commute is too time consuming or tiring, it might be worth considering a move, either for your home or to another company.
But also, just to put things in perspective: some of my previous colleagues had a 3+ hour commute one way! 🤯 So maybe the commute isn't too bad after all.
Salary or Day rate
This one is a big one. You could tick off all the other boxes but if you're not getting paid enough to make ends meets, chances are you need to move your job.
A good salary can be the reason why people stay at companies they don't like. I've met several people that would get a yearly bonus, but they only get it after having spend several months with a company and only get it paid a few months later. That way, they never leave because they don't want to lose out on the bonus.
But if the salary is the only thing that keeps you at the company let me tell you this: You can always make more money if you manage it well. But that's a different story.
I always tell people that they should find a job that fits their life style, rather than adapting their life style to their income. So if you're someone who wants to eat out several times a week and have a nice flat that you don't have to share with 10 other people, then your income needs to cover that. But of course, if you got the perfect role with an amazing team but the salary isn't quite what you expect, it's still worth spending some time there and renegotiate your salary in the future.
But if you struggle to pay your rent or other essentials, moving job can often mean a massive pay rise. The best time to negotiate your salary is when you start a new job. This will give you a base line. From there, you unlikely receive more than 10% pay rise per year, so the higher you start, the higher your salary can get.
Reputation
What's the reputation of the company you work for? Are you proud to work for them or would you rather not tell people who's paying you?
For example, if you're a designer, being able to tell people you work for Apple will likely make you proud. It'll also be a great company to have on your CV and will have recruiters queue for you whenever you're looking for your next role.
It doesn't have to be a known brand though, it could also be that you work for a charity whose values you align with. If that's the case, you'll automatically have a better work satisfaction.
However, if you're working for a tabacco or oil company, then maybe you're a little less proud.
Those companies tend to be very aware that people would rather not work for them, and they compensate for that with a very high salary compared to other companies. In the end, everyone has a price.
But at the end of the day, it's about what you're comfortable with. If you can be satisfied with your choices and what the company is doing, it could be okay to take on a job at a company whose values you disagree with, if you get paid well and learn a lot.
Flexibility
This one is a big one for me. As I mentioned above: Your work shouldn't define your life style, it should fit around it.
Your work shouldn't define your life style, it should fit around it.
For me, it's important to be location independent and ideally work my own hours. I know there'll be meetings that I can't move around but as long as I can go suringf in the middle of the day or take as long of a lunch break as I want, I'm happy.
I also don't mind working until late at night if I had a whole day before to myself. I dislike when the client forces me to work late at night though, but it's different when I choose to do it.
Does your work give you the flexibility you want? Can you choose for yourself when you want to go on holiday? Do they define the days that you have to be in the office?
Conclusion
It's for you to decide which of those six areas are non-negotiables for you and which ones you're happy to not be ticked ✅
I doubt there'll be many job opportunities that tick every single one of those boxes.
Hopefully this article gave you a little bit of guidance to help you decide if you still want to stay with your current role or not.
If you're considering freelancing but are unsure where to start, you can download my free Freelance Blueprint Checklist by signing up to my newsletter. It's a very simple checklist with all the steps you need in place to get started in your freelance career.
If you find this article useful you could buy me a coffee. And if you want to see more content, feel free give me a follow on instagram.
No matter if you're a freelancer or work as an employee. There will be phases where you love your job and phases where you won't. And once you feel unhappy at work, it's "easy" to make the change.
Don't get me wrong, depending on the industry and the current economy there will be times where it's a bit harder to find a new role. But if you look at your life and all the problems you could have overall : If your current job is your main worry, it's the easiest thing to change unlike your income or relationship status. Although your income can change drastically when you start a new job, but more about this below.
Having worked as both an employee and freelancer, there are 6 areas that I review to see if it's time for me to move on or worthwhile staying.
Those 6 areas are
• Work tasks
• Colleagues
• Commute
• Salary
• Reputation
• Flexibility
If you tick at least 4 of those, you're at a good place. But of course, you have to decide for yourself which of those areas are the most important to you at your current stage in life.
So let's dig deeper into each of those areas and why they are important:
Work tasks
This area covers the actual tasks you do at work. If you're a UX Designer like me, this would entail creating user flows, wire framing, user research but also replying to emails, joining stand ups etc.
If the tasks themselves satisfy you, if you feel like there's a learning curve and you don't get bored of doing those things, then you can tick off this area. But if you're getting bored quickly, the work doesn't challenge you and you'd rather be doing something else, then maybe it's time to move on.
Colleagues
This is an important area for me. Being a freelancer, I have new colleagues on a regular basis. On average, I work on a project for 3–6 months, so the people I work with aren't always the same.
I also work fully remote, so I barely meet my colleagues in real life, and if I do, it's often just for a lunch or quick coffee.
Some colleagues might be a bit more difficult to work with whereas with others, you could even develop a friendship.
Overall, if you're going into a meeting looking forward to seeing that person again or if you're dreading even sending an email to someone, this will affect your overall happiness at work.
There'll be people you won't like, just like there'll be people that won't get along with you - I know, what's wrong with those people? - but that's okay. You don't have to make everyone at work a bestie, but as long as you can stand seeing their faces on a regular basis and might have the one or the other joke, that's great. Bonus if you have a work wife/husband that makes your life in the office/on zoom meetings that much easier. Having someone to look forward to when going to the office/entering that zoom call can make a massive difference.
Commute
Are you still commuting? Most companies have adapted to the remote lifestyle and even if they didn't go fully remote, there might be a hybrid where you're spending 2–3 days a week in an office and the other days you're working from home.
Maybe you're one of those people that moved outside of the city during the pandemic and then got annoyed that you have to commute into the office 1–2 days a week and spend 1.5hours a day as a sardine next to other people's armpits.
Maybe you're working fully remote but never leave the house anymore and actually miss showering and leaving the house before the weekend.
Either way, if the commute is too time consuming or tiring, it might be worth considering a move, either for your home or to another company.
But also, just to put things in perspective: some of my previous colleagues had a 3+ hour commute one way! 🤯 So maybe the commute isn't too bad after all.
Salary or Day rate
This one is a big one. You could tick off all the other boxes but if you're not getting paid enough to make ends meets, chances are you need to move your job.
A good salary can be the reason why people stay at companies they don't like. I've met several people that would get a yearly bonus, but they only get it after having spend several months with a company and only get it paid a few months later. That way, they never leave because they don't want to lose out on the bonus.
But if the salary is the only thing that keeps you at the company let me tell you this: You can always make more money if you manage it well. But that's a different story.
I always tell people that they should find a job that fits their life style, rather than adapting their life style to their income. So if you're someone who wants to eat out several times a week and have a nice flat that you don't have to share with 10 other people, then your income needs to cover that. But of course, if you got the perfect role with an amazing team but the salary isn't quite what you expect, it's still worth spending some time there and renegotiate your salary in the future.
But if you struggle to pay your rent or other essentials, moving job can often mean a massive pay rise. The best time to negotiate your salary is when you start a new job. This will give you a base line. From there, you unlikely receive more than 10% pay rise per year, so the higher you start, the higher your salary can get.
Reputation
What's the reputation of the company you work for? Are you proud to work for them or would you rather not tell people who's paying you?
For example, if you're a designer, being able to tell people you work for Apple will likely make you proud. It'll also be a great company to have on your CV and will have recruiters queue for you whenever you're looking for your next role.
It doesn't have to be a known brand though, it could also be that you work for a charity whose values you align with. If that's the case, you'll automatically have a better work satisfaction.
However, if you're working for a tabacco or oil company, then maybe you're a little less proud.
Those companies tend to be very aware that people would rather not work for them, and they compensate for that with a very high salary compared to other companies. In the end, everyone has a price.
But at the end of the day, it's about what you're comfortable with. If you can be satisfied with your choices and what the company is doing, it could be okay to take on a job at a company whose values you disagree with, if you get paid well and learn a lot.
Flexibility
This one is a big one for me. As I mentioned above: Your work shouldn't define your life style, it should fit around it.
Your work shouldn't define your life style, it should fit around it.
For me, it's important to be location independent and ideally work my own hours. I know there'll be meetings that I can't move around but as long as I can go suringf in the middle of the day or take as long of a lunch break as I want, I'm happy.
I also don't mind working until late at night if I had a whole day before to myself. I dislike when the client forces me to work late at night though, but it's different when I choose to do it.
Does your work give you the flexibility you want? Can you choose for yourself when you want to go on holiday? Do they define the days that you have to be in the office?
Conclusion
It's for you to decide which of those six areas are non-negotiables for you and which ones you're happy to not be ticked ✅
I doubt there'll be many job opportunities that tick every single one of those boxes.
Hopefully this article gave you a little bit of guidance to help you decide if you still want to stay with your current role or not.
If you're considering freelancing but are unsure where to start, you can download my free Freelance Blueprint Checklist by signing up to my newsletter. It's a very simple checklist with all the steps you need in place to get started in your freelance career.
If you find this article useful you could buy me a coffee. And if you want to see more content, feel free give me a follow on instagram.
No matter if you're a freelancer or work as an employee. There will be phases where you love your job and phases where you won't. And once you feel unhappy at work, it's "easy" to make the change.
Don't get me wrong, depending on the industry and the current economy there will be times where it's a bit harder to find a new role. But if you look at your life and all the problems you could have overall : If your current job is your main worry, it's the easiest thing to change unlike your income or relationship status. Although your income can change drastically when you start a new job, but more about this below.
Having worked as both an employee and freelancer, there are 6 areas that I review to see if it's time for me to move on or worthwhile staying.
Those 6 areas are
• Work tasks
• Colleagues
• Commute
• Salary
• Reputation
• Flexibility
If you tick at least 4 of those, you're at a good place. But of course, you have to decide for yourself which of those areas are the most important to you at your current stage in life.
So let's dig deeper into each of those areas and why they are important:
Work tasks
This area covers the actual tasks you do at work. If you're a UX Designer like me, this would entail creating user flows, wire framing, user research but also replying to emails, joining stand ups etc.
If the tasks themselves satisfy you, if you feel like there's a learning curve and you don't get bored of doing those things, then you can tick off this area. But if you're getting bored quickly, the work doesn't challenge you and you'd rather be doing something else, then maybe it's time to move on.
Colleagues
This is an important area for me. Being a freelancer, I have new colleagues on a regular basis. On average, I work on a project for 3–6 months, so the people I work with aren't always the same.
I also work fully remote, so I barely meet my colleagues in real life, and if I do, it's often just for a lunch or quick coffee.
Some colleagues might be a bit more difficult to work with whereas with others, you could even develop a friendship.
Overall, if you're going into a meeting looking forward to seeing that person again or if you're dreading even sending an email to someone, this will affect your overall happiness at work.
There'll be people you won't like, just like there'll be people that won't get along with you - I know, what's wrong with those people? - but that's okay. You don't have to make everyone at work a bestie, but as long as you can stand seeing their faces on a regular basis and might have the one or the other joke, that's great. Bonus if you have a work wife/husband that makes your life in the office/on zoom meetings that much easier. Having someone to look forward to when going to the office/entering that zoom call can make a massive difference.
Commute
Are you still commuting? Most companies have adapted to the remote lifestyle and even if they didn't go fully remote, there might be a hybrid where you're spending 2–3 days a week in an office and the other days you're working from home.
Maybe you're one of those people that moved outside of the city during the pandemic and then got annoyed that you have to commute into the office 1–2 days a week and spend 1.5hours a day as a sardine next to other people's armpits.
Maybe you're working fully remote but never leave the house anymore and actually miss showering and leaving the house before the weekend.
Either way, if the commute is too time consuming or tiring, it might be worth considering a move, either for your home or to another company.
But also, just to put things in perspective: some of my previous colleagues had a 3+ hour commute one way! 🤯 So maybe the commute isn't too bad after all.
Salary or Day rate
This one is a big one. You could tick off all the other boxes but if you're not getting paid enough to make ends meets, chances are you need to move your job.
A good salary can be the reason why people stay at companies they don't like. I've met several people that would get a yearly bonus, but they only get it after having spend several months with a company and only get it paid a few months later. That way, they never leave because they don't want to lose out on the bonus.
But if the salary is the only thing that keeps you at the company let me tell you this: You can always make more money if you manage it well. But that's a different story.
I always tell people that they should find a job that fits their life style, rather than adapting their life style to their income. So if you're someone who wants to eat out several times a week and have a nice flat that you don't have to share with 10 other people, then your income needs to cover that. But of course, if you got the perfect role with an amazing team but the salary isn't quite what you expect, it's still worth spending some time there and renegotiate your salary in the future.
But if you struggle to pay your rent or other essentials, moving job can often mean a massive pay rise. The best time to negotiate your salary is when you start a new job. This will give you a base line. From there, you unlikely receive more than 10% pay rise per year, so the higher you start, the higher your salary can get.
Reputation
What's the reputation of the company you work for? Are you proud to work for them or would you rather not tell people who's paying you?
For example, if you're a designer, being able to tell people you work for Apple will likely make you proud. It'll also be a great company to have on your CV and will have recruiters queue for you whenever you're looking for your next role.
It doesn't have to be a known brand though, it could also be that you work for a charity whose values you align with. If that's the case, you'll automatically have a better work satisfaction.
However, if you're working for a tabacco or oil company, then maybe you're a little less proud.
Those companies tend to be very aware that people would rather not work for them, and they compensate for that with a very high salary compared to other companies. In the end, everyone has a price.
But at the end of the day, it's about what you're comfortable with. If you can be satisfied with your choices and what the company is doing, it could be okay to take on a job at a company whose values you disagree with, if you get paid well and learn a lot.
Flexibility
This one is a big one for me. As I mentioned above: Your work shouldn't define your life style, it should fit around it.
Your work shouldn't define your life style, it should fit around it.
For me, it's important to be location independent and ideally work my own hours. I know there'll be meetings that I can't move around but as long as I can go suringf in the middle of the day or take as long of a lunch break as I want, I'm happy.
I also don't mind working until late at night if I had a whole day before to myself. I dislike when the client forces me to work late at night though, but it's different when I choose to do it.
Does your work give you the flexibility you want? Can you choose for yourself when you want to go on holiday? Do they define the days that you have to be in the office?
Conclusion
It's for you to decide which of those six areas are non-negotiables for you and which ones you're happy to not be ticked ✅
I doubt there'll be many job opportunities that tick every single one of those boxes.
Hopefully this article gave you a little bit of guidance to help you decide if you still want to stay with your current role or not.
If you're considering freelancing but are unsure where to start, you can download my free Freelance Blueprint Checklist by signing up to my newsletter. It's a very simple checklist with all the steps you need in place to get started in your freelance career.
If you find this article useful you could buy me a coffee. And if you want to see more content, feel free give me a follow on instagram.