Is quitting a job without a plan, always a mistake?

No, it isn’t always. How things turn out will depend on your luck and mindset. For luck, you have no control. You could land another job very soon, or not. The mindset, however, is completely in your control. Quitting a job often causes financial, social, and above all, emotional challenges. Things a mindset can either reduce or worsen.

If anyone remains strong in such tough times, if they know they can stick it out through that period and get into a better place, then quitting is the right decision.  Not many people can say that of themselves, but it doesn’t mean you don’t have that potential.

I understand very well that no one quits a job without a reason. But, in the present times, leaving a job without planning is not a good decision as there is already an undeniable scarcity of jobs. Things are more delicate and strenuous for those seeking employment right now.

Before I proceed further, I would like to tell you that one should always have a backup plan for almost everything in life. When it concerns a job, one must not settle down easily and think it’s the last job they’ll ever apply for. Even if you are doing well, you should always keep a backup plan, especially when you are bound with financial responsibilities. Life, particularly the career parts of it, always bring insecurities. Young people often worry they don’t work enough, whereas older people worry that they aren’t getting paid enough.

I don’t intend to demotivate you. I just mean to say that there will always be problems cropping up in your career that you didn’t expect, and so one should always be prepared for change. Questions like yours always remind me of the nightmare job that I once had. I won’t shirk saying, despite being in the top tier of employees, I was laid off. I ran face-first into depression as I literally had no backup plan. The lesson I learned from that always reflects in my answers: improve in the areas that matter. Being a better employee at that job did nothing for me in the end. I just got axed anyway. But then I learned new skills, focused on working as an entrepreneur and teaching others, and things got better and better over time. Now running businesses that help others is my job.

Well, that’s a huge story. In a nutshell, one should always work on what I call 3S. Those 3S are helpful for anyone who hates their job, works on a well-paying job that doesn’t satisfy them, has quit a job, is planning to quit a job, or really anything like that. I have discussed 3S in my article: I’m Ready to Quit My Job YESTERDAY, How Do I Do It? 

According to recent surveys, the number of people who do not like their jobs has increased in the last few years. I think many of those people are in the exact jobs that they wanted, back in the day. Their perception of the job, even they wanted it and liked it at first, inevitably changes. These are the growing pains of a massive cultural shift. Very few people, a hundred years ago, probably were as picky and motivated to have a fulfilling career as people today, and I think that’s awesome, even if it doesn’t feel awesome to us individually, down in the weeds working a job we don’t like.

Your hate for your current career situation may be genuine. I don’t know your reasons, but here’s a piece of advice. I am sure you must have considered why you actually want to quit plenty of times. Ask yourself whether those reasons are permanent or temporary. If they are temporary, look out for their solutions, and manage it. Else, quit, but with planning. If you have already quit, don’t worry. What’s done is done, and it’s time to find something that both makes you happier and that you are willing to do for even longer than your past employment. For many, that’s entrepreneurship and striking it out in business, which I help people with.

Being an online career coach, I have many things to share with you, but it helps a lot when I know your situation better. Feel free to leave a comment if you want. For now, I’ll just say that even if you don’t get a job for a while, you can jump into online money-making, provided you have enough determination. It’s a different world from traditional employment. You can work at it as much as you want, 24 hours a day even if you really want, and you’ll reap the rewards. But in exchange, you won’t receive a steady wage and good income, not at first. You have to work your way up, but it’s not as hard as people think.

For now, keep that as a last option. Since the selection of such jobs requires in-depth research, don’t just get spammed and scammed into buying some magic bullet method to get rich online in a week. Of course, I can suggest you with a lot of genuine ways to start an online business, build a platform, network, things like that.

Anyway, if you hate your job, then you should not depress yourself by staying there for any longer than necessary. Life is more precious than living. In an extreme situation, quitting without an action plan is not a mistake. Otherwise, one should quit a job with proper planning. It largely comes down to whether you are just upset about something that happened that may not happen again, such as a company miscommunication, or it’s an ongoing problem that likely won’t go away.

Please feel free to reply to me if you need clarification.

Good Luck!

Thanks,

Cleo