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Jumping Ship

I've been looking for another job for a while, and while I have had some success, it has not led to another position (yet!). However, my current company is losing people faster than they can replace. Some have left for other opportunities, and others just left while they could.

The entire environment is toxic and I am burnt out beyond belief. The only reason I am still here, besides not acquiring another job, is for health insurance, but I am starting to think it may be better to put in my 2 weeks and pay for Cobra or something until I get another job.

Has anyone else ever 'jumped ship,' or left without an immediate job opportunity? What would be your advice?

If you have cash reserves in place that can support you for a while, you may wanna consider leaving now versus later. If not, the financial concern could lead to greater stress and burn out.That said, if you were not working it would give you the ability to look for a job full-time and fully commit yourself to finding something that you like better, that allows you to work fewer hours, and has a better company culture.Have you made a list of pros and cons yet to staying and going? If not, I would suggest doing that as well.Also having a support system in place who supports your decision makes a huge difference so that would be something to consider as well.And, as a self rescue coach, author and speaker for worn out working wonder women myself one of the things that you can do if you decide to stay is make a list of everything that’s currently draining you . From there determine creative ways that you can plug those energy drains, which might actually mitigate the burn out altogether.That said, in my experience burn out is usually not just the environment you’re in but it also has a lot to do with your unique personality blueprint and how you’re showing up, not setting boundaries , overworking, over giving, etc. If you’d like to better understand how your own personality might be contributing to the burn out, I do have a self rescue tool kit with some assessments that would help give you some insight about this. Let me know if you’d like to sign up for that! 😊
Ooof sounds like the place is on fire and people are running towards an exit! I'm a corporate escape coach and I help women with career transitions like yours all the time. While I totally get the impulse to jump ship right now, if I could recommend anything it would be to give yourself an intentional pause. Make some time to let your mind and body let go of all the stress you've been carrying (even if it's just for a few hours) so that you can take an honest appraisal of your situation. You are in a great place to ask yourself some critical questions that most folks skip in their quest to find their next role. 1. What are the passions that have stood the test of time for you? 2. What personality characteristics keep you connected to those passions? (this could even be something that may have gotten in trouble for as a kid!)3. If you look back at every single job you've had, what are the wins you've had for yourself and your employer?4. Is imposter syndrome fogging the lens of your reality? What's really true about you and your accomplishments?When you answer these questions you'll have a clearer view of what you love, who you are, what you're good at, and the things that might be standing in the way of you finding the work that was meant for you. And when you know those things - you stand to be most fulfilled (and making the most money) because they represent your most valuable offer to the world. Hope that helps a bit! Lastly, I have a free resource that might be of assistance, happy to send it to you if you shoot me a DM.
I'm so sorry you're going through this at work, I did too a few years back and it was super stressful! I completely understand staying for the health insurance but yet wanting to run - fast, away. In my experience, I did what you are doing by continuing to apply for new jobs and opted to stick it out (Cobra would have been way too much for me to afford at the time). While searching I did a bit of a mental shift. I decided that I would try to do my current job as best as I could, basically practice every hard and soft skill involved for the current position. I did not however work myself to death while trying to be the best-work-self, and I also tried very hard to steer clear of anyone/thing toxic. This experiment helped me develop some skills that I thought I had down, but didn't lol. It also took my focus off of the bad stuff at work since I wanted to focus on developing my skills. I had been at this job for a number of years, so my mental shift was a bit like I was a new employee looking at the job with rose colored glasses. In the end, the work environment improved over time and my manager appreciated my persistence and contributions. I know its hard to know what the future will bring, so I hope that your job search goes well!
Currently in the same boat asking the same questions. Thank you for bringing this up. I've also only been in my current job for 6 months and I'm struggling with how to professionally explain why I'm leaving so early.
I’ve been asked the same question and my answer is, I’m not doing what I was hired for. I realize there’s going to be some discrepancy between JD and reality, but sometimes the gap might be too large to tackle.
That sounds like a tough place to be in; I'm sorry you're in such a toxic environment! I did leave a job after a handful of months thanks to rock-bottom burnout that I'm still recovering from, almost a year later. Like others have mentioned, if you can afford to leave now and live off savings, you may be able to give yourself a bit of a break while looking for a new role part-time. COBRA is super expensive, but if you only need to pay for it for 1-3 months, it can be manageable (this is what I did; I was lucky to be able to do this). Before you move onto your next role, taking a pause to reflect on what's not working now and what you would like to see in the future can be helpful while evaluating if potential jobs are the right fit for you. Some questions you could ask yourself are What were the highlights and favorite things I did in this job? Why?What moments or weeks did I feel my best?What did I feel like I could keep doing the same set of things over and over and be happy?When did I feel drained or depleted?When did I feel bored?When did I feel like my worst self?What was I grateful for? Why?What am I looking forward to next quarter? Why?What would make the next job really great? It's also helpful to think about the "push" factors that are forcing you out of your current role. What aspects of your job are you leaving? Why? What characteristics of a new job/company would be really appealing to you? Why? These questions are based on this article I wrote about setting a direction in your career--hope it helps! https://medium.com/merit-publication/navigating-your-career-36cfdd87fb40 Best of luck with the job search and making it through the current job!
Dear friends,Thank you all so much for your warmth and advice! I'm blown away by the support and responses you all took the time to write, especially the job search advice and resources! It took at least two more months, but I am happy to report that I did eventually put in my two weeks and leave my toxic and manipulative job. I'm brave enough now to reply to you all as myself instead of anonymously.The funny thing is, about a week after my two weeks were over, I saw one of the other team leads at the neighborhood pool. I was there with my friend and she was with her daughter-in-law or something. I never worked for her or with her directly, but I worked with her team a lot. She's basically the equivalent of my boss's boss on that other team. We did the polite 'wave and smile' thing. My friend and I get settled.She comes over to chat! It was nice, but totally hilarious to me when she's like "Oh, I was so sad to hear you left! Did you get another job or just, like..." and here she paused. I waited for her to figure out what words she wanted to use to mention or defend the horrible environment. She says, "or did you just get fed up with it all?"To which I brightly reply, "Fed up with it!" She laughs politely.And then she kinda gets this haunted-ish look on her face - she's been with the company for a long time, and I can't even fathom all of the nonsense she's had to put up with. She says, "Yeah, I get that. [Team member I worked with] moved to the Creative team, and [other team member I worked with] went to [wherever, I can't remember]. So....[this team member, who started just before I did] is basically the senior person on my team, and has to train all the new people."And I'm like "Well that's rough, but [person] will do a great job!" while knowing full-well they're looking for other jobs too.I keep in contact with my friends on my old team. They encouraged me when I turned in my notice and kept saying stuff like "I'm so jealous, but honestly I'm so happy for you!!" I still sometimes feel a little guilty about leaving, because they are overworked and exhausted and frustrated and all the things I was. But that's nothing compared to the absolute RELIEF I feel when they're venting (not angry at me! Just sharing the load like friends do) and telling me about all the new nonsense they have to deal with, and I get to think 'oh thank EVERYTHING I don't work there anymore....'Leaving without another job lined up definitely has its challenges, but I know I made the right decision for myself.TL;DR: You are all wonderful women and your support means more to me than you can possibly know. I hope you are experiencing joy in your life, and wish you good fortune in your professional and personal lives! Thank you so much!