Introduction
Stepping away from a long-term professional home can be a daunting prospect. Sometimes, however, it might be the most crucial step for your career and well-being. The blog below suggests the critical indicators that signal it might be time to consider a change. If you have been questioning your current role, read on to discover the five key signs that suggest it is time to explore new horizons.
1) Your Professional Growth Has Been Stunted
Maybe you feel as if you are no longer growing in your career. This can be caused by a variety of factors. A lack of learning opportunities or mentorship could effectively stunt your ability to advance. Without a clear path for advancement or a clear vision of how your future can pan out, you might feel stuck. Another possibility is your personal skillset becoming outdated compared to how your current firm is growing. Regardless of why you feel like your career growth is coming to a stop, it is a clear sign that you should consider leaving your firm for another.
2) Your Values Are No Longer Represented
You might feel as if your values no longer align with those of your current firm. Maybe it’s that your own values are changing, or that a shift in leadership or company mission is causing the firm to change. Either way, you do not want to be working in a place where you no longer fit. With misaligned values, you could find yourself in a toxic culture, or even making ethical compromises. That is never something that anyone wishes for within their work environment, and it is something you should pay attention to when it comes to staying at or leaving your firm.
3) Your Health (Mental or Physical) is Suffering
You do not want your health to take a backseat to your career. Lawyers often experience chronic stress, burnout, or anxiety related to their work, and sometimes even health issues that are exacerbated by various work conditions. Because of their usual passion and drive towards, it is also common for lawyers to ignore health issues for the sake of continuing as they always have. If you are one of these lawyers and your firm is creating an issue here, then it may be time to take a step back, be honest with yourself, and consider leaving.
4) You Feel Undervalued or Overworked
Maybe your firm is not valuing your abilities as it should. You should be credited and recognized properly for your contributions. In addition, your pay and benefits should accurately reflect the value that you bring to your firm, and your workload should be what you need in order to balance every other aspect of your life outside of your career. If your firm does not, and is unable to, provide these things to you, then a move might be necessary.
5) You’re Only Staying Because of Comfort or Fear
You might just be staying in your current position because you are comfortable there or scared to leave. Lots of lawyers feel a sense of loyalty towards their firm, especially if they have spent a considerable amount of time there, and a fear of starting anew overpowers their wish to leave. For many, even after they have lost passion for the work in their current position, they stay out of habit—not to mention it is easy, comfortable, and stable. However, none of these are good reasons to stay. Sometimes you need to put yourself in an uncomfortable situation in order to reignite your passion for your career, and that could mean switching firms.
Conclusion
If any of these signs resonate with you, remember that recognizing them is the first courageous step towards a more fulfilling professional life. The legal field is vast. Opportunities for growth, alignment, and well-being abound. Stepping outside your comfort zone can lead to incredible breakthroughs and reignite the spark that drew you to law in the first place. Your career is your own, and choosing to act for your betterment is a powerful decision that can lead to profound positive change. Our recruiters at the RMN Agency can help you embrace the possibility of a new chapter and walk you through any changes that need to be made. Feel free to confidentially reach out to our talented legal recruiters today: https://thermnagency.com/team/
