It’s Time To Leave Your HR Job When…

One of the toughest things anyone does is to decide to leave their job. Leaving the familiarity of your colleagues can be uncomfortable. Figuring out days you’re going to take off to interview is a pain. Polishing up your interviewing skills is no fun. Going through the gauntlet of interviewers can be brutal. So arriving at this decision is not easy. Here are the indicators that it’s time to move on to your next HR role:

1. You’re not having fun anymore. You used to get up in the morning anxious to get going. But now each day takes more effort than it used to. You press that snooze button three or four more times than normal. If this is happening to you, think hard about why this is occurring. If you conclude that the real reasons can’t be changed, then it’s time to dust off the resume.

2. You don’t see things improving. You’ve tried to change important elements of your job that you feel must change and that are within your control. It could be that you’re doing more grunt work than you’d like. It could be that you’re working with a client that you don’t like. And, you’ve tried to take responsibility for making things better. However, if repeated efforts to solve the problem have failed, you face the tough choice: Stay where the conditions will bother you, or find a different environment.

3. There’s no way for you to move up. You’ve worked hard to groom your successor, yet there is no place for you to go. If this is the case, maybe your next step is to go elsewhere. If you stay put, you’re likely not going to be growing and developing and you’re keeping someone else from the next step.

4. You’ve lost your influence. People who used to hang on your every word, now aren’t listening to you anymore. You notice that a some of your best past supporters, now seem to roll their eyes and humor you. You (and they) are feeling uneasy. You’re feeling ineffective. And because of this, you no longer have the same credibility to be the agent of change you must be in HR.

5. You don’t have anything new to put on your resume. You don’t have any new projects on the horizon. No new assignments that you’re excited about. You’re only there because you love the people you work with and you’re consistently invited over to their homes for parties or cookouts. If this is the case, record their addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses and promise that you’ll write…

….And then leave!