It’s hard to know when it’s time to look for greener pastures. Are you going through a hard spell at work that’ll be over soon or dealing with a more consistent problem? Job satisfaction has tremendous impact on our physical and mental health, yet it's hard to parse the signals that we should look for new opportunities. Here are 3 signs you should consider leaving your current job.

1. Your Values Don’t Align With Your Company’s

   This is a big one. If you believe in what your company is doing, it’s a lot easier to stomach the day-to-day challenges that inevitably come with any job. On the other hand, working someplace where you don’t believe in the mission can make even the simplest tasks feel like a chore.

   There are a lot of ways to assess whether your personal values align with your company. Do a quick Google search of your company’s name and see what kind of press they’ve been getting lately. If you’re not comfortable with what you find, that’s a huge red flag. You can also talk to friends, family, and even acquaintances to see what they think of your company. If the general consensus is that people view your company poorly, it might be time to start looking for new opportunities.

2. You’re Unhappy With Your Compensation

   This is an important but tricky signal to parse. On the one hand, you shouldn’t stay at a job where you’re wildly underpaid. If you’re not making enough to live comfortably, it’s only a matter of time before the unhappiness sets in. On the other hand, you also shouldn’t necessarily always expect to be the highest-paid person at your company, especially if you’re early in your career and optimizing for learning opportunities and experience. With that said, there are a few key indicators that will help you determine whether you’re being underpaid.

   The first is to look at your salary relative to others in your field. Websites like Salary.com and Payscale.com can be helpful here. If you’re making significantly less than your peers, that’s a sign you should explore the market. The second is to assess your cost of living relative to your salary. If you live in an expensive city but make a relatively low salary, it’s going to be hard to get by, no matter how much you love your job. Finally, you should also consider how long you’ve been at your current salary. If you’ve been at the same salary for several years, while the cost of living has gone up, that’s another sign you’re being underpaid.

3. You’re Not Learning or Growing

   No matter how long you’ve been in your career, you should always be learning and growing. If you feel like you’re stuck in a rut, or like you’re not being challenged, it might be time to start looking for a new job. A good way to assess this is to think about the skills you’ve acquired in the last 6 months. If you can’t think of any new skills you’ve learned, or any new challenges you’ve taken on, that’s a sign you’re not being challenged at work.

   Interested in developing new skills and don't want to take the leap to a new job just yet? Why not try a side-gig or contract work? Better yet, why not in an innovative new field like web3? Check out https://tryopencraft.com/intro to find the next step in your career

It’s hard to know when it’s time to look for greener pastures. Are you going through a hard spell at work that’ll be over soon or dealing with a more consistent problem? Job satisfaction has tremendous impact on our physical and mental health, yet it's hard to parse the signals that we should look for new opportunities. Here are 3 signs you should consider leaving your current job.

1. Your Values Don’t Align With Your Company’s

   This is a big one. If you believe in what your company is doing, it’s a lot easier to stomach the day-to-day challenges that inevitably come with any job. On the other hand, working someplace where you don’t believe in the mission can make even the simplest tasks feel like a chore.

   There are a lot of ways to assess whether your personal values align with your company. Do a quick Google search of your company’s name and see what kind of press they’ve been getting lately. If you’re not comfortable with what you find, that’s a huge red flag. You can also talk to friends, family, and even acquaintances to see what they think of your company. If the general consensus is that people view your company poorly, it might be time to start looking for new opportunities.

2. You’re Unhappy With Your Compensation

   This is an important but tricky signal to parse. On the one hand, you shouldn’t stay at a job where you’re wildly underpaid. If you’re not making enough to live comfortably, it’s only a matter of time before the unhappiness sets in. On the other hand, you also shouldn’t necessarily always expect to be the highest-paid person at your company, especially if you’re early in your career and optimizing for learning opportunities and experience. With that said, there are a few key indicators that will help you determine whether you’re being underpaid.

   The first is to look at your salary relative to others in your field. Websites like Salary.com and Payscale.com can be helpful here. If you’re making significantly less than your peers, that’s a sign you should explore the market. The second is to assess your cost of living relative to your salary. If you live in an expensive city but make a relatively low salary, it’s going to be hard to get by, no matter how much you love your job. Finally, you should also consider how long you’ve been at your current salary. If you’ve been at the same salary for several years, while the cost of living has gone up, that’s another sign you’re being underpaid.

3. You’re Not Learning or Growing

   No matter how long you’ve been in your career, you should always be learning and growing. If you feel like you’re stuck in a rut, or like you’re not being challenged, it might be time to start looking for a new job. A good way to assess this is to think about the skills you’ve acquired in the last 6 months. If you can’t think of any new skills you’ve learned, or any new challenges you’ve taken on, that’s a sign you’re not being challenged at work.

   Interested in developing new skills and don't want to take the leap to a new job just yet? Why not try a side-gig or contract work? Better yet, why not in an innovative new field like web3? Check out https://tryopencraft.com/intro to find the next step in your career