Making the decision to leave an entire career behind is never easy. It becomes even more daunting if you don’t have your next role lined up. In this episode of Career Relaunch, Kelly Price, a former consultant in the pharmaceutical industry explains why she made the decision to move on from her stable career in the industry to pursue a career path more aligned with her personal values and interests. We’ll talk about dealing with “golden handcuffs” and how you can navigate a transition when you aren’t 100% certain what lies ahead. In the Mental Fuel segment, I’ll talk about how I managed the times in my career when I left one job behind before having my next one lined up.

Key Career Insights

1. If you’re working within an industry with practices misaligned with your values, it’s worth considering making a move to be more at peace with yourself.
2. It’s not unusual for it to take an extended period of time to move on from a role you dislike because the costs of leaving, including creating a break in your CV or disruption to your steady income, can feel very daunting.
3. The “golden handcuffs” of chasing a better title and higher salary can feel very alluring, but can result in you continually moving the goals posts of what will truly make you happy.
4. Leaving one job behind without having another one lined up definitely happens, although can feel less common, which makes it both daunting and exciting.
5. You can never go wrong investing more time pursuing your interests. Doing this leads you down the path toward being who you’re meant to be.

Listener Challenge

During this episode’s Mental Fuel segment, I put out a challenge to those of you trying to figure out whether to hold on or let go of your job to answer these two questions to help you clarify whether now is a good time to make your move.

1. First, what single biggest interest in your life are you serving by staying?
2. Second, what single biggest opportunity could you open up for yourself by leaving?

For some help in doing this, you can download my “Should I Stay or Leave” Worksheet.

Register below to download worksheet