Ten Signs that it’s time to go…

Ten Signs that it’s time to go…
Every job has frustrations. But if you feel ignored, it may not be because you’re a loser. So how do you know when it’s time to update the resume or hit up the college pal with the dot-com start up? A few thoughts:

1. You spend your entire raise on the celebratory six-pack.
You may not be working to get rich, but money is still the best way to keep score.

2. Your new project leader is so young he thinks Creedence Clearwater Revival is a Pentecostal Church in West Virginia.
You want to work at a place where you are getting the choice assignments.

3. You get more calls from headhunters than from the boss.
It’s true; sometimes people outside an organization will recognize and value abilities more highly than the folks whom you see every day.

4. When you ask about stock options, you’re given the choice of blue or black ballpoint pens.
If a company doesn’t give you proper incentives, says Hussam Hamadeh, president of Vault.com, a career resource web site, it probably doesn’t value your work.

5. The company spends more on the executive retreat than on research and development.
New products mean new opportunities for you. And remember, while a job hop is risky, there is risk in whiling away productive years at a dead-end job.

6. You see your office PC at the Smithsonian.
You need the right tools to do your job right, says Mark Poppen, career advice columnist for interbiznet.com, an electronic recruiting newsletter.

7. Your only friend at work is the UPS man.
It could be you just don’t fit into the corporate culture. Then again, it could be you! But seriously, if your work mates are focusing on how you dress than what you say, your ideas may never get a fair hearing.

8. Your long-awaited promotion means taking on the workload of the guy who just quit.
Hard work is de riguer these days, but when a company cuts costs it could be slipping.

9. The continuing education program is the Learning Channel on the break-room TV.
Don’t discount the benefits an employer offers. They’re another form of cash.

10. You’re reading this, aren’t you?
Enough said.

US News & World Report, November 1, 1999