Quitting your job can be a nerve-wracking experience. It is often downright terrifying especially if you do not have anything else lined up for you after you quit. Plus, almost always, your decision will not only affect you but also the people you care about.
Sadly, your loved ones will rarely understand why you opted to leave a steady paycheck without the guarantee of something better ahead. But sometimes, you have no choice.
It is very important to be completely sure of such a monumental decision by the time you are quitting your job. In fact, there are a number of things you have to consider beforehand.
Let’s try to answer the question”should I quit my job without another job?”
WHAT SHOULD YOU CONSIDER BEFORE QUITTING YOUR JOB?
When you quit your job, you are giving up your primary source of income. If your job is your only source of income, then quitting it without having any plans or an alternative source of income might not be the smartest thing to do.
Even though circumstances differ, you should at least try having a secondary source of income apart from your job so that when you quit and you don’t have another job lined up, you can sustain yourself as you search for another job.
While you are employed, you should make it your goal to get to a point where you can handle quitting your job suddenly. For example, in case of an emergency such as the illness of a family member, or having to move to a different location on short notice. This means you need to have a bit of money saved up for such rainy days.
Additionally, before quitting, you also need to work on improving yourself and your skills to make yourself more marketable and attractive to the job you are targeting. You could go for training or even apply to go back to school if you are targeting a better job than the one you are leaving.
In some situations, however, quitting your job without another job might be the only way for you to create time for yourself to figure out which move suits you best. Some situations which may require you to quit your job without another job include:
1. WHEN YOU HAVE NO AUTONOMY OVER YOUR WORK SCHEDULE
The process of looking for a job can be rather time-consuming. Sometimes, looking for a job might require you to take time off your day to day to go to job interviews, update your resume, research the best companies you would like to work for, and so on. You can do this when you are free from work or during the weekends.
However, sometimes, you need a little more wiggle room, such as going to work a little late and leaving a little early for you to be able to make it to job interviews on time. In many cases, this may not be possible. A lot of employees lack autonomy over their work schedules since their jobs are too demanding.
Having a demanding work schedule will limit your chances of getting a better job since you will be unable to be fully committed to the process because you may not have the time to explore all of the available opportunities.
Also, your boss may be very vigilant, making it very difficult to find another job while working. If you are in such a predicament, quitting your job without another job lined up might be the right thing to do for you to free up time to focus your attention on the job-hunting process.
2. WHEN YOU CANNOT KEEP YOUR JOB SEARCH CONFIDENTIAL
Job hunting is a stressful process that creates a mental tug-of-war between motivation to facilitate a change that will alter your life and the fear of venturing into the unknown. Job hunting is also a risky process since when your boss finds out what you are doing, your career path may take an awkward turn. The whole process must be conducted in stealth mode to keep your boss and even some of your colleagues in the dark. This is because there are potential repercussions if the cat is let out of the bag before you get a job offer.
Keeping your job search confidential is important especially if your field of expertise is small. This will be tough since you will have to juggle the job search with your current job, while at the same time struggling to keep the whole process a secret from your boss and even most of your colleagues. If your boss is the suspicious type, this may turn out to be a very risky move in your career since you may not be able to maintain confidentiality over your activities and your boss may eventually find out that you are applying for new jobs.
If you and your boss have a great working relationship, this may not be an issue since they may respect your need for change. However, if you do not have such a close friendship with your manager, it is advisable to leave your current work environment before applying for another role. This will relieve you of the stress of having to conduct the whole job-hunting process in secret.
3. LACK OF SUPPORT WITHIN YOUR COMPANY
Most people wish for a manager who is supportive and willing to help them through their careers. Sadly, you may not always get this kind of manager. Often, managers can get you so frustrated that you seriously consider quitting without another job.
Quitting your job is a very nerve-racking process and it may be very helpful to have a colleague as a confidant. Perhaps a friend in HR who can help you by advising you on how to go about the entire process, or even help you move laterally and manage up better so that you can improve things despite your boss, hence avoiding the whole situation altogether.
However, if you completely lack support within your company, chances are that you cannot improve your working conditions. In this case, quitting without the guarantee of another job might be a good decision.
4. BEING UNABLE TO CONVINCE YOUR BOSS/HR TO MAKE CHANGES IN YOUR WORK ENVIRONMENT
It is hard to confront a difficult boss and even riskier to go past your boss to HR. This is because if you do not get the help you wanted, then you may end up having an even more uncomfortable working environment.
That being said, if you are already considering to quit, it may be worth a try since you are willing to take the biggest risk anyway. You should at least try to improve your working condition before leaving so that you do not prematurely leave with any regrets of what more could have been done.
5. LACKING AN ALTERNATIVE ROLE TO PLAY WITHIN THE COMPANY
If you are working in a big company or corporation, there might be a better opportunity for you in another department or a subsidiary of the same company. If you are good at your job, this may be a perfect solution instead of having to quit.
However, if you work in a small company, you may not have as many options. There are also some large companies that have policies against their departments sharing employees. This may also limit your chances of a better environment under a better boss.
You should, however, try your best to make a lateral move in your company before quitting altogether. If there is no chance at all, then perhaps quitting without another job might be your only way out.
6. WHEN YOU NEED TIME TO SELF-REFLECT YET YOU CANNOT GET A FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE
Before quitting, you should take time to reflect on the main reasons why you want to leave your job. Taking time to reflect on the things about your job that drive you crazy is important especially when it comes to determining the next step to take in your career.
When quitting your job, you should do so with a feeling that you are running towards a particular goal and not away from something, unless you are in a very terrible situation. If you have better goals for yourself that will lead you to a career path that is more fulfilling such starting your own business, then you must carve a career path for yourself that will lead you towards your goal.
To do this, however, you need to have adequate time to help you identify the exact thing that you do not like about your current job. This will help you avoid making the same mistakes in the future. Before quitting, you should consider asking for a leave of absence, a severance, or a flexible schedule.
No matter how risky you may think to ask for any of these is, quitting without the guarantee of another job is even riskier. If your request is denied, then you can go ahead and quit but if it is accepted, you get the much-needed time to self-reflect while being paid.
7. HAVING ENOUGH SAVINGS
Before packing up your desk, your financial obligations are probably the most important things you need to consider first. After quitting your job, many other things will remain constant, including your bills. You, therefore, need to work around how you will support yourself, probably for several months, without a job.
Give yourself a three-month time-frame as the minimum amount of time you will spend without a job after quitting. You should then work towards developing a system that will help sustain you financially for at least three months. You can start by calculating your expenses and then compare them to your savings. You also need a form of steady income to help you settle your bills.
If you are thinking about quitting and you do not have another job waiting for you, you can start saving early so that by the time you are quitting, you already have enough money to sustain you for a couple of months.
This will help you avoid poverty and having to go for a job that may be a total downgrade or similar to the job you quit in the first place out of financial necessity. Once you have enough money saved up, then you can quit your job without another job.
8. HAVING SOMETHING TO KEEP YOU BUSY
Spending a lot of time and energy doing something that you do not like may take a serious toll on you. However, quitting your job without having any plans may have repercussions that are just as bad. Before you quit your job, you should at least take some time to sketch out the next steps you will take before you find another job.
You should find something to keep you busy for at least three months before you find another job. Do this to avoid being bored, unhappy and confused. It will also reduce the chances of you regretting why you quit your job and sinking into depression. Finding a temporary activity that pays could also go a long way in helping you settle some of your bills.
9. WORKING IN A TOXIC ENVIRONMENT
Having a strained relationship with your colleagues and superiors will create a negative office environment that will affect your work output. A negative office environment will also make you despise your workplace, taking away your energy, resilience, and optimism. You become unable to see your values and strengths. This ends up curtailing you making you unable to build a better career for yourself.
Being in a toxic work environment may result in a general behavioral change or even illness as a result of the stress you encounter at your place of work. To avoid this, it is advised that you create time and space from your colleagues to detox and reflect on the next step of self-improvement.
10. HAVING A SUPPORT SYSTEM IN PLACE
Having a support system in place does not necessarily mean that you have set money aside that will get you through the period that you are unemployed. Quitting your job without having a backup plan or a guarantee of employment is nothing short of terrifying. Having a support system will go a long way in helping you get through this tough time.
The support system, in this case, is your family, a group of close friends, a career coach or anyone who will help keep you sane during this challenging period. Having a group of friends listen to you and help you figure out what you want, whether it’s starting your own business or travel around the world, will help you much more than you could ever imagine.
Before you quit your job, you should ensure that you have a strong network of support that will help you get through this terrifying decision.
11. BEING MORE STRESSED ABOUT STAYING THAN LEAVING
Quitting without the guarantee of another job is a risky thing and let’s face it, not everyone is a risk-taker. For most people, the fear of venturing into the unknown is too paralyzing and difficult to navigate.
Some people are bored with their work but because of this fear, they choose to stay where they are. Being unhappy with your working conditions results in increased stress levels which may lead to other conditions such as sleep deprivation, depression, heart conditions, diabetes, among many other conditions.
If the stress of working at your current job supersedes that of quitting, then quitting your job may be the only way of saving both your physical and mental health.
START YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS TODAY!
WHAT OPTIONS DO YOU HAVE?
Having an alternative source of income before quitting your job will go a long way in sustaining you before you find another job. Online jobs are a very good source of secondary income and you never know, they may end up being your primary source of income.
Here are a few great options:
· Freelance Writing
Freelance writing is an online business where you are paid to create content without being employed by an organization. Freelance writers write articles that suit their clients’ needs at the comfort of their home or in a rented workspace. If you have a passion for writing, then this can be a very good source of secondary income for you.
To get started as a freelance writer, you have to market yourself and your skills to potential clients. You also have to establish a writing niche that you are comfortable in.
The number of clients you get may vary from several clients to one major client depending on your niche. You then have to compose the content you write according to your clients’ needs.
· Sell Stock Photos
Stock photos are photographs that are made available online by photographers for commercial purposes. Stock photos are subject to usage license. Selling stock photos is a good way of earning passive income as a freelance photographer.
If your hobby is photography, then this may be a good way of earning some extra cash. There are many stock photography websites available online that you can join.
You can set different price points for each photo you upload on these websites depending on where the photo will be published, its commercial purpose, how the image will be used, among other factors.
You can license stock photos several times to multiple buyers making the sale of stock photos a good source of residual income.
· Dropshipping
Dropshipping is a supply chain management method where a business does not have to keep its goods in stock but instead makes the products available to the customer via a third-party supplier who is given a sales order of the product sold by the business. The third-party supplier then delivers the product directly to the customer.
The third-party supplier, in this case, is you. With drop shipping, your main source of income can either be the profit of the difference between wholesale and retail price or an agreed percentage commission on the sales paid by the wholesaler. Dropshipping is a good way of making secondary income for yourself.
· Selling Online Courses
Selling online courses is an outstanding business opportunity that can earn you good money. Many people learn new skills from the internet and you can tap into this market by making an online course of their subject of interest available to them.
Producing an online course does not cost much and neither does its distribution. If you have a passion or a skill that you would like to pass to an audience, you can do so by creating an online course that is presentable to an audience and make the course available at a certain price. This is a good way of making use of your skills.
· Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a business model where an affiliate (meaning you) earns a commission by promoting a company’s products or the products of another person. When an affiliate promotes a particular product, they get to earn a certain percentage of the profit made by the product when it is sold. The sales of these products are tracked by affiliate links across websites.
For you to earn a significant income through affiliate marketing, you need to have a relevant audience to which you can promote or sell a particular product. You can do this by establishing a blog, website or by joining affiliate programs through affiliate networks.
These affiliate networks provide you with links that you incorporate into your blog or website such that when this link is clicked by a visitor to your blog or website, you get to earn a commission depending on the purchased product or service.
This is my choice of business model to create the financial security I need to be able to weather any professional or economic storm that may come. It has taken me a while to generate enough income to feel like I can survive without a regular 9 to 5. But the investment in time and effort has been extremely worth it. I believe this is the best way to “lifeproof” your finances. It has opened so many opportunities for my family. I highly recommend you looking into it.
START YOUR OWN AFFILIATE MARKETING BUSINESS TODAY!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Before quitting your job, you should take time to consider all of the above situations. If you find that your situation falls under several of these scenarios, then quitting your job without another job may be a good decision.
You should, however, be very sure of your decision before handing in your resignation since there is a very high chance that you might not get your job back if you change your mind. Take your time and have absolute clarity before taking the next step.
Whenever possible, try to cultivate an extra income scheme that will potentially sustain you just in case. If you have something else bringing in money besides your job, you will have something to fall back on if it takes longer than you expected to get another job.
The idea here is to be proactive and to have some foresight and plan for the future. Think about the worst-case scenario and try to protect yourself against it. When you do this, you will be just fine even after quitting your job.
To your success,
Mike Aha
MORE HELPFUL POSTS:
How To Start In Affiliate Marketing?
When Is It Time To Quit Your Job?
How To Earn A Second Income Online
Ways To Make Money Without Getting a Job