Articles From the Team
Lawyers - is now a good time to move jobs?
The pandemic has left many people questioning their work / life balance and as a result of this shift, there are some great options out there with law firms offering more flexibility.
According to this report: The Next Great Disruption Is Hybrid Work—Are We Ready?, a study of over 30,000 workers across 31 countries, 40% of the workforce was looking to leave jobs.
At the moment however, there is a definite shortage of ‘active’ candidates in the market and there seems to be an uncertainty over whether now is a good time to move jobs.
Deciding whether to make the next move in your career is and should always be a big step to take and there are some questions you should be asking yourself to help you arrive at the right decision.
Why did you move in to your current role?
Zoom out, go back to the beginning and think about what made you take this job over other options? The promise of career progression? Quality of work? The culture of the firm? Flexibility and work/life balance? Asking what attracted you to your current firm could be a key indicator when considering if it’s time to move on, especially if these promises haven’t been delivered upon.
How long have you been feeling this way?
If you’re unhappy in your job, how long have you been feeling like this? This could be down to feeling undervalued, unchallenged with the work you’re doing or overwhelmed with the sheer volume of work. Giving it another 6 months to see if the situation improves might just be prolonging the inevitable and causing you more stress!
What do you want from your job?
Increase in salary is always a common reason but isn’t always a reason to leave a job. In the current market firms have offered unprecedented increases to retain their staff. Really think about what your ideal role looks like and how this measures up to where you are right now.
What will I give up V what will I gain?
Walking away from colleagues, stability if you have been in your role a long time and familiarity are things to question at the start of the process to avoid wasting anyone’s time. Remind yourself, you’ve done this before and the idea starts to feel less daunting. In return, reigniting your passion for your job, meeting new people who will also become friends and expanding your skills are all gains from moving jobs.
Have you explored your options with your current firm?
If the answer is no, go away and ask the questions. Being counter offered is extremely common and can be avoided if people have the right conversations at the right time. Knowing what is on the table in your current firm helps massively when deciding if this is the right time to move on. It may well be others haven’t been given a pay rise or progressed to the next step but everyone is different and there may be reasons for this so always ask the questions for yourself.
Is now the right time?
Only you will know if you are truly ready to move jobs but my advice is to work with someone who knows your market well. This allows you to gain an overview of the market generally because we work with all firms and we will have honest feedback from candidates we have placed in to firms and also where they’ve moved on from!
For a confidential chat about the North West market, please feel free to contact Nicola O’Hanlon at BCL Legal.