How to Quit Your Job: Best Expert Tips
Whether you're seeking a new role, or aiming for career advancement, our article offers essential insights on how to quit your job successfully.
🚶Quitting Your Job: A Necessary Step Forward
When you decide to leave your job, it’s not just a professional decision; it’s a pivotal moment that can redefine the trajectory of your life. Whether spurred by a quest for better opportunities, a need for personal growth, or a desire to escape a toxic environment, the decision to quit your job is as much about courage as it is about change. When delving into this topic, the insights from experienced thought leaders can be incredibly valuable. Erik Torenberg and Nikhyl Singhal are two such voices, each bringing unique perspectives and deep knowledge to their fields.
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1. How do you know when to leave a company - Erik Torenberg
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2. Crafting a Successful Career Framework - Nikhyl Singhal
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3. Tips when starting a new job - Nikhyl Singhal
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🧠 About the Authors
Erik Torenberg and Nikhyl Singhal both have extensive experience in the tech industry, with backgrounds that span entrepreneurship, investment, and product management. Torenberg, as a co-founder of the venture capital firm Village Global and the startup community On Deck, has deep insights into what it takes to start and scale new ventures; Singhal, with his experience at companies like Google and as a product leader, understands the intricacies of product development and strategic growth in tech companies.
🔖 3 Lessons From the Articles
- Stay or Go? Evaluate Your Current Job Situation
- Create a Personal Career Framework When Considering a Job Change
- Optimize Your Job Transition with a 100-Day and Yearlong Plan
1. Stay or Go? Evaluate Your Current Job Situation
Erik Torenberg is a technology entrepreneur and investor. Currently, he is the founder of Turpentine. Previously, he served as the chairman of On Deck, co-founded and was a general partner at Village Global, and was the first employee at Product Hunt.
If you’re at a crossroads in your career and wondering whether to stay with your current company or explore new opportunities, Erik Torenberg’s insightful article ‘How do you know when to leave a company’ is a must-read. Drawing from personal experience and a wealth of knowledge in career development, Torenberg provides a thoughtful guide to help you navigate this critical decision.
💡Here Are the Highlights
Evaluate Career Capital
Assess whether staying in your current job will help you build valuable career capital, including skills, experience, and a strong professional network.
- Can I build career capital by staying better than I would otherwise?
- Is the equity/cash upside meaningful? (Not critical, unless it is)
- Can I build a track record investing or operating here?
- Am I building my network?
- How might this network be utilized in other future opportunities I want to do?
- Am I exposed to opportunities that could help me get line of sight to the next thing?
Ensure Strong References
Before leaving, secure strong references by leaving on good terms and contributing positively to your company until your departure.
Regardless, one thing I’d stress is to make sure your references are strong before leaving a company. References are often binary – they’re either very positive, or they’re not. Lukewarm references are often viewed in the same bucket as negative ones. So why spend two years at a company only to leave with lukewarm references, either related to skill or attitude? In some ways, you’d almost be better off not having joined the company at all than getting a negative reference. One way to check this is simply to ask the people who will reference you what they’d say about you. They’re also likely worried about what you’ll say about them, so you can proactively let them know that you’re rooting for the company and will encourage people to work there. Another way I’d do it is to ask how you can leave but still set the company up for success. Letting them know well in advance and helping find a replacement are ways to leave with a strong reference. Even if you didn’t crush it, you’ll be known as a loyal team player, which matters a lot.
Explore Internal Opportunities
If dissatisfied with your current role, consider looking for new opportunities within the company, which can offer growth without the need to change employers.
If I like the company but not the role, can I try to find a new one internally?
⚒ How to Apply：
- Schedule regular check-ins with yourself to reflect on your career goals, strengths, and areas for growth. Ask yourself if your current job aligns with your long-term aspirations.
- Create a spreadsheet to compare salary, benefits, and potential growth opportunities at your current job versus other potential positions. Factor in long-term financial goals to make an informed decision.
- Maintain open communication with your supervisors and colleagues, actively seek feedback, and contribute to projects to leave a lasting positive impression before leaving a job.
Need advice that fits your situation? Baystar is always here to help.
You may also want to know:
- How can I assess if my personal growth within my current company is stagnant, and what steps can I take to reignite it?
- What factors should I consider when evaluating the potential financial gains from staying at my current job versus exploring new opportunities?
- What strategies can I employ to ensure I leave my current position with strong references and maintain positive relationships with colleagues?
Reading
2. Create a Personal Career Framework When Considering a Job Change
Nikhyl Singhal is VP of Product at Meta, overseeing teams building messaging, groups, stories, and the main Facebook feed. Before that, he served as the Chief Product Officer at Credit Karma and held various leadership roles at Google, leading teams on Google Photos and Google Hangouts. Nikhyl was also co-founder of three startups, including SayNow and Cast Iron Systems, which were acquired by Google and IBM, respectively.
If you’re not sure your current thing is working, or wondering is making a move right now worth it, Nikhyl Singhal’s article ‘Crafting a Successful Career Framework’ is essential reading.
💡Here Are the Highlights
Build a Personal Career Framework
It’s important to look beyond your current position and think strategically about your long-term career. Consider what skills and experiences you need to acquire to reach your ultimate career goals. Think about the job after your next job (“The Skip”) to effectively plan your career trajectory. This helps in making informed decisions that align with your broader career aspirations.
But the spreadsheet you’ve created – a wish list of sorts – to organize what you think you want in your next role isn’t going to help you make (or not make) any leap, particularly over the long haul. I suspect your list – to have an amazing manager, high compensation, a strong brand, a worthy product, and wide job scope – is pretty generic. _You’re planning for a whole career, not just the next job, so you need something personal to you. Dig deep to ask yourself what is at the heart of your drive to make this change. _
Evaluate Job Fit and Flow
Before deciding to leave, assess how well your potential new role aligns with your skills and how quickly you can achieve a state of “flow” in that role. This involves understanding the demands of the role and your ability to meet them comfortably without excessive stress, which can enhance job satisfaction and performance.
Sometimes it’s better to find a little smaller role in which you can crush it. You feel like yourself. In six months you are seen. People love the work you’re doing, and then you get thrust into the next new opportunity. That “skip” opportunity might be much more challenging, offer much more scope. You come into that next role with confidence and with support, and in that second job is where you really do your damage.
Consider the Pace and Growth of the Company
Reflect on the growth trajectory of the company and whether it matches your own career growth speed. If the company is growing slower or faster than what would ideally support your career development, it might be a sign to consider other opportunities. This ensures that you are in an environment that challenges
There are times when jumping into a fast-moving company is right, but don’t assume this. Perhaps that environment isn’t right for learning the skills you need to master at that moment. If a company is growing more slowly than you are, that might actually give you a reason to leave. The same can be said if the projects themselves aren’t growing. The sweet spot seems to be if you are slightly behind your company in terms of growth and can be pulled forward.
⚒ How to Apply：
- Set Long-term Goals: Identify where you want to be in 5 to 10 years. Think about the types of roles that will help you get there. This might include gaining specific skills or experience in certain industries.
- Seek Roles that Match Your Skills: Aim for positions where you can leverage your strengths and are confident in your ability to contribute effectively right away.
- Match Growth with Personal Ambitions: Consider if the company’s growth pace complements your career speed. If you’re in a fast-growing phase personally, a rapidly scaling company might be a good fit. Conversely, if you seek stability, a more established company might be better.
Need advice that fits your situation? Baystar is always here to help.
You may also want to know:
- What factors should I consider to ensure a role is career additive and not just another job?
- How can I make informed decisions about career moves in the context of my entire career and life goals?
Reading
3. Optimize Your Job Transition with a 100-Day and Yearlong Plan
The article ‘Tips when starting a new job’ by Nikhyl SinghalI delves into the necessity of meticulous planning and paced changes during the initial stages of employment.
💡Here Are the Highlights：
Plan Deliberately
Crafting a detailed 100-day plan to establish a strong, authentic impression is critical, yet it’s equally important to have a broader yearlong plan that focuses on strategic, well-thought-out changes rather than abrupt decisions.
Transitioning into a new role—whether it’s at a whole new company or at your current employer—isn’t always easy. Throw COVID-19 and remote working into the mix and it becomes that much trickier. So to make your transition go well, you want to lay out two game plans: one for the first 100 days, and another for the first year. Game plan one will ensure that you make an authentic, positive first impression. Game plan two will give you momentum for success, because your impact, particularly in leadership positions, will be most pronounced in years two and three.
Avoid Rushing
Despite the immediate demands and expectations of a new role, slowing down can lead to more meaningful and impactful contributions rather than quick, often misguided actions.
“It’s a marathon, not a race.” You’ve heard it before, and it very much applies to starting a new role. Everyone wants to have a quick start, shed their impostor syndrome, and find rhythm. But by moving too fast, you may end up missing opportunities and leaving poor impressions.To avoid rushing through your first months, my suggestion is to carefully sequence your onboarding as I suggest here.
Reflect on Past Experiences
Before diving into a new role, taking time to reflect on past jobs can clarify your strengths and development areas, helping you avoid repeating previous misunderstandings or mistakes in your new position.
Before you start your next role, ensure you have time to reflect on the past. Make a list of (a) your strengths and development areas as you understand them and, (b) where you might have been misunderstood. For your strengths and development areas, consider signaling these to your manager in your first 100 days. But for areas where you feel you are misunderstood, find a way to put those to rest. Every situation is different, and the best part about a new role is that you have the chance to start with a clean slate. Unfortunately, all too often people use their new job to needlessly prove their past employer was wrong.
⚒ How to Apply:
- Develop detailed 100-day and yearlong plans outlining goals such as acquainting oneself with company culture, building relationships, and mastering workflows. Execute these plans meticulously, ensuring actions are purposeful and organized.
- When faced with new challenges, practice calm deliberation to avoid making rushed decisions. Consider weighing pros and cons, seeking advice from others, and gaining a thorough understanding of the situation to make informed choices and prevent errors.
- Before embarking on a new job, reflect on past experiences to understand personal strengths and areas for development. By recognizing past mistakes and lessons learned, one can avoid repeating errors and enhance work efficiency and performance in the new role.
Need advice that fits your situation? Baystar is always here to help.
You may also want to know:
- What are the consequences of moving too quickly in a new job, and how can I avoid these pitfalls?
- How can I effectively navigate the transition into a new role without rushing and risking poor impressions or missed opportunities?
- As a new leader, how do I reconcile the expectation to bring fresh ideas and drive change with the reality of having limited context and bidirectional trust?
Reading
Lessons You Can Take Away
- Stay or Go? Evaluate Your Current Job Situation
- Create a Personal Career Framework When Considering a Job Change
- Optimize Your Job Transition with a 100-Day and Yearlong Plan
Reference
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1. How do you know when to leave a company - Erik Torenberg
Link copied!
-
2. Crafting a Successful Career Framework - Nikhyl Singhal
Link copied!
-
3. Tips when starting a new job - Nikhyl Singhal
Link copied!
