In our previous blog post, we discussed how passion is the most important factor to consider in analyzing your current employment situation and deciding whether or not to launch a job search. As important as passion is, though, it’s not the only factor to consider.

There are others, of course, and you should also consider them before embarking upon a serious job search. In fact, there are four other important factors. Two of them deal with your current employer, and the other two deal with you, both personally and professionally.

Let’s start with the first two, which deal directly with your current employer:

#1—The potential for growth and advancement at the company

If you’re not passionate about your job and there’s no real potential for growth at your employer, it might just cinch your decision to look elsewhere. After all, people usually want to advance through the ranks at their employer, and this advancing typically includes receiving raises and promotions. People want to feel as though they’re going somewhere, that they’re moving forward and making progress. In order to do that, though, you need a path. And if no path is readily apparent where you currently work . . .

#2—The company’s vision and/or direction for the future

There’s two parts to this one. First, your employer should have a vision and/or direction for the future. And when we say “employer,” we mean the company’s management team. So that’s the first part. The second part is knowing what that vision and/or direction is. It doesn’t matter if your employer has a vision if none of the employees know what that vision is. And it is most definitely the management’s responsibility to make sure that the vision has been effectively communicated to the masses. (Ideally, it should be communicated in an inspiring fashion.)

Let’s move on to the two factors that deal with you, both personally and professionally:

#1—Your career

You certainly must analyze your current employment situation against the backdrop of your career overall. Where do you ultimately want to go? How are you going to get there? How can your current employer help you get where you want to go? Or maybe your current employer can’t help. These are determinations that you should make because they will help dictate your course of action. More importantly, they’ll help you decide if your future includes your current employer . . . or another one.

#2—Your family

Obviously, this one applies to some people more than it applies to others. Not everybody is married or has a partner or significant other. Not everybody has children. But if you are married or if you do have children and family considerations are a concern, what is your current employer’s attitude toward work-life balance? How would launching a job search affect your family? How would finding a new job affect them, especially if that new job required a change of scenery?

We’ve now reached the end of our reflection and introspection. So perhaps this is where your reflection and introspection begin.

Remember that partnering with a recruiter can help you to navigate these issues and choose the path that’s right for you. Look for a recruiter who has experience working with professionals just like you and has experience placing professionals just like you.

Recruiters possess a tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise. They know about the employment marketplace and the top organizations that operate within your chosen field. You can leverage their resources to gain a competitive edge and stand out among other candidates.

The Doepker Group has experience placing professionals in the Information Technology and Engineering fields, and we can place YOU, as well.

We invite you to search through our open positions. You can start the process by creating a profile and/or submitting your resume.