Don't Quit Your Job Before You Get Another One

I was reading a CareerJournal piece how to get ahead at the office when I saw this quote at the end of the piece:

"You are 10 times more appealing to an employer if you're still employed," Shapiro says, "And if you get a job while you still have a job, it prevents your new firm from calling your current employer, and creates a seamless jump on your resume."

I can't say this strongly enough -- do not quit your job before you get another one! Your career is your most important financial asset and by cutting off a supply of income without starting up a new one you're risking a significant amount of money. Not only are you cutting off income now, but you're also making getting a new job harder (you'll have to deal with the "why aren't you employed now?" question.) Why take such a big financial risk?

I've seen tons of people in my career leave a job with no new job in sight -- and they hardly ever rebound quickly. In fact, most languish for months before they accept the first job that comes along. Or worse yet, they start their own "consulting" businesses and live off breadcrumbs for years to come. Yes, there are exceptions and people that do make the transition quickly, but from my experience, this is very rare.

As I've said before, the pain of not having a job is usually much worse than the pain of staying in your current position (even if you hate it now.) Now maybe there could be cases when the job is affecting you physically or mentally and making you ill that it's wise to bail, but these are extreme cases. Most situations are simply unpleasant and difficult -- and my advice is to work through the adversity while doing all you can to find a new position.

Believe me, I've been there. I've worked years in dead-end and even harsh-environment jobs while looking for a new position. It certainly wasn't easy. But I didn't make my problems worse by quitting without something else to go to. I couldn't do that to my family or my finances. So instead I toughed it out and everything worked out in the end.

If you're in a situation where you want to quit now without another job in hand, I suggest you read What I'd Do with a High-Paying, Unrewarding Job. Yes, start looking immediately, but don't jump ship without a new job -- otherwise, you may be committing a huge financial mistake.

Comments

[beloml]

Why in the world does this prevent your prospective employer from contacting your current employer?

[Brad]

I don't know how if this is a law or just a standard, but it seems from my previous job applications that they have to get your permission to contact your current employer. It could ruin your current job and you may not get the new job . . . a prospective employer should not have the right to do that unless you permit them.

[cory]

As far as I know, it's not law--more of an unwritten rule.

A company that contacts a current employer without asking (or worse, in spite of not getting) the applicant's permission is going to get a pretty bad reputation among prospective employees.

[Susan]

Yes to all of the points you make about leaving a job without another in tow. Been there and it is scary. I have made too much headway in my credit card reduction to jeopardize that sense of well-being.

[Matt]

Usually they'll contact your current employer LAST. They're ready to offer you the job, and just need to confirm your current employment and salary. The only way it could blow up in your face is if you lied about either of those two things.

[Matt]

I couldn't agree more with the main idea of the post. Except for the most extreme circumstances, voluntarily leaving a job before you have another one is just insanity. You're setting yourself up for a period of financial hardship followed by ANOTHER job you'll hate, because you've thrown away your bargaining power.

[rdub98]

I think as far as contacting your current employer is concerned, most businesses are reducing liability by not doing it. In this lawsuit happy nation, I think, most businesses don't want to be sued for causing someone to lose their job by contacting the candidate's current employer.

[Matt]

I don't know why people are so fixated on this little part of the story.

A prospective employer contacting your current employer might not even hurt you. In fact, it's conceivable they'd give you a raise to try to get you to stay. It's a job, not a marriage.

[moom]

I quit my job (as a tenured professor) and am moving back to Australia. My partner got a job there. I don't plan on getting another job, but if I do my excuse will be "I quit to move with my partner here". So there are some circumstances where it might make sense. Of course if you don't have much money or reputation in your field and aren't moving it doesn't make much sense.

[Matt]

In 90% of cases, I'd agree.

My last job fell into one of the 10%.

Have you ever tried to job-hunt while working from 8pm to 4am every day? I did...it didn't work too well. In fact, the sleep-deprivation involved in being awake when employers want to do interviews caused me to more or less humiliate myself in front of several companies I think I'd have enjoyed working for...jobs I could have gotten, but from which I'm now barred for life because being awake for (in one case) 50 hours straight made me look like an idiot.

Have you ever worked for an employer that told you that you would no longer be allowed to visit your family on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter? How about one that gave this ultimatum a week before one of those holidays? I have.

How about one that switched you, against your will, despite numerous promises not to, and over your loud and vociferous protests, to a shift that effectively prevented any contact with your friends or your professional network of peers? Yep, that too.

I'm a firm believer in finding another job before you leave the old one. But enough is enough. I completed the refinance of my mortgage in April, wrote my resignation letter WHILE I WAS ON THE PHONE to the new bank to confirm that the loan had funded, and hit "Send" the moment I hung up.

I'm still not back to any full-time W2 job. If I didn't have other sources of income, I'd be pretty panicky right now, and if I hadn't had savings I'd have been panicky by June. Even as it is, we're starting to have to cut back on some expenses in order to avoid having to dip into my company's retained capital (long story...there could be really unpleasant tax consequences to that, plus it's my primary retirement savings). But I'm interviewing, and I'm hopeful that something will turn up soon.

Even if not, I'm still calling it the right decision. Some things are more important than money. When they stole my friends and my network, I complained and protested but stuck around and did the "hunt while you work" thing (with the above-mentioned bad results), but when they tried to steal my FAMILY from me, there was absolutely no question left in my mind that it was time to settle my affairs and get out.

This, of course, only reinforces the lessons of self-reliance that are tought here and elsewhere. If I didn't HAVE a substantial cash savings and a side business pulling in almost as much income every year as my W2 job did (and stashing better than 90% of that income in high-liquidity savings and investment vehicles), I wouldn't have been able to do it without fear of catastrophic results.

[tarits]

matt, i can't relate to your post. i'm also working night shifts too and the only thing keeping me here is my need to save for grad school.what's keeping me sane is my friends at work and the pay.but they are also my health away, i've been sick so many times.

i guess you can also stop working without a replacement job if you have other things to occupy your time: grad school, taking care of very young children or in my case, a short term missions trip. but it's important to have some money saved before you take that leap.

[NikkidLAL]

Usually they'll contact your current employer LAST. They're ready to offer you the job, and just need to confirm your current employment and salary. The only way it could blow up in your face is if you lied about either of those two things.