Is it time to move on?
24 November 2025
What signs tell you it's time to move on?
How will you know when it's time to move on from your current role?
While leaving a challenging job is often a clear-cut decision, it's tricker to recognise when it's time to depart from a position that's still going well. One strategy that is useful is to make a 'Time to Move' checklist.
- Make your list no longer than five key indicators
- After drafting your list, set it aside for a week to gain perspective
- Revisit an refine your list reflecting on the level of reactive versus proactive elements
- Schedule a reminder to review your checklist every six months (maybe tie it to your ongoing career maintenance session)
This is an objective way to prompt considered reflection and ensure you don't stay too long in a role.
Some signs to consider might include:
- Reaching a level of learning and development
- A sense of comfort or complacency
- A shift in the things that are meaningful
- Key people moving on
- Changes to funding sources
- Hitting career ceilings
- Negative signs such as boredom, dread, lack of fun, toxic people...
Your list will be personal to you. What matters most is that it is a list of things you feel strongly about so it prompts you to make conscious career decisions when you detect change.
As always, wishing you a flourishing career.
Katherine