Want a sign it’s time to quit your job? Here’s a big one

We’re well past the midway point of the year, a time when the weight of being in the wrong job can feel the heaviest.

At the start of this year, I gave some simple advice to anyone who was thinking about switching jobs. Many people return from the Christmas break with a new year resolution to change up their role – but it is the worst time to quit, because this is when the difference between the number of jobs advertised and number of people seeking jobs is greatest.

My advice in January was to wait until the mid-year, when this imbalance is reversed. Now we’re here, I bear good news for those itching to land a better job: August is, statistically speaking, the best month to look for work.

According to data from Jobs and Skills Australia, there are strong levels of job advertisements but typically fewer applicants per role. As we approach the end of the year, this ratio reverses, so applying for a job now increases your chances from a strict mathematical point of view.

This year, however, we need to add a caveat, a pretty big one. The proportion of workers who are handing in their notice and deciding to move jobs over the past year has fallen to its lowest yet recorded.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that our “job mobility rate” is now just 7.2 per cent of the workforce, meaning that about 1 million people changed jobs in the past 12 months. When you break it down by age, this trend is primarily led by younger workers who are switching jobs markedly less than in previous decades.

When was the last time that you learnt something genuinely new at work?

In common with many employees who have waited a long time to find secure work, they are cautious about making any sudden moves in a world that feels increasingly fragile. And for anyone who follows the global daily news, who can blame them?

However, just because this might be theoretically the best time to switch jobs, deciding when it’s time to search for one is a decision only you can make. Consider your finances, your mental health, the market, your industry, your engagement levels and how much you’re getting from your current role.

I advise job hunters to apply a simple rule of thumb: to ask themselves when they last learnt something genuinely new at work. If, in the previous six to 12 months, the answer is nothing, then it might be time to think about a new role.

This doesn’t always have to be in another company. Sometimes one meaningful conversation with your manager is all it takes to add new skills to your role, or to shift into another that might just be the change that you were looking for.

Waiting too long in a stagnant role can easily backfire, as disengagement can turn into resentment the longer you stand still in a job that’s going nowhere. You are the only person in charge of your career, so take control of its direction before someone else forces you to.

Many people have that niggling or nagging thought about whether it’s time to hand in the notice. If you’ve been waiting for a little nudge in the right direction, here it is.